I have been in sales for 5 years and am curious how to switch to becoming a real estate agent?  How long does it take before you start to earn money?  All commission based?  Weekends involved?  What is the best agency to work for?
121092
Well it depends on the state for which you live. I know in Missouri you must take a 60 hour course. Then you can take your state realtor's license.
9420
Read everything you can about real estate investing. Attend real estate investment club meetings. Find some good real estate investing sites. There's a lot to learn, and not much space to answer ... if you're looking for a full-time career, you've found it. If you're looking to dabble, just keep your expectations reasonable - it won't be a "get rich quick" route.
438319
You should start by contacting a couple of the larger real estate companies in your area.  Most of the big ones will have training programs and recruitment programs designed to help you succeed after you are done with your licensing classes.  Getting a license and knowing how to be a good agent are two different things.\n\nFinding someone to hire you will be the easy part.  Finding someone to train you for success is the hard part.  Real estate is not easy to get started in, you should plan on keeping a part-time waitressing job or something to keep your bills paid while you get started.  If you don't, be prepared to go 3-6 months before seeing your first paycheck.  Most people don't have that kind of savings sitting around.
379260
I sold Hondas for a while.\n\nCar sales is HARD WORK with LONG HOURS, but if you are good at it you can make good money!!\n\nYou are going to work about a 65-72 hour week starting out no matter which car dealership you go work for. That's just the way it is. Say goodbye to your weekends. Most car salesmen work every day of the week, then get off either Monday or Tuesday, which are the dealership's slower days. Also, you have to be good with your money, because there will be lots of weeks where you won't make ANY money at all, but then there are some weeks when you will make $5000 in a week.\n\nThe good news is that you can easily make 40-50K your first year. This is selling about 6-8 cars a week. It is harder than it sounds :) The top producers sell about 50-60 cars a month.\n\nIf you spend 5+ years and become one of the top 3-4 producers in the company, then they will start letting you set your own hours and basically come and go as you please. The top producers have such a network of patrons that they come in for by appointment only, so they don't have to sit around waiting for customers to come to them, they already have a list of customers that will call them before they show up.\n\nHowever, to get to that point you have to be the best of the best. They got he extra mile, work overtime, etc. in all cases for years and years to get there, but once they are there they are making 100K + a year and working 25-30 hours a week.\n\nSo, I'd say if you have it in you and would consider yourself a very hard worker, you could make some serious money selling cars. But if you are realistically just looking at it as another job, you are going to find that it is VERY hard work.\n\nI made in the high 40s my first year selling cars but it pretty much ruined my social life. The last straw for me came when my mom was coming to visit me but I couldn't get off work even with 3 months notice. You just don't get time off when you sell cars!!
3543
That depends on their contract with the broker. Each office is different. Talk to many office brokers and ask to see their contract. While you are at the office, note how busy they are. Be sure to ask what your commission split will be when you start and at what level does it change. Also many offices now offer a salary + commission program. This might be best to start out. Most real estate agents work for less than $15 / hr.. You have to build your business to increase your income.
668784
I have been in real estate for 10 years.  It takes the average agent about 4 months before they see their first deal.  I takes about a year to really see some measure of success.  I have seen agents have up and down careers, meaning a good year then a not so good year.  True financial gain exists in this business.  I have seen more success on the investment side than the sales/listings side of the business.  It takes anywhere from 2 to 5 weeks to complete the pre-licensing classes and they cost about $325.  Once you complete the required course, you have to take the state and national exams.  When you pass those, you can place your license with a real estate broker and get started.  It is a very exiting business.  It takes a lot of time and it cost money to get your name out there, via advertising, etc...\n\nGood luck in your career.  BTW...the competition isn't that fierce.  Any broker will tell you that there are probably 100,000 licensed agents and only about 5% that really do the business.
283271
They buy houses at a DEEP discount so you have to consider how low you are willing to go with the price of your home if you are looking to sell.  If you are buying one of their properties, they usually do a good job of refurbishing homes so you can pick up a house with nice upgrades at a good value.  \n\nIt is a franchise so the people who run each individual branch may vary.  I have a friend who does it, and I have seen the homes they work on. They do a nice job.\n\nBack to my first point though, if you are selling you are probably better off with a Realtor, shop around your area and find someone who you can work with.
128321
If you can get in with Realtors, go for it.  There are so many "B Credit" loan officers out there that the Realtors don't need you.  They have a guy already.  Concentrate on doing one thing really well and let them know what that one thing is.  That's your only hope going directly to them.\n\nSend letters to all your office's past clients.  Give them an article or something that will interest them and publicize a mortgage or credit seminar.  Call this list of people and ask them if they'd like to reserve a seat.  You can advertise but you may not need to depending on how big your house list is.  I did all this and of all the people who attended, only about 1/4 or less came that saw the ad.  Everyone else came after I spoke to them on the phone.  It will get you some deals but, most importantly, it will spread good word of mouth about your company.  \n\nHere's the most important part.  Take these new deals to Realtors that like you.  If you give them deals, they'll do the same.\n\nThis is one of MANY options.  You could work with local FSBO's by PreQualifying their potential buyers.  Or call "for rent" ads and send them info about investor and commercial loans.
