My wife and I are newly licensed. We've been out interviewing brokers. All 3 of the local biggies have compelling stories.
Just some very general impressions:
In our area, Remax is huge. I wouldn't be surprised if they had half the listings around here. Prudential is fairly big followed by C21.
Remax has so many fees, but they have such a good brand name around here and some of the really big producers. They have alot of agents locally too, which surely accounts for all the listings.
C21 has good training it appears and also is big in relocations, but this particular C21 franchise has a 2 yr no-compete in this area due to all the training they invest in newbies.
Prudential Gary Greene has good training and hardly any fees and a graduated commission scale.
This isn't alot to go on to ask you to form an opinion, but those of you who are an agent for any of these, please give me your opinions.
Does the big name really help?
THANKS!

2 year no-compete? Does that mean if you leave you can't work in that area for 2 years? If so, that would be a HGUE turn off for me! What if you simply didn't like the people in your office and wanted to make a switch?

That 2 year No-Compete clause is probably un-enforceable. I am sure the attorney for that C-21 franchise knows it but they have it there as a deterrent...., bottom line....It's probably bogus!!

They would have to sue you to enforce it & nothing will kill their reputation & recruiting efforts faster than suing an ex agent over a non compete clause. Like MDHomes2Go stated, it's a scare tactic.

I'd appreciate some comments from agents who have been affiliated with either Prudential, C-21 or Remax...I'm not really too concerned about the no-compete.

I can tell you, having just joined C21 that their training and systems are phenominal. Bit overwhelming at first. Just pick and choose. Great branding and recognition.

I work for a C21. Most people say C21 training is exceptional. It was practically nill where I am...Actually, let me rephrase...the person who conducted all the training was wonderful, but the way it was set up was terrible - making it impossible for her to do her job well.

However, from what I have read on this forum and on others, my experience was the exception, not the rule. I guess it depends on the individual franchise.

I am biased on this, but Keller Williams combination of training and commission splits will stack up against any company. But that's me, you gotta go where you're happiest. Best of luck in your search!

The right broker for you depends largely on your business model, which hopefully is built around your strengths and available resources.

If you don't have a business model laid out in full or aren't totally sure of your future success in this business, then you might look to a broker with very low fees and lots of training.

Also beware that not all offices within a given company are equal. For example Re/Max office A might be great, while Re/Max office B might be lacking in some respects. The same goes for Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, etc.

Anyhow, your first order of business is to ask yourself how you intend to get clients. Your skills in the various methods of doing so plus yoru cash reserves will largely dictate which kind of broker (if any) is best for you.

I am with C21 for 2 years and the training is great. We also not have lead router system and leads come directly to our cell phones and we do not have to do floor time. We a re now at the top of the market (our company).

I would try to find agents in your area that work for each company you are considering. As JFlynn said, the companies vary greatly from office to office because they are franchises, each independently owned & operated. Just look at the differences in SiberianWinter's response v. RealtorBarbaraT re: C21 training. I just hired a former C21 agent that has been in the business a very short time & received no training whatsoever.

I would ask each company what their turnover rate is. I would also ask to look at a training matrix & attend a training session. You don't really know what "phenomenal" training is until you experience it firsthand. "Phenomenal" is subjective. You need to find a training that fits YOUR business model. If you have prior sales experience then you probably don't need a training program that emphasizes sales skills (although there are very few RE companies that focus on those skills anyway).

And to answer your question: IMO, the big name means nothing if you are out there doing what you should be doing to generate YOUR OWN business. If you are not a go-getter then you may be better suited for company where you have floor duty in hopes of getting leads.

True, there will always be variations within each agency. But part of what makes KW great is that the entire company culture is training focused. Nationally, each KW office holds 3-4 trainings per week. Even though each office is independently owned, there is very much a top down focus from corporate when it comes to training.

However I will say, whatever the amount of training you receive you need to implement it. Training is only good if you put it into action.

