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Thinking of a career change ... any realtors here? Login/Join 
easy money
posted
Hello!

I’ve worked in human services for 30 years. I’m 48 years old, and I’ve grown quite weary of chasing someone else’s dream. I want to chase my own. I know of people who are realtors and who own rentals, and they make damn good money and travel a great deal. I want a piece of that pie.

I’ve researched becoming a realtor in my state (Wyoming). Looks like I can take the course and get into the door for around $1,000. I will sit down with a realtor that I know and pick her brain.

However, I have also found that there is a wealth of knowledge here, so I wanted to ask the group: if you are a realtor, would you recommend it as a career? What should I watch for, both good and bad?

I am seeking input from realtors, not random opinions - please and thank you!

Thank you,

James


That which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger
 
Posts: 576 | Location: United States | Registered: December 05, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Big Stack
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If you want to be a realtor do that. If you want to invest do that. I wouldn't combine (although a lot do.) I'm an investor.

Being a realtor is a sales job. To be successful, you need to be good at that. Many aren't. It's also too easy to get into, so there are a lot of them, probably more than are necessary and can make a living doing it.
 
Posts: 21240 | Registered: November 05, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
paradox in a box
Picture of frayedends
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My girlfriend is a very successful realtor. I've learned a few thing from her over the past year and a half.

I'd be glad to ask her any specific questions you have. What I can say is she started part time. But she did not have success until she quit her other jobs and did realty full time. She says that unless you are totally dependent on it then you don't put in the amount of work it needs. And it's a lot of work. She is on the phone, email or at houses from 7 AM until 10PM. She does have free time, but it's never guaranteed.

Connections are important, you have to be an easily likable person with a lot of friends. Word of mouth is your best advertisement.




These go to eleven.
 
Posts: 12407 | Location: Westminster, MA | Registered: November 14, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
semi-reformed sailor
Picture of MikeinNC
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My best friend in NC is a realtor, he makes money, but not enough to live on. The people who own a business doing it make money off all the agents under them-that’s how the realtors make money.

The guy who sold us our first home worked 18 hours a day damn near every day...that’s w but at what cost.hat made him the best salesman in the county year after year.



"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein

“You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020

“A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker
 
Posts: 11247 | Location: Temple, Texas! | Registered: October 07, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Most people I know getting into the Realtor business either have a spouse with a job that can support them or work 2 jobs for a while until they have a reliable book of businesses and can live full time off RE sales.

Also FYI Wyoming is a privacy state where sale prices are NOT public info. So getting sales info is based on relationships. Bankers, Appraisers other realtors and even homeowners have to be relied on to speak the truth of what somebody paid for a property to determine comps. As opposed to where I live and many other states where I can type the address into a database and tell what somebody paid and what every house in the neighborhood has sold for to determine comparables.


I have nothing but mad respect for commission only sales people. Eat what you kill and if you sell nothing for a few months you go hungry. It’s a tough gig and if your successful you can make a very good living. Best of luck.
 
Posts: 4737 | Location: Florida Panhandle  | Registered: November 23, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by BBMW:
If you want to be a realtor do that. If you want to invest do that. I wouldn't combine (although a lot do.) I'm an investor.

Being a realtor is a sales job. To be successful, you need to be good at that. Many aren't. It's also too easy to get into, so there are a lot of them, probably more than are necessary and can make a living doing it.


This and only 1 out of 10 realtors are very successful. Most don't make enough money to live.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just for the
hell of it
Picture of comet24
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My best friend is the VP of sales for a new home builder. So they manage realtors but not the traditional way. Expect to work weekends. That's when most people are looking at houses.

Your income will be directly proportioned to how much your willing to work and how good you are.

The area of the county will likely play into your income also.


_____________________________________

Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain. Jack Kerouac
 
Posts: 16378 | Registered: March 27, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of mcrimm
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Whether you sell cars, boats or homes, it’s all about how you deal with people, how well you know your product and how hard you want to work. As a career banker, I knew only a few that really made money.

My brother is a successful realtor that lives on his phone. Part of his success comes from his somewhat celebrity status as a musician. Everybody knows him in his town. He endures endless frustration from buyers, sellers, lenders, appraisers, title companies, inspectors and anyone else involved in the process.

Good luck.



I'm sorry if I hurt you feelings when I called you stupid - I thought you already knew - Unknown
...................................
When you have no future, you live in the past. " Sycamore Row" by John Grisham
 
Posts: 4216 | Location: Saddlebrooke, Arizona | Registered: December 24, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Needs a check up
from the neck up
Picture of Timdogg6
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I don't know where you live in Wyoming, but population density can have a huge effect on the ability to survive as a realtor. Be sure to look at local sales numbers to see exactly how many homes there are and how many sales there are a month in a reasonable area.


FYI I'm a real estate attorney.


__________________________
The entire reason for the Second Amendment is not for hunting, it’s not for target shooting … it’s there so that you and I can protect our homes and our children and and our families and our lives. And it’s also there as fundamental check on government tyranny. Sen Ted Cruz
 
Posts: 5131 | Location: Boca Raton, FL The Gunshine State | Registered: July 30, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Rick Lee
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quote:
Originally posted by ElToro:

I have nothing but mad respect for commission only sales people. Eat what you kill and if you sell nothing for a few months you go hungry. It’s a tough gig and if your successful you can make a very good living. Best of luck.