337532
Commission rates vary in different industries and even in different products. The amounts are typically determined by business owners based on their experience of how many "units" an average sales person can sell in an average work period (ie. 40 hour week). The determined amount is designed to be only enough to keep the average sales person on the job. For the business owner to pay any more would be viewed as giving away profits. If you are a better that average sales person, you may do well in that position. If you are only average in sales ability, you will probably make only a living wage. Of course that living wage only continues as long as you keep showing up to work. \n\nIf you really want to make the really big bucks you need to learn how to be the business owner. I teach people how to do that. Its way easier than you might think. When the boss goes on a long vacation, does the company still make money? That is what you need. A company that will still make you money when you are not even there. If you have about five years, I can show you how. Of course you will earn as you learn. Together we can make this happen, but only if you want it bad enough! Write to Bruce at boatclub@go.com
648680
first, you can take classes online, like at:\nhttp://www.realestateexpress.com/\n\nor your local community college should have some classes. \n\nYou work soley on commision and the amount of money you make depends on you. A successful agent is people person, a social butterfly and a great problem solver. My agent who works for me does so much business because she is constantly out socializing with friends and strangers. She takes care of people who give her leads and she takes care of her clients as well.  She averages over 100k a year easy. \n\nI suggest your ultimate goal is to become a broker and keep all your commission for yourself. Also, don't think like an agent, keep your mind open to helping your clients and people. You might not make as much on a single transaction like other agents, but the referrals you get for solving problems and being understanding of other people's issues pays off more in the long run.\n\nRegards...
199801
I looked into becoming a realtor a while ago, I'm a SAHM so it sounded good.  Hours wise, its pretty flexible in that you decide how many you want to work, how many clients to take on.   Depending on your financial need, you might just need to sell one house a month.  But what I found out (which is why I couldn't do it) is that it's a lot of start up costs.  You have to pay for the training (usually given through a real estate company), pay for your testing, pay for your licensing and to be on Realtor Boards.  Plus there are annual dues for being on the Realtor boards (which is required by most real estate places).  So here, start up was going to cost about $1700.  But if you can swing that, its really flexible in that you decide how much you want to take on.  But, keep in mind that most open houses are on the weekends, and that most people like to go see homes on the weekends or after THEY get off work.  So it might not be a real scheduled job for you, just flexible in how much you want to take on.  Money wise, its like 7% that you get.  So whatever the sold house goes for, you get 7% of it (in Michigan anyway).  So the money can be very good.
231836
You might be able to earn a bit with some type of sales job if you can sell well since they're commission based.  Companies typically want either work experience or a good college degree.  So, you might have to take a low-paying job to get some experience and then apply to others after a year or more.
610969
Act just came out wiht a new version of ACt! for Realtors.  Check it out.  I've heard good things about it form top agents.\n\nKK
343998
The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.\n\nAssociations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links. \n\nResearch, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:\n\n* Your First Year in Real Estate: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional by Dirk Zeller\n* 21 Things I Wish My Broker Had Told Me: Practical Advice for New Real Estate Professionals by Frank Cook\n* Complete Idiot's Guide to Success as a Real Estate Agent by Marilyn Sullivan\n* Real Estate License Exams For Dummies by John A. PhD, DREI Yoegel\n\nThere are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.\n\nHope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!
474746
to reiterate the previous answer -- it's hard work, lots of people have the misconception that it's a gravy job -- not so!  long hours, especially when you want to be off (weekends, week nights), but very rewarding to actually help someone achieve the american dream.\n\ni'm a realtor in texas.  although there is no 'set' commission, generally sellers will pay a total of 6% to sell their home -- that 6% is then split between the listing agent and the buyer's agent.  depending on the company you work for, you'll end up with less, as you have to pay fees to the firm.\n\nif you work for a brokerage that requires you to pay hefty fees up front, you might not want to start there.  there are some companies out there that work good for new agents, you're welcome to send me a private message and I'll give you more details.\n\notherwise, good luck!
47637
When I was in high school I found myself in a very similar situation.  I got my real estate license the year I graduated.  I will tell you this; it’s hard, but if you work hard, you can do it.  Even being highly respected as a high school senior, in leadership at my church and in school, it’s still hard to get some one to trust an 18 year old w/ a $500,000 real estate purchase.  \n\nI started out by working at a national (resale) real estate company.  In spite of my hard work, I realized what I was doing was not going to pay off  because of my age.  I needed people to come to me, so I started selling new homes.  I won’t lie, these jobs are hard to get.  I worked a lot of long hours for a builder for not much money, but it has paid off.  I recently tested for my brokers license, and hope to open my own office in the future.  \n\nIf I could give a few bits of wisdom to you they would be this; \n1)  Work hard in school, if you can take extra classes in English and any type of business or law classes that you can, these will be very useful later on. \n2) Don’t listen to anybody that tells you “you can’t”, a lot of people will, and if you listen to them, you won’t.  \n3) Don’t give up, real estate has about an 80% wash out rate, it took me about 3 years before I started to succeed.  \n\nIt’s been 5 years sense I got my license, and I must say THE JUICE WAS WORTH THE SQUEEZE.
111640
It depends what you want to do. If you want to work as an agent with a multiple listing service you will need a licence. You can also buy foreclosures or power of sales and try to sell them for market value. You can rent property out. You could try to gather some investors and start a real estate investment trust, a REIT. The internet has opened a massive potential for for sale by owner websites. You could do all of these. \n\nBe frugal and take things slow. Learn to understand interest rates. Are rates currently rising or falling? Why?Learn about insurance, taxes, utilities, upgrades, etc. Learn to perform the duties of a home inspector or hire one!\n\nGood luck!