I have been going back and forth with the idea of becoming a real estate agent for the past 2 years. Its just such a hard decision for me because I would have to work my full time job and try to get my real estate career going at the same time. Not to mention all the start up costs... Anyway I really think i am going to do it this time, but what are the reasons you think agents always say "Dont do it" or "Turn and run in the other direction"? I think it would be the most ideal job for me, i am such an outgoing people person and the one thing i like about my current job is connecting and speaking with my customers. Okay questions:

-Would you say a real estate agent works more during the day or at night?

-Are their ALOT of weekend hours?

-Do you HAVE to have open houses? Ive heard they are a waste of time.

-How much did you make your first year?

If anyone can answer any (or all) of my questions or has anything to add let me know i would be so thankful!! Thanks so much in advance!!

Ashley

It sounds like you DO NOT want to be a regular agent.Most work weekends long days and nights and are on call most of the time.

This is why I love COMMERCIAL real estate.You work virtually no weekends,most of the the work if not all is during the day,and your clients don't call you at night because they donot want to be bothered either after managing there assetts and investments or running there businesses!!

I worked long hours with my previous businesses but the lifestyle was killing me.jmho

Depends on what you mean by "work."

I work both day and night. During the day I'm on the phone, showing properties, doing stuff at the office.

At night, I'm answering email, researching the MLS, taking my continuing ed courses, learning more stuff, blogging, etc.

Yes, most agents work on weekends. It's pretty much a given that your Saturday and Sunday may be spent showing properties.

The hours are what you define for yourself (and too few will spell failure!) Typically I do my field work during daylight hours and office work at night.

I agree with whoever told you open houses are a waste. Apparently they do work for some agents in some areas but after a couple of years of that I stopped wasting time on them.

First year you can consider to be successful if you have covered your expenses, by the second year you should start to make money.

IMHO, in order to be successful in real estate you will work long hours and weekends. Another thing to consider is that working with clients is almost a secondary task. You need to consider yourself a marketer as well as an agent.

I usually do two open houses per month. They can be a waste of time depending on how you look at them and how well you advertise them, and the location of the house itself...

There will be people who really swear by open houses, there will be people who hate them. I never consider my open house time as "wasted." I take something with me to do in case there are no shows; letters to write, bring my laptop to write blog drafts (in a word processor in case there is no internet), I download pictures from my camera into the computer to edit them, or, if I feel like totally goofing off, I bring a DVD and watch a movie on my laptop and consider it some quiet R&R away from the kids and the office phones.

I do not consider them a waste. Others may go ahead and believe I'm wasting my time, but I don't care.

That said, if your office isn't doing a lot of consistent open houses it may not be as effective - one or two open houses scattered here or there probably is a waste.

I work about 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. You basically pick how busy you want to be. I plan on keeping this up for about three years and then backing down to about 40 hours a week.

If you don't have savings, you'll need that full time job for at least the first six months of your career.

I think a realistic goal to set for yourself is to make about 60k in your first year.

12 hours/day 7days/week , you'll make more than $60K/year IMO

So 13.70 about an hour average before commission split,taxes,expenses,etc.

If you are going to do that you might as well work a corporate job and get a better return then that.:)

The key to hours is to multi-task and get others to do the grunt work for you. Its totally possible to make $60K a year working just 20-25 hours a week, and even less if you know what you're doing. If you use that down-time-open-house-time to generate more leads, then you can really cut down on the number of hours you even NEED to work. Then it becomes more of how much you WANT to work. And using the internet to work FOR YOU (as we all know) can help generate leads around the clock.

are we counting time sitting @ the computer goofing off or just hours actually working productively???

^^That's difficult for me to differentiate. I time on the computer consists of goofing off in between actually doing something "productive."

They're so intertwined; I think I'd consider time posting here as "professional consultation."

if goofing off in all it's various forms is not included in "working hours" then I reckon I work about 5 hours a week, maybe 10???

Today I came in the office at 8:30, been busy. Its now 7:30pm, and Im still working. Likely will take a break soon and put the kids in bed and come back down and work.

