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Q&A: real estate?

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from the Peter Serafinowicz Show Christmas Special
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Question by jeannie: real estate?
I just recently passed the real estate test and I have no idea what to do! Please anyone can you give me some advise on what to do next – I need a good company thats willing to train me?

Best answer:

Answer by dnelak
When I started 7 years ago, I got thrown in with the fishes as they call it. There is no way to learn this business without being in the business and putting your all into it. I would look for a company you feel has a good reputation and ask around. Then start with that company and see how it goes. You can always leave at anytime. Good luck!

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

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  • AA

    Find a broker, tell them your situation, and get started….it helps if they have a training program, of if they pair you up with a senior realtor

  • lovejunk

    Hey I just answered another question like this with a novel LOL so I am just copying my answer here for you! The first two answers are good too.
    Best Wishes to you!

    Hey,
    The other poster’s advice about having six month’s income is especially wise.
    Also, commit to selling full time for at LEAST ONE YEAR. There is something about that 13 month mark, things start to happen when you may have been dry as a bone for 12 3/4 months. More than 1/2 the new agents don’t last one full year and that is too bad, because it just takes that long.
    Commit to taking a percentage of your first closing and putting it back into your business, through some sort of promotional thing.

    This is what I did when I got my license: I am very family oriented and wanted a moral and not a cut throat company. However, the best training in our area was with the local Coldwell Banker company. I signed on, did the training and used the program I was taught. When I could not stand the back biting and could no longer tell whose name was on the knives in my back, I went on to a company whose brokers and owners I could trust and whose leadership I could follow. I then developed a mentoring program for them.

    If real estate were a typical “job” I would not have approached it in this manner. But I paid C.B. 1/2 of everything I produced in income and paid for my own e and o insurance, etc while I worked there so I feel we each got what we paid for. They got 1/2 my income and I got training!

    Interview at least 5 to 6 companies in your area. REMEMBER, YOU ARE INTERVIEWING THEM, THEY ARE NOT INTERVIEWING YOU!!!! YOU WILL PAY THEM WELL FOR EVERYTHING THEY OFFER YOU, from paperclips to copies, to training and errors and omissions insurance, so make sure they are going to invest in you. Make sure they will have some one track with you and help you set goals, ones that mean a lot to you, not just the broker’s bottom line!

    Take a list with you and ask each company what is important to you. At this point, you want training and support the most. Ask to MEET the training coordinator and ask if you can sit in on one class. Visit a sales meeting and get a feel for how the office dynamic is.

    I read something like this in a book and used it when I trained agents:
    “There are two types of training theories in real estate companies. If agents and the business are like Velcro, you can either hire lots and lots of people, throw them against the wall and keep the few who stick OR you can hire good agents, train them and support them so well that when they are thrown against the wall, they WILL stick.”

    Many companies will say to you, “oh you can shadow Annie Agent and learn all you need to know.” In my experience this means “we don’t really have a training program.” On the other extreme, I found that C.B. wouldn’t let me out of training for SO LONG, that I couldn’t put into practice what I was learning. Find a balance.

    Commission splits and fees are very important, but for your first year, you need support and training more than $50 extra on a closing.

    Also, I used C.B. as an example. Each office is a franchise, so there may be a very good franchise in your area with more integrity than in mine. That goes for EVERY franchise. This is why you need to interview several companies. A good national company in one city may be owned by a jerk in another city!
    DO NOT FEEL PRESSURED AND DON’T FEEL COMPELLED TO SIGN SOME KIND OF COMMITMENT CONTRACT AT THE INTERVIEW!

    Best Wishes and remember, Character is what you do when NO ONE is looking.
    Source(s):

    Broker, inactive

  • Skip

    No matter what real estate company you decide to finally associate yourself with you will need a marketing plan to be successful.

    As the others have indicated most real estate companies do have some type of training program that you should take advantage of.

    There are several marketing techniques that are in use today.

    #1 There is telemarketing, but then there is the “Do not call list” So you have to be careful there and not make a mistake or you will be sued.

    #3 Advertise in the local newspaper that you are now in the business of doing real estate

    #4 You can direct mail to people in your city telling them you are in the real estate business.

    I suggest you market yourself by leaving the office and spending time in a area that you want to work and get to know the people that could be your future clients.

    Find an area in your city that you want to work approximately 5,000-10,000 houses. Make you enough flyers to cover your area. If you have children this will be a good weekend activity for them as well as yourself. While walking the area passing out your flyers, if you see someone out doing the lawn or just out introduce yourself, give them one of your cards. See if they are willing to give you their name and email address so you can email them, on a monthly basis, things about the real estate industry as well as your monthly newsletter. Place any information you collect in a data base that you should start.

    Your flyer should tell them a little about you, the high school and college you attended, a little about your family # of children, husbands first name if you have a family yet, a few of the real estate programs that you will be offering and introducing. This is an introductory flyer that you can make on your computer. You can get them ran off at Staples or Office Depot.

    You should pass these type flyers out at least 3 months in a row. This will let them know that you are sincere and look as if you will be there for them.