OK. I have had my license since the beginning of 2005 and I started at a C21 office here. Their training was good but when I got out in the real world, they really weren't there for me much. I then switched to Prudential in February of this year and I have been doing much better. Maybe it's the atmosphere or the management, I'm not sure. But I am much happier where I am at now! I don't mind the gradual commission increase structures. I have heard of some crazy commission structures before too! If you are new, you are going to want some kind of training along with maybe a way to get leads through your company (floor time). Just my two cents.

Im my world, every new agent would serve a two year apprenticeship with one-on-one supervision and training.
I would reccomend that new agents join a team for the first year or two until you figure out what's what.

My wife and I have decided to be a team and join Prudential Gary Greene at the Clear Lake office in Houston. They seem to offer the best combination of training, reasonable splits, no franchise fee and have a large market share in Houston. We're looking forward to getting started.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions, advice and comments!

I should clarify my reccomendation by saying new agents would be better off joining a well organized, well established team with a strong leader and lots of leads. Two newbies teaming up is not the same thing.

Glad you made a decision.... There are lots more to do....

To strength and prosperity.... Congrats.

Thanks, fatmaxxv, your advice has always been extremely helpful.
Here's to Texas Real Estate!!!

Welcome to the Prudential family! We love it, and have heard great things about Prudential Gary Greene! Convention is in San Diego this year, if you can get in .. DO IT! We are a male female team in the DC area and the conventio last year really improved our business and motivated us!

I started with Prudential and their training was just fine. I agree with the others about the 2 year no compete thing. That seems odd although you will probably be with any of them for at least two years. I'm not so sure about Re/Max for a new agent. Great company and great when you have experience under your belt but cash flow is everything when you are starting and having someone carry your costs (with a split program) while your are getting established is big.

Well, I'm a little embarrassed to say, but we had a week delay in seeing the training person at Prudential as she was on vacation. This was to coordinate our training since my wife and I are going part time initially. In the meantime, I had heard more about Keller Williams. I figured it wouldn't hurt to interview one more broker. We were both very impressed with the way they appear to operate. The split was about 20% higher than we were going to get with the other firms and the agent focused environment and training really led us to change our minds and start our careers with KW. I've got nothing bad to say about Prudential at all, but this just seemed to be a better fit for us.
We faxed in our sponsorship forms to TREC from their office this evening and look forward to a long and productive relationship with Keller Williams.

No need to be embarrassed. You have to look out for #1 (you and your family)...and if you believe you made the right decision, then have no regrets! I'm sure everyone here would agree with that...regardlesss of where they work. Best wishes!

I've got no regrets, thanks. I think I may have been influenced early on by some people here who said something about the cap having to be restarted every agent fiscal year and that turned me off. What I didn't realize at the time was that the split was 70% starting out. With such a high starting split, I am not worried about it starting over yearly. So, we're very pleased and hope we will be down the road. Thanks everyone for all your comments and help.

Actually, the way my company has it (Prudential) is even though the dollar amount structure starts over every year, the commission split never drops down. It basically means in order to move up in commission split, you would need to produce a certain dollar amount in one year. If you don't the split doesn't drop though.

Hi Len,
Just curious, at what percent does Prudential's commission split start, and how high does it go? And at what production level do you need to attain to reach the highest split?

At KW in my region, to reach 100% you need $2.5 million in production. You then roll back to 70% on the anniv. of your hire date. And then the cycle starts again.

Regards,
Damon

If you are a brand new agent out of the box, they would usually start you out at 50/50 like most big companies. You then move up 5% every $10k you make in personal commissions. You can max out at 90%, unless you decide to pay a monthly fee for a private office. Then you can have 100%. But remember, each franchise is independently owned and operated. They all have different methods.

Hi ya'll,

I'm in Texas going to school to get my license but I was wondering if once I get my license in Texas can I go to another state like California and work? Do I have to take go to real estate school again in California or do I have to take the CA state test? Have any of ya'll sold properties out of the state that you business is in? Any advice would help.

Thanks

You cannot sell real estate in any state other than where you're licensed. You would have to go and get your license in the other state. That means you will have to take the schooling and the exam again for that state.