I'm about six weeks into selling final expense insurance and it's been quite a ride. My first phone call led to an appointment and my third phone call led to an appointment where I made a $1400 on my first day. Lots of dry spells in between, made $1700 the week before last and $2000 yesterday alone. But I'm spending $600/week on leads, not to mention the mileage and wear and tear on my car. But my mentor made $11k the week before last and $4k last week. I know ramping up in any sales job can take a while. All I need is to see some promise, some light at the end of the tunnel that I'm gonna make it. I got a whopping one appointment for Monday out of my newest batch of leads today. This stuff is an emotional roller coaster, to say nothing of the horror stories I see and hear from the people I deal with. But I have not been successful at working for the man and don't think I can ever go back to being a W2 slave.
 
Posts: 3493 | Location: Cave Creek, AZ | Registered: October 24, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
thin skin can't win
Picture of Georgeair
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quote:
I’ve worked in human services for 30 years.


What is that, precisely?



You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02

 
Posts: 12350 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Servicing humans. Used to be called Personnel.
 
Posts: 17177 | Location: Stuck at home | Registered: January 02, 2015Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
I'm about six weeks into selling final expense insurance and it's been quite a ride.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I was told by someone in your business to read the obits and the names of the pallbearers. You know what they have on their minds.
 
Posts: 17177 | Location: Stuck at home | Registered: January 02, 2015Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Selling on commission almost always demands a ramp up period. I'd make sure I had at least a six month buffer of funds that I would expect, and be willing, to exhaust. Can you realistically replace the quality of life and income your 30 years of experience has in the marketplace. Is it going to take 80 hours a week and two years of struggles to get back to where you at?...and are you really willing to do that? Could you find a better job in your current industry that would address your employment concerns?

Maybe research the number of homes in your area that are selling monthly. See the trends. Ask around and see if broker agencies are hiring. Figure out how many homes it would take for you to sell to have meet your quality of life expectations. Can you really achieve that? Are you fine to work the nights and weekends. Are you willing to talk to friends, neighbors, anyone and give them your pitch on why they should sell their home with you and not the more experience, better-established agents.

I'd start by thinking those things through.
 
Posts: 5691 | Registered: October 11, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Rick Lee
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quote:
Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
quote:
I'm about six weeks into selling final expense insurance and it's been quite a ride.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I was told by someone in your business to read the obits and the names of the pallbearers. You know what they have on their minds.


Yeah, there are a few ways to find leads in this biz. But the hottest (and most expensive) way is direct mail to those who get up to fill out the postcard and then drop it in the mailbox, expecting a call to explain the options to them. All the funeral homes have in-house people selling their own burial/cremation plans, so they're more a competitor than a source of leads.
 
Posts: 3493 | Location: Cave Creek, AZ | Registered: October 24, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Years ago I wrote a Master's Thesis on the affect sales training had on turnover within a sales force. I had to do some research and I had to survey the literature to see what other factors could affect turnover.

It turns out there was only one statistically significant factor that affected turnover. Compensation (What a surprise!).

There was a really interesting graph. For those salespeople who work on a straight commission only five out of 100 will still be in the industry two years after hire. Of those five, only two will remain three years later. Those two will never leave. Why? They make enough money and have enough freedom they will never go back.

We're in a good time for realtors. High rates of employment, low interest rates and lending guidelines are relaxed. Real estate has a long cycle and it is probably starting to decline.

I worked for Fortune 100 companies until I was 54 when I went into the securities industry. I've been blessed and have thrived once I left a large brokerage firm and started my own business. That was 17 years ago. Life is very good.

If you have the ability to put your head down and put one foot in front of the other and press on you will likely succeed. Be prepared for some challenges. Good Luck!


____

I'm filled with gratitude for the blessings I've received.
 
Posts: 707 | Location: So Cal | Registered: September 25, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Rick Lee
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My business has an 80% wash out rate among new agents, but I've heard it's mostly because the noobies can't afford to keep buying leads before they start cash flowing. When I was working with my mentor last week, he had bins and bins of lead cards he hadn't gotten to yet. Some were years old and each one cost $30. So it was probably over $10k worth of lead cards. But he only called each stack of new leads to get enough appointments to fill up the days he could go out in the field. No point in calling those you can get out to meet. But man, I'm rubbing two sticks together right now, so it was painful to see so much untouched opportunity.
 
Posts: 3493 | Location: Cave Creek, AZ | Registered: October 24, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Where there's smoke,
there's fire!!
Picture of techguy
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We have a friend who is a very good realtor. But this guy is constantly working. He is always on the go, showing houses at all hours of the day and weekends. Then he also has open houses on weekends. His phone rings non stop. I shudder to think how many hours a week he puts in but he is very successful.
 
Posts: 1770 | Location: Kentucky | Registered: February 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just because you can,
doesn't mean you should
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You can make a very good living but it's not a quick and easy way to get rich.


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Posts: 9456 | Location: NE GA | Registered: August 22, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The barriers to enter real estate sales are very low, almost anyone can study and pass a state real estate sales agent exam, which is indicative of the low success rate. But for people who are natural salesmen and don't mind negotiating the frustrations and incompetencies encountered on a regular basis, and are workaholics, it can certainly be good. But those exceptional individuals work for every penny they make, because Real Estate sales is extremely competitive, and only the best of the best make out well. I believe the same is true for any kind of legitimate sales work, with the emphasis on legitimate.




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Posts: 8637 | Location: Nowhere the constitution is not honored | Registered: February 01, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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