    You should also visit the local commercial places in the same area. Find out if they will allow you to place a flyer holder in their business, give them one of your business cards, find out their
    name, write it down you never want to forget it because they will become one of your partners. buy something even if you are gonna give it away and don’t need it. Do this to as many commercial businesses in the area as will allow you to place a flyer holder in their place of business. You will find the flyer holders at Staples or Office Depot..

    Call the post office and inquire about their bulk mailing stamp. Get one and learn the system of bulk mailing.

    Also call your title company and get them to provide you with the names of the people in your area that you have been passing out your flyer.

    Remember your data base you were starting and now should have over a thousand names that you alone should have been able to get if you have been walking the area.

    Once you have passed out the flyers for at least 3-4 months start you a newsletter covering topics on the real estate business. Get articles from your local newspaper as well as off the internet. Just remember to give credit to the author of the article. You might have a doctor, lawyer or some other professional to help you on your articles. Charge them for the articles, about 50% of the cost of the newsletter.

    Now remember the businesses that you had your flyers in and you now know their names because you have been there to change your flyers about 2 times per month. Place your news letter in these businesses also.

    The best thing about these businesses is now you want to see if they will advertise their business in your newsletter being sent to the local area in which their business is located. You should be able to charge them about $45.00 to $50.00 per business size card advertisement. Try and get them to place a coupon in the flyer offering some type of discount if the customer bring the coupon in to their store.

    Now you will need a professional team to assist you in your business. You will need an attorney, a notary, a title rep, an insurance agent that sell homeowners insurance policies and a loan consultant. (If your real estate office have their own mortgage company you might not be able to use a loan consultant from your office so you might want to seek an outside loan consultant. You should pass out their cards to your clients that need their services and they should pass out your business cards to their clients that need your services. This should give you a steady supply of referrals. This should not be a one way street, they should be helping you as much as they are in the habit of helping you. So you might have to change your professional team to get what need to be accomplished.

    Now that you have your bulk stamp, your newsletter and your data base that you have now added from your title rep to the names you had already. You are now ready to mail or email your newsletter each month.

    If you encounter any FSBO refer them to your loan consultant. He will pre-approve any potential clients for loans and turn them over to you to find them a house. So if you encounter a FSBO, see if he would want the loan consultant on your team to assist him. What ever you do, do not try and talk this person from trying to sell their house themselves. I know what conventional wisdom tell you but you will get more out of the FSBO through your loan consultant than if you piss off this guy and get nothing. Suppose your loan consultant is able to turn 3 of those he talk to into pre-approvals, guess who will get to sell them a home? That is better than trying to turn a FSBO into a listing where you only get one listing if you get it at all.

    I hope this has been of some help to you, good luck.

    “FIGHT ON”

  • frankie b

    What do you mean what do you do? This business is an easy job right? you make a ton of money for doing very little right? That’s why you want to start correct? Let me tell you that this business is a grind. If you want to make the average realtor yearly salary of 25 grand you can skate buy. If you want to make 100,000 + you better get ready to hustle. the boom has passed and it surprises me to see all these new agents. My office just dropped from 63 to 42 agents over the last six months. It your not prepared to work hard dont even start. If you are going to work hard good luck and follow the advice from those above. And always offer to do open houses for your heavy hitters. We hate them and there are a great source of business.
    RE Agent,
    Remax

  • RN

    The best thing you can do is find a good company and a great broker. What makes a great broker? Fair compensation and great training. You need leads to cut your teeth on and you need them fast. I know many Keller Williams brokers all over America and can get you an interview with one if you want. They offer the best compensation and training for someone new in the business.

  • Vicki

    Hi Jeannie!

    I suggest you first learn the difference between Real Estate Companies. Some charge desk fees, some do a split with commissions (find out what other monthly fees they have), some are flat fee brokers. Find out if they have retirement, residuals, if they offer profit sharing how long does it take to get that profit, training, what programs do they offer and do they cost? Do they have a training schedule? Do they have a mentor program? Do they have a new agent training course? Do they have health insurance?

    Then go meet the Broker. If you can’t relate with them, then it’s not a good fit! If you have any questions, email me! Good luck and make us all proud! :)

    Vicki Watzlawick
    Broker Owner
    Exit Platinum Realty
    http://www.ExitPlatinumRealty.com

  • staceywparker

    Congratulations! My recommendations are to check out realtor.org and realtytimes.com, then search for “rookie” or “new agent”. This well help you gain valuable info. You will also want to check out the website for your local real estate association and see what they offer to new agents. Your local library may also have books on the subject. Basically gain any knowledge you can upfront. As far as getting a good company, that’s personal choice. Normally any company is going to hire you because your an independent contractor. With starting out try to look for a company that doesn’t have any fees (or very little), will offer training, etc. Some of the great real estate trainers are: Carla Cross, Mike Ferry, Danielle Kennedy and Dirk Zeller … check out their website. Good Luck!!

  • explicted1

    Go talk to some brokers, ask them questions and find the place that better suits you. Check out http://www.RealEstateLinked.com to learn more about real estate and loans, and talk to other realtors and LOs

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