I live in the Charlotte, NC area which is growing super fast and does not seem to be a part in the slow down of economy. I was thinking about starting a career in real estate. I have lots of sales experience but nothing that big. I think I would really enjoy it. Should I try it?
stick man, jay and ginger thanks for your responses they were all great and reassuring. Thank you for your time
The so called “slow down” in real estate is not as bad as is being reported. I just took a real estate class for paralegals that told me a lot. You should probably go ahead and get your license and start selling. In the county I live in, it is a big business. Try it. Here licensing requires a class and a $75.00 fee. Go for it.
I certainly did, but I just moved to California where the market has been extremely slow.
If you have a source of income, go for it! You will need at least 6 months before you start making fairly consistent commissions. Negotiate a better than 50-50% split, say like 80-20% when you decide which agency you would like to work for.
Keller-Williams is great, Remax if you can afford the monthly fees, Coldwell Banker and C-21, Prudential….check your local listings for the busy offices with lots of ads and talk to their brokers. They have lots of calls and walk-ins which will help build your business until you establish a referral network.
Get classes at a real estate school or realty agency which will help you specifically pass your test. I studied on 4 weekends, but night and day classes are also offered. Good luck!
Simple, first step call some brokers in your area and tell them you are checking out careers and need some mentoring and if their are any top agents that would be willing to give you a few minuets, offer to buy lunch, then pick their brain and find out what it is really like, this also can build networks. Real estate is a large field and you can go in many directions. Past that you can try anything you want and succeed at what you wish! Hope this was helpful. Source 30 years around real estate. Good luck.
It’s a tough job, and expensive. You have to get your licence, and find a company that will hire you. You spend money on advertising, open houses, gas, car, website, etc. It is a dog eat dog industry.
Before you spend that kind of money, see if there is a seasoned agent that needs an assistant. Do that for about 6 months to a year and see if you still want to be in real estate.
good luck.
P.S. I lived in Charlotte for several years a while back. Great City.
There are a number of career and business opportunities in Real Estate. You could be an agent, loan processor, mortgage broker, appraiser, inspector, or any of several others. Sales skills will be very helpful.
By far the most lucrative is to be an investor. You can become an investor in addition to any of the others above, but you’ll need 4 main things to be successful:
1) Education / knowledge. Real Estate investing can be a high-stakes game where the possibilities for making costly mistakes are very real and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can get in a lot of financial trouble. Real estate investing should not be viewed as a get-rich-quick opportunity – it takes time, effort, and knowledge.
2) Properties. Finding properties that make sense from an investing standpoint is crucial, and there are many ways to do this. Walking/driving through neigborhoods, working with realtors (or if you become a real estate agent yourself, you will have access to the MLS, or Multiple listing Service) to help you find properties, bird-dogs (people who find properties for you and that you pay if/when you close the deal), newspapers, online ads, and so on are just a few ways to find potential investment properties.
3) Income. While there are ways to buy property with no money down or without using your own credit, having a good income makes it easier for you to invest in more properties, faster.
4) Community. You can’t do it alone, at least not easily. Having a network of other investors and people involved in real estate greatly helps improve your likelihood of success.
I’m part of a nationwide community of investors that helps you get all 4 of the key components above. Check the websites below for more information.
Keep in mind that many real estate agents are salespeople and not necessarily investors. They may be able to help the typical home buyer find and purchase a house, but many (including quite a few who say they work with investors) are not investors themselves and don’t truly understand what an investor is looking for.
Real Estate can be a lot of fun – and can be a great way to help people as well.
If you want to “test-drive” a job and find out what it’s like without having to leave your current job, there’s a company called Vocation Vacations that, for a fee, allows people to work for a few days with someone in a particular job to see what it’s really like. Here are the 2 real estate-related “Dream Job Holidays” they have available as of today. =&general=142117&category=&days=&sPrice=&ePrice=
The so called “slow down” in real estate is not as bad as is being reported. I just took a real estate class for paralegals that told me a lot. You should probably go ahead and get your license and start selling. In the county I live in, it is a big business. Try it. Here licensing requires a class and a $75.00 fee. Go for it.
You have to obtain a Real Estate License below are the links on the minimum requirements and the prep classes for the test.
If you have the time to take the classes and like sales it is a good career to get into.
I certainly did, but I just moved to California where the market has been extremely slow.
If you have a source of income, go for it! You will need at least 6 months before you start making fairly consistent commissions. Negotiate a better than 50-50% split, say like 80-20% when you decide which agency you would like to work for.
Keller-Williams is great, Remax if you can afford the monthly fees, Coldwell Banker and C-21, Prudential….check your local listings for the busy offices with lots of ads and talk to their brokers. They have lots of calls and walk-ins which will help build your business until you establish a referral network.
Get classes at a real estate school or realty agency which will help you specifically pass your test. I studied on 4 weekends, but night and day classes are also offered. Good luck!
Simple, first step call some brokers in your area and tell them you are checking out careers and need some mentoring and if their are any top agents that would be willing to give you a few minuets, offer to buy lunch, then pick their brain and find out what it is really like, this also can build networks. Real estate is a large field and you can go in many directions. Past that you can try anything you want and succeed at what you wish! Hope this was helpful. Source 30 years around real estate. Good luck.
It’s a tough job, and expensive. You have to get your licence, and find a company that will hire you. You spend money on advertising, open houses, gas, car, website, etc. It is a dog eat dog industry.
Before you spend that kind of money, see if there is a seasoned agent that needs an assistant. Do that for about 6 months to a year and see if you still want to be in real estate.
good luck.
P.S. I lived in Charlotte for several years a while back. Great City.
There are a number of career and business opportunities in Real Estate. You could be an agent, loan processor, mortgage broker, appraiser, inspector, or any of several others. Sales skills will be very helpful.
By far the most lucrative is to be an investor. You can become an investor in addition to any of the others above, but you’ll need 4 main things to be successful:
1) Education / knowledge. Real Estate investing can be a high-stakes game where the possibilities for making costly mistakes are very real and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can get in a lot of financial trouble. Real estate investing should not be viewed as a get-rich-quick opportunity – it takes time, effort, and knowledge.
2) Properties. Finding properties that make sense from an investing standpoint is crucial, and there are many ways to do this. Walking/driving through neigborhoods, working with realtors (or if you become a real estate agent yourself, you will have access to the MLS, or Multiple listing Service) to help you find properties, bird-dogs (people who find properties for you and that you pay if/when you close the deal), newspapers, online ads, and so on are just a few ways to find potential investment properties.
3) Income. While there are ways to buy property with no money down or without using your own credit, having a good income makes it easier for you to invest in more properties, faster.
4) Community. You can’t do it alone, at least not easily. Having a network of other investors and people involved in real estate greatly helps improve your likelihood of success.
I’m part of a nationwide community of investors that helps you get all 4 of the key components above. Check the websites below for more information.
Keep in mind that many real estate agents are salespeople and not necessarily investors. They may be able to help the typical home buyer find and purchase a house, but many (including quite a few who say they work with investors) are not investors themselves and don’t truly understand what an investor is looking for.
Real Estate can be a lot of fun – and can be a great way to help people as well.
If you want to “test-drive” a job and find out what it’s like without having to leave your current job, there’s a company called Vocation Vacations that, for a fee, allows people to work for a few days with someone in a particular job to see what it’s really like. Here are the 2 real estate-related “Dream Job Holidays” they have available as of today. =&general=142117&category=&days=&sPrice=&ePrice=