Where do you find the right balance between trying to generate enough income to start your real estate business and have a balance in life? I got my license in November 2005 and took a job as a office support person so I would have a small salary to live on until I built my business. This company expects me to keep my license current, take continuing ed classes, pay for my own supra key and MLS fees, etc, as if I were a commissioned agent. I was also told I could sell to anyone nights and weekends for extra income, as long as my work gets done. I have completed five sales so far, all very small profit once you take all the splits into account. The owner knows I cannot survive on my salary alone. The co-owner recently announced that office staff will no longer get leads through the group and cannot miss any work time M-F for inspections, closings etc. I assist a team of 20 people and we close approx 20-30 transactions a mo on the list side, another 15 on the buy side. I am avail 7 days a week via cell and am usually in the office one day of each weekend to help out. I have also given time nights and weekends to show homes for other agents, sit Open Houses, and start inspections when others are not available, with no compensation. Others in the office receive referral bonuses basically to answer the phone for certain types of calls. I am expected to enter all the info into the dbase but they do the follow up. I guess my big question is do I have the right to try to generate leads and sales on my own to reach my own goals, or try to survive on an inadequate salary while I see the sales people grow rich through a substantial amount of work on my end? Is there ever a good transition point between having a salary you can count on or trying to make it on commission only the first two years?

I would either 1.ask for a raise 2.Now that i have established myself ask for the same bonuses as the rest of the office staff 3.renegotiate split since my fee is so small with the office job.


There are no 2 ways about it they are using you right now,you are new and have to pay your dues.HOWEVER if you don't ask they won't give.Most people are under the misconceptionthat if you work hard people will see that and reward you for it,bs!

Most times your boss and other people are too absorbed with there own jobs and problems to recognize how valuable you are.All they know is it's one less thing they have to deal with.

Say now that i am not knew anymore let's talk about my options.You obviously don't want to continue working for peanuts,what some of my friends do with office assistants is in addition to salary pay them a percentage of the closings.This way they are part of the team and motivated to do more.

good luck

You don't have to "pay your dues" in this or any business like Super said. You simply earn your keep.

Are they "using" you? Who cares, either the arrangement is mutually beneficial or it is not. That's up to you to decide.

Do you have "the right" to generate leads and make commissioned sales while working as a salaried member of the team? That's a question to ask your boss. If you don't like the answer you can negotiate or try and find a better deal elsewhere.

You said you "see the sales people grow rich through a substantial amount of work on my end" which tells me you resent your position in the company. That alone is enough reason to leave, and if I heard someone who worked for me say that I'd fire them on the spot. Your job is to do your job. If someone makes more money than you that's not your concern. If you want to be that person who gets rich that's great, go out and do it, but realize it's probably not as easy as it looks. And ... that person you resent did exactly what it is you currently fear doing, namely they gave up salary for a commission-only income.

You said you've done extra work for "no compensation" yet you also claim to work on salary. Salary means you get paid X no matter how many hours you work.

If you want to go commission-only you'll need to have a cushion of money in the bank before you start, or a side job, or both. You'll als oneed operating expenses which can be substantial depending on your business plan. It sounds like you are not well suited to your current job (you resent it), so you either need a pile of money to start or a different side job. I personally saved and borrowed money until I had sufficient money in the bank to do real estate, at which point I quit my 9-5 job and went into RE after I had my business plan all set up.

But if you don't have a pile of cash ready to burn starting out in this business, I can tell you that you'll be going from the frying pan into the fire. It doesn't sound like you're ready to me, but hey, prove me wrong.

Wait a minute, you just said you were licensed. Keeping your license current, taking CE and Realtor fees ARE responsiblities of licensed agents wether they're commissioned or not aren't they?

??? Of course you do. Why wouldn't you? I'm not sure what kind of agreement you've got with your company but if you've given them the authority to determine wether or not you can generate your own leads and sales then you really shorted yourself on that deal.

I think the most common answer that you'll get is that you need "x" amount of months income saved up before you get in this business. I put that in quotes because everyone seems to have a different opinion regarding how long it takes to really get going. No offense but I believe you really need to review your rights and responsiblities as an agent before you try negotiating with your broker.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I came into Real Estate after being laid off and didn't want to tap into reserves, which is the other reason I opted for a salary vs. straight commission. I have decided that since I CAN participate in a 25% referral bonus if I bring a potential buyer or seller to our team for one of the sales people to work with, I am going to go that route. I'm going learn as much as I can, and sock away any additional income I get for the first year so that I can switch over to sales once I have six months saved.