Hi,

I have worked as an Administrative Assistant for years and am considering switching gears and becoming a real estate agent but everyone is so negative about it!

I am very good with people but I am not overly aggressive or "cut throat". Would I be able to succeed in this business? Perhaps those "sales skills" just come with time and experience.

Any advice would be wonderful!

even though im not a realestate agent i can tell you that you will need some money saved up for expenses and living.

i would say do a lot of research and then go to school get your lisence and then start doing it part time.

then if you start enjoying it partime and think you can make it then do it full time.

Hi Tori,

I suggest that you put those administrative assistant skills to work and get a job as a real estate assistant! That is how I started in the business (not by choice - but the pay way great!). That way you will really learn the ropes and be able to decide if this is right for you.

Tori,

become a real estate assistant to a high producing agent if possible. you will learn a lot from watching someone that does a lot of business. you will see many real estate related documents that you would get used to also. it would be a good experience for you. then you might even get your license and work as an agent on the team that you're assisting too!

Thanks everyone for your responses! I suppose I will keep my eyes open for Real Estate Assistant positions. Another good thing is that i have my Paralegal degree and already know a little about Real Estate and Real Estate law.

Thanks!

Tori.... the assistant idea is great. I also agree that if you want to be an agent, have enough cash saved up to take care of the basics for at least 6 months.

Let me just suggest you do the upfront research. Visit with some brokers, talk to some top producers in their offices. Get a feel for what they are doing and how they are getting their business.

Once you are armed with that info, you will be in a better position to decide what route to take.

I have never met you, so I am not going to presume anything. But if you do your research and really believe you can do well as an agent, go ahead and do it.

If you do want to do the assistant thing, your time doing research will at least give you leads on agents who just might need an assistant.

Oh... and get the license - even if your just going do the assistant thing. Assitants that are licensed have an edge over others.

R

Thanks R.! All very good advice and I am thinking seriously about giving this a try. I have been looking alot at the classifieds here in Massachusetts and I really never see jobs for Assistants in a Real Estate office. I'm thinking about just going ahead and getting my license. My next question is if you work for a broker, do you get any kind of base salary or is it all just commission?

Read this: http://homebuying.about.com/od/realestatecareers/a/career_advice.htm

You'll need startup money and a whole lot of ambition in this business. There's a reason almost every new agent fails.

For those who do succeed there's great money to be made and a wonderful lifestyle, but don't think for a minute it won't be competitive and for every success story there are probably 99 failures.

if you would like to know what it takes to be a real estate agent, you should check out www.realestatecareersecrets.com

I like the idea of starting as an admin assistant at a RE office. Then you can get a feel for the occupation before going at it.

Realize most people who get into this business fail. It's a tough business and everyone's not cut out for it. You may be one of the good ones, but you should feel it out first.

You generally won't see asst. positions in the classifieds. Just go through and call some brokers and ask if they have any agents looking for an assistant.

This is my first year. I have been doing it part time. I have been aggresive, knocking on doors alot of advertising, signed up with every bpo/reo company i could find. Most likely when my license is up next april I will probably hang it up. With the amount of effort I have put into it I haven't made much money, enough to cover my desk fees and expenses that is about it. Not to mention this time of year in my area is almost nothing. If you have a spouse to pick up the insurance and maybe a pention/401 or anything else then maybe you can give it a shot.

Good Luck

To answer your initial question: Yes! I would recommend this as a career if you will do whatever it takes to be successful. Success is different for each person and up to you to define. This is a wonderful career and I love it! Having said that, I still don't know how anyone could be a great agent while having a full-time job too, but I guess there are jobs out there that make that a possibiity. I've just never had one and not sure how I could give first-class service and the proper attention to my real estate clients while working a job, but that's just me.

This career offers alot of freedom, no doubt about that. At this point I feel that you would be better off investing in real esate rather than selling it. I see investors coming our office and buying properties and making more than the commission attatched to the property. But like everything else knowledge is everything.

Tori:

I'm new, but I doing rather well, and plan to be in this business for the long haul after a career change from computer engineering.

Here's my suggestions:

Listen to the established pros here . . . there advice is golden.

If you chose to become an assistant first, ask lots of questions at the appropriate times and make sure you work for someone who will give the answers.

Lastly, don't overestimate "sales skills". My success so far has been from acting more as a consultant, helping and guiding my clients through the buying/selling process. Nobody likes used car salesmen. Don't worry about building a "hard close" technique or buying lots of scripts that tell you how to handle common objections. Just talk with people and listen. That closes deals.