Thinking 'bout being a realtor

One thing I love about GRM is the wealth of knowledge on this board about everything from buying rental property to picking out tires. I thought I would see if anybody had any experience (or past experience) as a realtor. Im not going to quit my job and change careers tomorrow, but I have been thinking about trying to become a part time Realtor. I know I need 40 hours of training in Michigan and I am checking out what all is involved with that. Does anybody have any advice they would give to somebody looking to do this? Is anybody currently a realtor? Did anybody used to do it? Would I have to wear an ugly gold sportcoat?

Not one myself, but my oldest brother has been one for ~30 years now and runs a chain of 7 offices in the Myrtle Beach area. I can bounce technical questions off of him.

From the people I know, being a successful realtor takes more than full time.

My mom does it.

You will never sleep, you will never rest, you will never have free time. Recommended for hardcore workaholics only.

Personally, I've become too accustomed to a nice, relatively consistant work schedule with weekends off. I know a few realtors and while the money can be good, it can also be monumentally frustrating (working your butt off only to not get a sale) and invariably involves a lot of 12/7 work weeks (since you are often working around your clients' schedules, your time is rarely your own and forget ever having a free weekend again).

PM ClemSparks on this board. He's been a part-time realtor in the past and will give you an unvarnished opinion on things.

I am also not a realtor, I simply have some friends who are, and have watched others do it.

Most don't make much money. They don't have the fire in the belly, and don't put in the effort to make the money. This is not a slam or insult. Bear with me for a moment.

Those I know who do make money work 100+ hours a week. They live and breath reality. Family takes a distant second place. Everything else fails to exist, there is no third place.

Many I know have gotten into it with great hopes, had them dashed by the expenses and time involved, and ended up quiting the business after a few months to a few years, like two or three.

I've also watched a number of folk being strung along by rather sleezy folk higher up in the business. Getting them to do their work for them, with the vague promise of vast riches to be made soon. Kinda like tricking detail boys on the lot into cleaning cars for free instead of for afee because they might make a portion of the commission if the customer buys the car because of their work.

Good feedback so far. I know the workload and time commitment would be high and I am ok with that. I know the successful realtors work fulltime+ but I am not ready to make that type of jump right now. I am still in the research phase on all of this.

It seems like there are similarities to being an auto tech. Alot of people come and go because they think its easy money but dont realize the BS, time and costs it takes to make it.

As an outside observer and current house hunter.... I will only add that I am amazed at the sheer lack of effort many realtors put into their online postings. Crap pictures. Minimal info. etc.

It takes an extra 5 minutes tops to actually spend the time taking nice pictures that actually "showcase" the house. They've obviously already made the effort to drive there, snap photos, and upload them. Put some effort into lighting/coloring/etc.

Secondly... garage info. I've found houses with a spare garage or pole barn on the property that the realtor didn't even mention in the ad or MLS stats. WTF. You don't think that might be a selling feature?

I'm sure the people that make a killing in it live and breathe it 100% (similar to other sales/financial/insurance industries) but I also see some serious incompetence in my house hunting amongst current realtors.

I can't say you can or can't do it... if you have some passion and some fire about it, I'd say you don't have much to lose taking a run at it, especially starting now in Michigan. Realty was in the pooper since the housing crisis in '07 or thereabouts... and things have bottomed and are improving statistically again with some consistency. Rather ride the wave on the improvement cycle.

...and lastly, like any other sales job, a lot of the key is developing a systematic referral and trickle/follow-up methodology rather than just shooting from the hip. I've signed the registration for a realtor at an open house and given my email many times. Rarely does anyone follow up with me, and if they do, maybe they do it once and quit. I don't want to be hounded, but if you provide relevant info (notices of new similar priced houses for sale in the area), etc. that adds some real value I might be inclined to pick up the phone.

All I know is my friends have dubbed this size wine bottle the "double divorcee realtor" edition:

My wife does it. It can be feast or famine. If you can do it in addition to another job you will be well served in this particular economy. Location makes a big difference to whether or not you can be successful. The right office also makes a difference.

