Siberian, that's exactly what I was saying. My area is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. It is also one of the fastest growing cities for agent population too. The better the hotspot, the more agents trying to collect. Pretty obvious concept.

Also, this person is from FL. That is probably one of the areas feeling the most pain right now. I get listings everyday from FL agents desperate to unload listings. If they are emailing me listings in NY, they are obviously desperate.

I found out last year that truly the worst case scenario is being in a agent-glutted market during a SLOW DOWN. From Dec of last year until Nov. of this year literally NOTHING moved. Even experienced agents were tapping credit lines to pay their mortgages. Not funny. We have hit bottom and it has cleared out some of the excess inventory and excess agent population - a lot of people quit. Also, buyers are back. But the same is not true for FL. They overbuilt so wildly that it may take years for that market to recover. All of the market reports indicate that FL has a lot of pain left. The last thing I'd want to be is a new agent in FL right now.

Ok, I'm going to pull away here from what everyone else is saying.

Hard work, long hours, there is NO job no more rewarding than selling real estate IF you love it.
C'mon guys...this kid is 23 years old..there is no better time for him to try his hand at this and, if he's got the guts and the patience, he just may succeed. He didn't say he didn't want to work ... he said he didn't want to work for something that wasn't "his". And broker splits, taxes, and all...it would be HIS.

So Porf25, You're young...I say go for it now. Everything everyone posted is TRUE...I'm not saying it isn't. Save up some money (move back with your parents if you can!)work your butt off and give it TIME.

You may hate it...but then you'll know it's not for you. And then again, you may love it...warts and all.

I got my license when I was 22. I wish someone told me the negatives about the business before I jumped in head first! My first year was extremely difficult. These are pieces of advice to HELP you, not deter you away! If all you want to hear is the positives, go back to fantasyland.

Got mine when I was 22 as well 007 and I agree. I had a very good frist year, but I busted my @ss to get what i got

Ok, here's my biggest worry for you. It sounds as if your "day job" consists of long hours and poor pay. If things DON'T go well - how are you going to make ends meet? For example, I'm an adjunct professor. I teach about 12 hours a week and most of the "time" is preparing lectures. Sometimes I work up to 30 hours a week at this. However, apart from the 9-12 hours I am actually teaching I can choose my work hours. Therefore I am largely free to work with clients- free to go to appraisals, free to chase lawyers and contracts. If I have to prep a lecture at 3 AM - so be it...I can still manage both responsibilities. My question to you is how are you going to balence this? Because given where you are, I have to tell you that your first 2 years are going to very, very rough and you are going to desperately need a regular income. Your area is absolutely SATURATED with realtors. It is also an area that has been hard hit by the slump. That means more people chasing fewer deals. How are you going to support yourself until you get established without working 12 hours a day at your "day job"?

I don't think anyone said anything worth getting mad about... the thing is, it's one thing to hear that you need to be prepared to not make any money for months and months, but it's another thing entirely to experience it, and people have just been letting you know that you should expect things to work out like they do for most of us- the first year will be a fairly brutal experience, and you need to be prepared financially and emotionally for that.

For instance, how much money do you have in the bank? At your current salary, you are living on $2k a month, so you should have about $12k in the bank before you quit your job to live like you do now. I'd say that's a minimum; that's what I had (note the past tense!) and it was barely enough! Your money will drain away from you like you can't imagine right now; you'll spend at least $2k-$4k getting up and running with all the dues, a computer or two, signs, advertising, etc. Anyway, the point isn't that you can't do this -you can!- but that you need to be prepared to literally make NOTHING for six months or longer. And then it's not like in 6 months the money hose turns on and you are suddenly rolling in it; it's just that if things work out, you'll pull a commission or two around that time and buy yourself some more time.

You asked for specifics. I got my license in early October '06. About 3 weeks ago, I sold two homes in a week, one of which closes in a few days, knock on wood, and the other closes in a couple weeks, again knock on wood. I will get about $14k in commission from the two sales, pre-tax. I have a few other decent prospects, and I think I'll get at least one more sale from them in the next couple months. So, it looks like I should be able to survive another 6 months even with no sales, based on the money from these two. Knock on wood. But it was a near thing; I am down to about $3k in savings and was a couple weeks from selling a couple high-dollar personal items (guns and guitars) to make sure I didn't cut it too close.

So that's how it works. You might close a sale or two sooner, you might light the world on fire, but by far the most likely scenario is that you will scramble, hustle, flail, and either get lucky and make a sale or two early on, insuring you live to fight another day, or you also might NOT get a sale early on, in which case what will you do? That's the reality.

The trick is not to do well long-term; if you can stay in the biz and have any aptitude for it, the long-term prospects are good. The trick is to MAKE IT to the long term! So don't quit your day job until you have some savings...

Good luck!

-jeff

It all about do your home work. Talk to as many companies as you can. Find out who works better for you. Some companies cover your marketing and some don't. So companis give you a 50-50 split. Some like Keller Williams Realty give most new agents 70-30 split (70 to you). But You market yourself.

No matter what you do make sure you go with a company that offers more training. Real Estate is always chaging. You need to know all the new laws in your area. You need to know what other agents in your area did to be some of the best. Find out if they have a mintor program where you can shadow an agent and see how they do their craft.

Go to http://www.4saletours.com for more information about Keller Williams Realty.

I am interested in all that you folks have had to say in this thread. I am on the cusp of startup with a local broker, have had my exams passed since last August, and waiting for the opportune time to enter the field. I will be keeping my part time job, which has benefits and medical, and working my way in gradually. I have only found one broker who is supportive of this kind of startup.

I am glad to hear all the points you have made, good and not so good, and the caution. I am not expecting to perform miracles right off the bat, but have an amazing network in this rural Ontario community and am counting on that for professional visibility.

Glad to hear all the points raised, and also glad to hear that some people CAN make a success by starting in part time.

Porfirio I would recommend one thing. STAY ON THE WEB! Constantly post and learn in Forums, write a blog, start a website. If you do all of these things, you will succeed. GOOD LUCK!

I agree 100% with Conceps05's words. The market situation only change the way that you are going to use to be successful in your business. For a young agent with that raw energy and motivation, a strict discipline and preparation along with the support of a prestige company conduce inevitably to the success. If the market is depressing 25% you have to work as hard as this take to have your portion of the other 75% remaining. There is a proved statement in sales that certify: 20% of the sales representatives are selling 80% of the inventory while the 80% are selling just 20% of it. The human been nature (as everything on the Universe) have a tendency to the maximum of Entropy or minimum the Energy and that is the factor that to permit a real “warrior” to become first in a successful beginner and then in a Master Sales Agent. If you believe in you success you will have it. I warranty it!