sarah s
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I think you'll be great!!! The first guy who sold our home for us was older than us around 60 or so and he was great, he sold our home in 1 day as soon as he put it on the market it was sold. Good luck to ya I think it's a good profession to go into. Lots of money. |
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wendy h
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Go for it man!! Never, never, never let your age keep you from your dreams. As long as you still can walk, drive a car, and communicate with others, I see no reason why you would be unable to perform the duties of a realtor. Good luck! |
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Morpheous
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It's o.k. Go for it. Make sure to let you friends and relatives know that you are in real estate. Ask for referrals. That should generate some business for you. |
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ria
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No problem my dad is 62 turning 63 this month and he's going to be a real state! Hey if that's what you want go for it there's nothing stopping not even age and hey you make big money!! |
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violett
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I think its a good career to go into |
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dawnsdad
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What about it? Go for it. I'm 51 and I wouldn't have a problem with it. |
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Karen M
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It's a great opportunity for you as long as you go into it with your eyes wide open.
A career in real estate is a business. You're going into business for yourself, with all the expenses and risks that entails. You don't have to pay for your inventory, but you do have to spend a lot of money marketing yourself. You have to be consistent---I would suggest mailing to a farm area once a month June through December and twice a month January through May, in addition to any mailings you do to market your listings. All this costs money.
You should create a business plan, and make sure you have enough money in the bank to cover your marketing and other operating expenses (driving people around to see houses and buying them lunch costs money, and when you get listings you need to advertise them), your licensing fees, your E&O insurance, etc. If you've been relying on your own income to make ends meet, you have to have enough in the bank to cover your loss of income in the months while you build your business.
You have to plan to spend at least 8 hours a day working at building your business. Mailings, phone calls, walking neighborhoods to meet people, volunteering---you need to do all of these things to become known and grow into a successful agent.
You also need to have a thick skin. Sometimes, you work with a seller and have to find more than one buyer before the deal goes through. Sometimes you'll show a buyer 20 houses and write offers on 5 before you get the sale.
You have to be hungry, and willing to work hard. It's not a lark. It's a highly competitive business. You must have realistic expectations for income, expenses, and time investment.
All that being said---I loved it. |
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Realty Shark
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Rosie, I cannot encourage you enough! I was 47 when I got my license. This is the only career where being a female and being older actually works in your favor. This is funny to me now, but when I started, because of my age, everyone automatically assumed that I had been doing this for years. I think maybe only one or two people asked me how long I had been selling. I would just drop my shoulders and sigh -"feels like forever"-and never really answer them! Why would they ask? I got with a good company with good training, (the stuff they teach you to get your license has nothing to do with selling real estate), bought a couple of nice suits, (you see different people every day so you don't need an entire brand new wardrobe like office work), showed up every day, kept my ears open, and faced the world with confidence. I never acted unsure of myself. If I didn't know something, I did then what I do now - I say so! Then I offer to get that information for them. I had a beat up rusted out car, so I would offer to meet at the property, park down the street around the corner, show up early, and they never knew I didn't have s(*t. Within 2 years I was making $240,000 per year.
I say go for it, woman. Go for it big-time and never ever let them see you sweat. Don't let the other realtors intimidate you either. You are just as good as they are. You will find some of them to be very helpful to you. I have helped many who came along after me, too. I am 53. |
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Pope my ride!
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You can indeed, most european agencies at least will offer some kind of partner agreement, that way there is very little outlay to yourself and a lot of product support. |
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zoomat4580
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Good luck and best wishes on a career change. |
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Skip
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Join the crowd big guy. Welcome to the guys that are returning to the work force after a little time out.
You are a valuable memeber to any organization. Just rememer one thing that got me in trouble all the time. You are a rookie in a new career field.
Learn the new terminology as soon as possible and by all means if you are not get computer literate immediately,especially where your position is concerned.
You have wisdom that others will depend on based solely on your age.
I will not say the job you are tackling will be easy, but with lots of common sense, mother's wit you will be ok. Just remember that you are in a selling field if you were not in one before.
I recommend that you find an area with about 5000 house or homes in it and make yourself known to those people, let them know that you are their real estate agent and will assist them in any way possible with a sale as well as purchase. Get to know them and you them.
One person suggested you send a newsletter each month. I agree, but before doing that I would make myself a flyer introducing myself and walking the area introducing myself to my new clients. I would do this flyer thing for at least 3 months. After that I would then send a newsletter each and every month with articles concerning real estate and other related items.
You ca find articles about real estate in your local paper. You may use the article as long as you give the author credit.
Find yourself some professional buddies that want to assist you in your new business. You will need a lawyer, a notary, a title rep, a loan agent/broker and insurance agent that does insurance for homes. Each of these individuals should be able to pass out your business cards to those of their clients that will need your services.You should pass out their business cards to your clients that need their service. You might have to change these people because a referral should not be a one way street.
I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.
'FIGHT ON" |
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Spinner...428
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Century 21 trains you... Check into it or your closest Junior College also...