Sell off all your car projects before you get started, because if you are doing this part time and have another full time gig.....no time for wrenching.

xflowgolf wrote: As an outside observer and current house hunter.... I will only add that I am amazed at the sheer lack of effort many realtors put into their online postings. Crap pictures. Minimal info. etc. It takes an extra 5 minutes tops to actually spend the time taking nice pictures that actually "showcase" the house. They've obviously already made the effort to drive there, snap photos, and upload them. Put some effort into lighting/coloring/etc. Secondly... garage info. I've found houses with a spare garage or pole barn on the property that the realtor didn't even mention in the ad or MLS stats. WTF. You don't think that might be a selling feature? I'm sure the people that make a killing in it live and breathe it 100% (similar to other sales/financial/insurance industries) but I also see some serious incompetence in my house hunting amongst current realtors. I can't say you can or can't do it... if you have some passion and some fire about it, I'd say you don't have much to lose taking a run at it, especially starting now in Michigan. Realty was in the pooper since the housing crisis in '07 or thereabouts... and things have bottomed and are improving statistically again with some consistency. Rather ride the wave on the improvement cycle. ...and lastly, like any other sales job, a lot of the key is developing a systematic referral and trickle/follow-up methodology rather than just shooting from the hip. I've signed the registration for a realtor at an open house and given my email many times. Rarely does anyone follow up with me, and if they do, maybe they do it once and quit. I don't want to be hounded, but if you provide relevant info (notices of new similar priced houses for sale in the area), etc. that adds some real value I might be inclined to pick up the phone.

You pretty much just described the list of things I vowed to do better if I ever sold houses. In 2010 I had a hard time even finding a Realtor in Michigan that would work with me because I lived out of state. (I guess technically at the time I lived in a motel in Michigan while trying to buy a place). Many would tell me they couldnt hell when they found out I was just looking to be within an hour of Auburn Hills rather than a specific town. They told me my area was too big. The realtor we ended up with told me she would sell me a house on the Wisconsin border if that is what I wanted. I think I am going to see if I can set up a lunch and pick her brain a little.

xflowgolf wrote: Secondly... garage info. I've found houses with a spare garage or pole barn on the property that the realtor didn't even mention in the ad or MLS stats. WTF. You don't think that might be a selling feature?

Might I ask, how have you found them? I'm in a position where I am probably going to be buying a house (cause it is freakin cheaper than renting for cryin out loud), and one of my wants is an extra garage.

xflowgolf wrote: As an outside observer and current house hunter.... I will only add that I am amazed at the sheer lack of effort many realtors put into their online postings. Crap pictures. Minimal info. etc. It takes an extra 5 minutes tops to actually spend the time taking nice pictures that actually "showcase" the house. They've obviously already made the effort to drive there, snap photos, and upload them. Put some effort into lighting/coloring/etc.

Real estate people tend to be just horrible with all things computer-related and photography-related. Just comically bad. I heard a story of one person running into an office and stealing a contact list by emailing it to himself from this person's computer. Those horrible pics were probably their best effort with a pont-and-shoot camera, shot right into the sun or some stupid crap like that. I think it's a profession where the technophobic are taking refuge from the modern world.

xflowgolf wrote: Secondly... garage info. I've found houses with a spare garage or pole barn on the property that the realtor didn't even mention in the ad or MLS stats. WTF. You don't think that might be a selling feature?

The average person who is enthusiastic about real estate doesn't think much of cars. They see cars as a necessary evil that should be small, neat, out of sight, and never, ever worked on at the property no matter what, it's an act as unsightly as sodomizing a dead bear on your driveway. Look at any renderings for houses that are planned, there's one little Smart-like thing parked in front of each house, if any cars are present at all.

Same with computers really, in renderings of the study inside a house the "workstation" consists of a Mac Air lookalike sitting on an artsy little mini-desk with no cables in sight. Noticing a pattern here?

mtn wrote: Might I ask, how have you found them? I'm in a position where I am probably going to be buying a house (cause it is freakin cheaper than renting for cryin out loud), and one of my wants is an extra garage.

Partially luck... but when we (married...) find a house that looks like it might hit some of the other criteria (budget/school district / 3+BR / fireplace) I will always look at the property on Bing Maps using their "Birds Eye" view that lets you view the property from every angle.

Secondly from just driving around (more luck here)

...and thirdly from doing a search including lot size as criteria (1/2 acre+). Since second garages and few and far between, my thought here is that if I'm buying a house, I want the ability to add a garage in the future, so I need a lot that would facilitate either a garage expansion or second garage some day. I'm pretty entrenched in my industry, and I don't want to uproot my kids from whatever school district we end up in, so I don't want to lock myself out of future options on enjoying my hobby/garage. Garages are cheaper than houses to build, so if we can find a house/lot that does everything we want, I can add a garage someday.

GameboyRMH wrote: Real estate people tend to be *just horrible* with all things computer-related and photography-related. Just comically bad. .... I think it's a profession where the technophobic are taking refuge from the modern world.

