I worked for Prudential California Realty in 1999 through 2002. It was ran by a great owner that had about 9 offices throughout Southern California. It was a first class outfit and I would highly recommend his offices to anybody in the So Cal area. As far as the others go, I couldn't give you a first hand opinion.

I am currently with Coldwell Banker. I was with another company for about 6 months then switched. It is all about training. My first 6 months were pretty much a waste because I had no training, no help, and no support. I would hate to see anyone else go through the same thing. My CB office offers trainings weekly for new agents and the other agents in the office have been great to work with. There is CB University that offers online training in a variety of things. Coldwell Banker Works helps you work your business. Hope this helps.

The most important thing to remember when starting a real estate career, is that YOU are the reason you do business, not the real estate company you work for. I started my real estate career at Coldwell Banker, and after my first year in the business, I moved to Keller Williams Realty. I took all of my relationships with me. My clients were loyal to me...not coldwell banker.

Before you decide which real estate company to work for, I would also definitely consider a more innovative model like Keller Williams Realty. While the other four of the top five real estate companies lost market share last year, KW grew it's market share by over 36%!

The bottom line, is that the company understands that the agents are the reason they do business, so they offer the best agent training, education & support , compensation structure that includes profit sharing and higher commission splits and a company culture that is based around the idea of sharing ideas.

I have spoken to a couple of people about Exit Realty. And while I do not bite my nails at what is good for others, I get the vibe that exit may have an appeal to those who are adamant about doing RE only part-time and never intending to go fulltime. A split of 70/30 will sound appealing to anyone and no desk fees seems like you can negotiate that wherever you go. They just seem to put alot of emphasis on recruitment, nothing that tells me how they train their agents and market to people...I do see their signs in people's yards, but few and far between. At the end of the day, I think alot of agents as well as people who want to list their homes stick with name recognition above everything else. If I go to Coldwell Banker and stick with their 30 split, that seems alot less...but it's telling that Exit must not have alot of agents wanting to hop on board with them...70 percent of nothing doesn't sound very good to me.

Market share is local and the success is based mor eon the broker running the independant or the franchise than the franchise name itself.

Re/max claims they sell more real estate than anyone in the world.This might be true because of there sheer volume however in alot of markets they are getting there butts kicked locally.

So new agents look at the head broker and what they are doing in YOUR local market to gather whether to consider them or not.

people tend to forget sometimes that we are independent contractors. our success or failure lies only in our hands. the tools you need the most are the ones you already posess--common sense and a good work ethic. if you have those two tools and can adapt as you go, your chances of success will increase. at the end of the day if you cant pay your bills you will have to

ask yourself ----if i made 30% more, would i still be in business?------

there are plenty of people who can live on 60k a year, but go out of business because they have to give away half of that and make 30k then pay taxes on it!(something to think about when accepting a lower split)

educate yourself instead of waiting for training, you'll learn a lot from CRS,GRI,SRES, classes, you'll be better sooner and faster. let's say that it'll double or triple your income after you take the classes,

#1 reason to pick a company,. try to get the feeling that you like. i like the family feeling that one of the C21 branch. I do not like those companies which you can feel that everyone treat you as you are their enemy.

Well, the Create 21 is a requirement. So I have to take it. It last six weeks, but looking at the SRES here real soon. Looking forward to getting all 3 credentials.

The most important is what kind of support you will have. I love CBRB because they have great training, but the office is very important. I have great office with a personal coach and managers that always answer the phone when I need them. I have learned a lot of thinks, I have $64 for postage to farming, my colored copies are for free an all this included in office fee of $75, yes my split is not the best but for beginner support and knowledge is more important, money will come.

Don't forget 0 from 100% is 0, something from 50% from is something.

This again is going to vary from office to office. I know of a C21 office that is definitely dog-eat-dog. Every man for himself and watch your back.

The office I work out of now is very much like a family (yes and we even have spats like a family) but I would never assume that all Weichert franchises are like that. In fact, I would be surprised. I wouldn't necessarily work for Weichert again if I were to leave this office...it would have to "measure up." Who knows, if I move to Tennessee I may find a CB or C21 office that is run like my Weichert office...or I may end up at a Mom & Pop.

Just remember: Each office really depends on the broker and the people. c21 and CB are just logos...ya know?

I prefer Prudential.

I started at a C21 office. It was actually one of the top ten C21 offices in the country. Great training, it just wasn't my type of environment. I moved to Prudential 2 years ago and I have been happy with my move since. Prudential actually has the largest market share of the Las Vegas area too! That says a lot considering there are a TON of companies in my city.