I’m considering taking a realtor course and getting my license. However, I’d like to hear some honest opinions from people that have gone through and done this first.
So, what’s it like being a realtor?
Moved to IMHO.
-xash
General Questions Moderator
Keep in mind that a Realtor is a real estate agent who is a dues-paying member of an organization. There are plenty of real estate agents who are not Realtors.
Anyway, I am not a real estate agent. But I have family members who are. I would never want to be one… they always seem to be working. And they are busiest on the weekends. 
Furthermore, there seems to be an overabundance of real estate agents out there, which means competition is fierce. No thanks.
IANA Realtor, but I’ve worked in a real estate office for 16 years. It’s very competitive, hard work. You will be working nights and weekends. You won’t make a dime until at least a week after a deal closes. A deal can fall apart for a myriad of reasons, and you won’t get anything out of it. You will have to deal with annoying people, crazy people, picky people, all sorts of people because everyone needs a place to live . You’ll also be dealing with a lot of other agents, home inspectors, mortgage companies, guvmint people and attorneys, who can have their faults or real estate person. There’s lots of computer work and lots of paperwork (my number one rule is “KEEP COPIES”). You’ll be an independant contractor, meaning you are responsible for your own taxes and get no benefits. You only get paid when you close a deal.
On the up side, your time is your own, and you can make scads of money if you are wililng to work at it. But make no mistake, it is not easy money.
I was a victim of the tech bust and decided to become a realtor. I joined up with an agency that promised education and help with getting leads. They were in a “nice” part of town. I spent a year manning the phones on the weekends and doing open houses for other agents. I printed up flyers and went door to door. I went to FSBO’s. I did the weekly open house tours (they call them caravans). I bought leads. I spent every dime I didn’t have on all the crap you need. Like business cards, for sale signs, open house signs, flyers, etc.
I had one “client” who said she was interested in listing her house. I spent hours getting her listing presentation together, doing all the research then an hour at her house. I found out three days later she just wanted a copy of a sales contract because she had a buyer privately. (Forms can be purchased at any office depot or downloaded from the internet)
I spent 3 months with a single mother of three children who had been told by a mortgage broker that she was “preapproved.” She wasn’t. She was a credit ghost. I got her approved with a real mortgage company. After finding her her “dream house” she bounced two escrow checks, then threatened to call the cops on me for stealing from her because she needed the escrow money for her new apartments rent. (Which she rented as I was waiting for her to get ONE document to finalize her loan)
I visited a FSBO that was listed for 350k in a wonderful neighborhood. Very nice family, beautiful home. I found out the house had been contaminated with toxic mold and by not using a realtor, they would probably get away without revealing it.
I had a client that was purchasing a house with her fiance, he trusted her implicitly. We found a wonderful house, they bought it, closed on time and lived happily ever after. I made up all the money I had spent getting my license on the sale of that house. I decided to cut my losses and get the hell out of the business.
People will treat you like you are less than a used car salesman. There you are, on a Sunday at an open house, just trying to generate some business, you know, to make an honest living. They put down fake names, fake phone numbers and don’t look you in the eye. Ultimately, that is what just wore me down. I am a honest, hard-working person. I know customers are what pay me.
I will say that my dearest friend is a realtor and she wouldn’t do anything else. She’s been doing it for 10 years and is phenomenal.
Now as I drive around, I notice signs from my old company, I never see a familiar name. It’s been two years.
To start you need to a large cash reserve and don’t need the money. Getting started is the hardest part. It is a huge outlay and it takes time to build a clientele. We did have one girl who I hear is still doing it, she spent a fortune. 4 color printing, mass mailings, money will make up for time.
Oh, the paperwork, bleh.
In theory, it should have been a job I liked. In reality, it really wasn’t. Although I realized that going into it, I had no idea what the day of a realtor was like. I would suggest you find out what they do all day. Visit different offices, don’t believe the hype. Offices are skewed towards the top sales people, you are just another body until you produce. There is a huge turnover.
I was cursed with being broke and needing the money. Who knows, maybe with more resources, I could have been a contender. But it was soul breaking.
My daugher worked in a realtor’s office.
I know/knew some individauals who changed carrers to be realtors and I know some agents.
All of them were quite sucessfull and did well.
Some of the realtors sold the business to others and retired in comfortable circumstances.
As with any business/job it boils down to your ability and drive as to what YOU make of it.
I’ve been a commerical real estate agent, and a CCIM for 19 years. It’s a poorly paid easy job, or a well paid hard job. You have best have some ability in dealing with people, and you had best not be the emotionally delicate type re rejection. If you don’t have a strong belief in yourself don’t even think about it.
hmmm…judging from the date of this thread,I 'm guessing that the OP hasn’t be quite so consistent and dedicated–for the past 12 years.