Like Perkey, some of the time is also intertwined with playing as well and personal calls, watching my wife shovel snow, and playing with the kids.

The amount of hours I work is hard to say. Its over 40 hrs easily and its 7 days a week (If I choose it to be). I like to do Open Houses, I find it a great time to get away from the kids for a couple houses, peace and quiet, and get some reading done. Once in a blue moon I can score a client, but I don't bank on it.

I'm the same way, only I watch my hubby shovel snow!!!

If I work 12 hours/ 7 days per week i would better go to work somewhere for $20 per/hour, eight hours per day, but have more time for me and my family. It is not how long you work, it is how efficiently you work. If I wait to answer the e-mails during the night I will not have a single client left.

9 am to 7 pm everyday except Saturday afternoons that I usually take off & try to have some fun.

It's a fair trade off for me having the personal freedom of not having an employer.

My hours differ from day to day and week to week. I consider myself a full-time Realtor, but I am also a "full-time" mom of three. So, some weeks I am home with them all day and leave when my husband gets home from work to show property, and sometimes I am gone all day and they are at Grandma's. Sometimes I will work every single day for weeks straight and sometimes I will take a step back and concentrate on my family. My kids are still young (6, 4, 3) so when I am working a lot I notice a direct correlation between that and their behavior, as in they are brats when I am gone too much. I put as much time in my business as I can at this point in my life, and until they are older and more independent I won't be the top producer in my company, but that is OK with me. I will have plenty of time when they are older to be a workaholic.

My hours vary considerably (as needed to fit the tasks at hand), some days there is time to do and enjoy other things including out of state trips to see family. Other days are long and full with both meals and sleep missing. Just depends on what needs to be done at the time.

If I stay in the office or at my computer all day waiting for emails to come in so that I can answer them, then I won't sell anything - and if I'm checking email while out with clients and customers, I'll lose them.

I answer email as they come in according to my availability. My comment about answering emails at night did not mean I let them all wait until night - it meant that if I have email to answer at night then I answer it then.

If you like what you do, the hours don't matter in my opinion. I have learned to not chase the money, but go after your passion. That way when you have to work long hours, like a lot of jobs do, you don't get so burned out.

How did you get into Commercial? Thank you.

In my previous job, also as an independant contractor, I figured out I could have worked for $12 an hour one year and made the same amount of money. However...I could turn off the computer and go to the beach and watch the sunset if I wanted, or start working at noon if I wanted, or take any day off and then work later the next day...it's all about choice and flexibility. I could never work in a cubicle again, I did that for 15 years.

Though I try to have a life, I work around the clients schedule when I have to. I remember once I was signing a contract with a buyer at 11:15 P.M. on a New Years Eve. I would have done it earlier if I could, but it was the only time that worked for the client. You gotta do, what you gotta do.

I'd rather seal a deal then party... well, usually.

Seal the deal THEN party!!!

Yeah, that's actually the way it was, but Mama wasn't very fond of my Happy Hour ways, so I had to retire from the circuit. Best thing I've ever done.

Hey Jim,

Sorry didn't see the post until now.

A little background on me.I have owned a few businesses before.One was a car audio business,one an internet business,and the last one before real estate was a pizza delivery place.The most important thing is I understand how business people think and what they want and that helps out tremendously in the commercial arena.

I was successfull before and loved the pizza business.

I used to feel like this:

"If you like what you do, the hours don't matter in my opinion. I have learned to not chase the money, but go after your passion. That way when you have to work long hours, like a lot of jobs do, you don't get so burned out."


This is the number one mistake people make.Life is all about BALANCE,people might not like to admit it but if you are too much in one area other areas of your life suffer for it.In the pizza business I worked long hours and had lots of money.Guess what I didn't have time to spend it!!So I adde don weight,cholesterol was through the roof,and spending time with friends and loved ones was non-existent.