Agreed, and this is an opportunity for you logdog. Rather than clinging to the ways of the past, embrace the internet. Make a stellar home page for each house. The other thing that pisses me off is realtors that won't put the address in their posting online so you have to call them... all you have to do is Google the MLS# and the city and you'll find the address. Don't play those games. People have internets. MLS listings are online. The profession is changing, don't hide from it.

I was a realtor for just over 2 years. I make no money. I spent tons in fuel and plane tickets traveling all over Texas. Got screwed out of over $1.5M in commission on one deal alone, $30k on another. Been lied to, yelled at, screwed over, and cheated. Not really different from retail automotive repair shops, but I keep coming back to that as it's kind of expected in this line of work. It was kinda fun being out and looking at beautiful places, but my experience was teh suck. YMMV though.

I am not one but I have used them.
My analogy is that Realtors are very much like UsedCar Salesmen. Lets face it, they are not selling you a new house but rather a used house and like cars, most all of them have some mechanical or physical deficiency which the salesperson would rather have you not know about.
This and other factors lead to a notoriously "ethics-challenged" industry.

Also, like cars, I find there are many people in the house business that know very little about houses. Far less than they would lead you to believe.

In addition, ask yourself how many people you know in your social/economic circles that are likely to sell or buy a house in the next 5 months. Now, of those few people, how many would be likely to go at it with you as their Realtor?
My guess is that number is small so therefore how do you plan to change your social/economic circle to have more of these people?

How good are you at online social sites like FB and Linkedin, etc?
How savvy are you at blast email communications and or newsletter capability? Have you used twitter?

On the topic of ethics-challanges...
I personally got a great house at a great price about a year ago. That was because my Realtor provided me with some "interesting information" that he "overheard" in his office being said by one of his coworkers.
In short, due to what he overheard, he snaked the deal away from his co-worker who also had a customer trying to buy the house.
Buyer number one (the other guy) did all the hard work (dick style negotiation work) and drove the sellers down to a crazy low price and crazy good terms. Knowing what I knew, I just had to walk in with the money since guy number 1's purchase was contingent on selling his current home.
I had no contingency and I could close in 20 days.
For the price of an average home, I got a spectacular home/location.

Turns out that buyer number 1 was President of the Country Club that my house backs up to and his Realtor a member. I am just one house away from the Clubhouse.
My previous house was on a CC too. We were not members of that CC either but at least once a quarter they send us something trying to get us to join. I was quite surprised when we moved here that we were not contacted directly by the club. Seems that the President may hold a grudge.

In this case, the lack of Realtor ethics worked to my advantage but boy, what a dog eat dog world. Had I been the other buyer or the seller, I would have been pissed.

Conquest351 wrote: Got screwed out of over $1.5M in commission on one deal alone

A $1.5M screwing-over is "going to court" material.

i am also thinking of leaving auto repair to become a realtor since one of my side projects is rental property.. i'd like to switch from rental property to repairing, improving, and reselling. this thread was super helpful so far. but, does the braintrust know, would it be beneficial for me to get my license if my main goal is just to flip houses?

If you had your license and acted as your own agent, you would essentially be paying some of the sale commission to yourself so yes, that would be a financial benefit.
More over, I would think the benefit would be of being "in the know" of what is going on in your marketplace.

GameboyRMH wrote:

Conquest351 wrote: Got screwed out of over $1.5M in commission on one deal alone

A $1.5M screwing-over is "going to court" material.

Yeah, but it was because of a "buyer" writing bad checks for a $30M property and then disappearing altogether. It's a long story and pisses me off every time I tell it. LOL

mrjoshm wrote: i am also thinking of leaving auto repair to become a realtor since one of my side projects is rental property.. i'd like to switch from rental property to repairing, improving, and reselling. this thread was super helpful so far. but, does the braintrust know, would it be beneficial for me to get my license if my main goal is just to flip houses?

A few rental properties are also on my to-do list of global domination. I realize I dont have to be a realtor for this but I am sure it wouldnt hurt to have a similar network.

Realtors are a dying breed. We bought and sold our last two homes without one. Everyone has an internet connection now and you can look at all the available offerings without a realtor pressuring you to buy the one that will make him the most money. The legal stuff is all done by a notary or a lawyer anyway, so the main job of the realtor is to put the buyer and seller together. I would suggest if buying a house, then find one you want, wait for the listing to expire and approach the seller privately. You will save huge. Sure worked for us.