Good for it its better than Driving an 18 wheeler... |
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Paul D
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YES FOR ONLY $1,500.00 YOU TOO CAN SELL REAL ESTATE! This is the great lie all realtors are told! Yes, for $1,500.00 you can take classes (at least that’s the cost in Birmingham, Alabama) to learn everything you need to get your license, but not much on what it really takes to sell homes.
Most experienced agent do not want to bother with newer agents. When I first started, over a year ago, I was with a different company (Birmingham’s largest real estate company at the time) and I remember asking some of the older agents for help. While a few would help, for the most part, I was told, you just got your license, you should know what you’re doing. Now I’m with Keller Williams Realty, North America’s fastest growing realty company, and since it is the only realty company with profit sharing, every agent in the office has a financial gain in how well that office does, so everyone is more then willing to help out, but more on Keller Williams later.
First we will talk about what it takes to be a realtor, then we will talk cost – for if you do not have what it takes, you will be throwing money away, no matter what the cost is. If you have what it takes, it is well worth the cost!!!
You should be out-going, not afraid to talk with strangers you meet in the mall, stores, etc. You can’t get all bummed out with rejections, trust me, you will get allot of rejections in this line of business. You also need to be a good teacher as well as a good listener. And most of all, if you can remain calm when the world around you is going to pieces, you will make a good realtor.
If you read some of the questions and answers from Yahoo, you will see EVERYTHING is the realtor’s fault, and allot of times, this is true, not because realtors are bad people or trying to pull something (although some do). It is because the realtor did not take the time to explain to the Buyer/Seller how it all works, then if something goes wrong the client has no clue and feel they have been cheated.
Also, before I forget, EVERY realtor, works for a Broker, that is just how it works, but you will learn that in realty school. In Alabama you can not be a Broker until you been an agent for at least two years
COST
My first year I invested a total of $5,000.00 (Spread out over the year) over and above the cost of my classes and I only pulled in $3,000.00. For a total net income of minus $2,000.00 plus or minus a few hundred. This year, so far, I spent $2000.00 and made, to date $30,000.00. Next year I plan on doing even better!
As you can see, it cost money, but the rewards, well, they speak for them self!
Most real estate companies have what is called OT time (Opportunity Time). The way this works is, you are the agent of the day. You sit in the office and answer the phone. You mostly end up setting up showings for other agents listings, but if a call comes in with someone looking to sell or buy a home, you get that lead, remember, it is only a lead, it is up to you to turn in into a sale or listing. This is only an OK way to get clients. The BEST way is through marketing yourself. That is mainly where the bulk of my budget goes, to marketing myself.
If you remember earlier, I said each Keller Williams agent has a stake in how well the office does, I think, most Keller Williams agents are helping other people not just because of the profit sharing, but because this is just the type of people Keller Williams attracts! Keller Williams culture and belief is
WI4C2TS
W – Win-Win – or no deal ( make it a winning deal for everyone)
I – Integrity – Do the right thing
C – Commitment – In all things
C – Communication – Seek first to understand
C – Creativity – Ideas before results
C – Customers – Always come first (This one I truly believe in)
T – Team Work – Together Everyone Achieves More (another one I truly believe in)
T – Trust Starts with Honesty
S – Success – Results through people
Keller Williams has some GREAT in house training on how to get listings and market yourself, just to name two of its many classes. Best of all, if offers passive income through profit sharing!
Real estate is not for everyone, but it is a good business to be in, and yes, it is not a job, nor truly a career, it is a business you need to work and grow. True, you work for a broker, but you work as an independent. Most Brokers could care less if your selling or not, you pay a fee just to be in the office on top of your commission splits, so the brokers are not loosing any money on you. The most common split is 60/40 – you keep 60 and the broker gets 40. Some companies will let you keep 95 to 100%, but the monthly fee is like $1000.00. Each office is different. Keller Williams offers 70/30 splits for new agents, (Monthly fee, called a desk fee is $30.00- once again each office is different) then after you paid a set dollar amount for the year ($19,500.00 for my office) then you get to keep 100% for the rest of your anniversary year. You can, however start off at a 90/10 split, BUT then you must guarantee to pay that set amount. So for me, If I took the 90/10 split and only earned enough to have paid $17,500.00 in commissions to my office, at the end of my anniversary year, I would have to write a check to Keller Williams for $2,000.00. It is for this reason a 90/10 split is not recommended for newer agents, in fact, some Keller Williams brokers will not let new agents get the 90/10 split for that very reason.
Interview with Keller Williams Realty
The only real estate company that offers profit sharing
GREAT company to work for, GREAT training on how to market yourself, in any market.
If you would like more info on a career with Keller Williams Realty, go to my web page http://www.pauld-kw.com and on the top you will see "Sell a Property" Click on that, then click on "A career with Keller Williams" I think you will be very impressed. You can also e-mail or call me and I will be more then happy to talk to you about Keller Williams or send you some more information. pauld-kw@hotmail.com
BEST of luck with your new career! |
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