I have since learned you have to get balance emotionally,financially,spiritually,and physically to truly be happy in life.Yes if you love something you will do it more but anyoen successful will tell you AT SOME POINT you will hit a wall and burnout.I could do alot more business than I do now but I am happy with my life and income so It works for me.Holidays,family times,birthdays etc. you can never get back once there gone there gone.

You will find if you work to much your level of service whether you like it or not will go down/everyone has to recharge to stay at top performing levels.

The reason I got out of the pizza business as well is the market peaked 15 years ago.Used to you could just buy a burger or pizza to go.Now you have almost every fast food joint you can think of out there.So unless you are in an emerging town with little competition it's hard to turn a decent buck in the pizza business anymore.Pizza Hut,Papa Johns,and Dominos are just trying to hold margins and market share right now.

How I transferred into Commercial Re is a developer was trying to buy my friends commercial building and he asked me to help.The developer and I met several times after that at restaurants negotiating the contract.The developer liked my work so much he trained me on land assemblage and put me to work on other projects as well.Some of my friends manage the retail center tenants and things like that but I am not much into Property Management.

I'm in this same boat, it really varies but I am always in work mode and on top of what I have going on. There will come a time when I can focus more on my business. I currently do not bite off more than I can chew, even tho I know it means making less money because then I won't be serving my clients or my family well.

I sold one house in the last 3 years because of an open house! But, sellers love agents that do open houses. Personally, I think being in church & home with your family on Sundays is better time spent! Only when buyers from out of town are interested in a showing do I have showings on Sundays.

I used to punch a clock and go to work. I think it is finding the balance between real estate and family life that makes this career so rewarding. It is the being able to pick the kids up at school, clear your schedule if they are sick, go on the field trip and schedule real estate around your "family appointments" that make this the best job ever. It isn't always about the money. Punch a clock if you want the sure thing!

hmm, one year i got $270K, average is about $160K per year. My target is about $350K this year. I already close 4 transactions this year, average sold price is about $800K. ( 2 more will be closing soon )

my work hour? let's see. today's schedule
5am- get up and check emails, check BPO orders.
6am- shower
6:30am-7am- jogging
8am- take my kid to school
8:40am- check emails ( i have cellphone that can check emails too )
9am- take my 2008 prius car to dealer for 5000 miles maintanence
10:40am- check my new listing and get the garage remote control from the vacant house (for open house during this weekend), check mails from post office, deposit checks into my account
11:20am- take wife and baby to costco for some supply, got phone call from my buyer(all cash buyer, close the deal last month) about some moving boxes for me, i call my other buyer (close the transaction 3 days ago) to see if he like the boxes. check emails from my cellphone and reply emails to escrow officer and seller
12-1pm stay at home, check computers, review mls listings, return calls to potential buyers on my listings,
1pm-1:40pm- lunch
2pm-4pm- pick up my kid from school and go to lakeshore for exam prep book
4pm-6pm- sleep ...
6pm-7pm reply all emails

recommendations to new agent, get a cellphone that can reply emails and have several phone numbers ( one for mls, so agents leave voice mails )(one for very important clients, like sellers) ( one for 800 numbers )

hmm, yes, i work from home.

My hours are anytime Sunday-Friday. I don't work on Saturdays.

Does anyone on this board have an assistant?? They can call clients and answer emails and all kind of neat stuff! They can even call you on the golf course or the boat if they have a problem or a question! BigC

Everything depend how you will get organized.

First year is the hardest, plan to work lots of nights and all weekends - the expenses are high the first year and you are lucky to break even. I was actually in the red the first year and made a profit the second year and between the expenses and commissions broke about even after two years and this is working 60-80 hour weeks. In the third year things took off and I made a very nice profit and have keep it steady every year since. After five to six years, I noticed that you could work fewer hours for the same money due to client referals and repeat client business. It takes that long to really get close to only a 40 hour week. Now I do not work Sundays except for an open house once in awhile and sometimes for buyers that have NO other day to look at houses (I'm pretty strict about my Sundays off). I have found the Sundays off does not hurt my business but it took me five years to be able to do this.