I am done my course and will be interviewing with brokers such as Remax, Century21 and Sutton within the next week.

I have heard such good things about the Remax brokerage in my area and all the successful (top performing) realtors in my area are with this broker.

I want to know if Remax is worth the investment (time and money) and if I can really be more successful with them as opposed to Century21 because of the training, marketing name and surroundings?

Does Remax really have a good training program to increase the chances of success (apprentice program)?

Is it really worth the initial investment?

Should I weigh out my options and not consider the banner to start in the business?

Hi there.. I'm also a new agent and just signed with remax this week. There is alot of confusion when it comes to RE/MAX. Alot of people think that you have to pay dearly to work for them. Reality is that you do not. I was under this misconception as well until I met with them. Most RE/MAX offices offer a 50/50 or 70/30 split for new agents so that you don't have to pay the desk fee. Once you get established and start doing deals regularly you can go on the 100% split and pay the desk fee. When you compare what you will pay RE/MAX including the desk fee to what you would pay the other brokers at a lower split and no desk fee, RE/MAX comes out the winner. If your volume is good you will pay RE/MAX way less that a traditional broker.

so check out your RE/MAX office and inquire about the 50/50 and 70/30 split. It was a no brainer for me.

Every RE/MAX office is independently owned and operated, with as many variations as you can possibly think of. Interview the different Brokers they all have unique business plans.

Every RE/MAX office is independently owned and operated.

one more thing about the RE/MAX split is that they have a cap. after you reach the cap in commission contributions you stop paying comission for the rest of the year!

Not in any Re\Max office I have talked to.

I started with Cowldell Banker Residential Brokerage. Their split is poor but you will receive great training there. They had been trying to recruit from different RE/Max offices but they had not offer me any good training. You may find some with good trying, I don't know.

RE/MAX, like any other brokerage, has to be competitive in the marketplace it's in. When I started with RE/MAX in 2000, they had a flat desk fee and didn't even offer a split. Now, in my office at least, they do have a split because too many agents can't afford the desk fee.

In the past, RE/MAX did not usually offer training because their desk fee structure didn't encourage new agents to join. However (again, in my market), RE/MAX is recruiting new agents, so there is some training. HOWEVER - this training will be office-specific and may not exist in some.

Is it worth having the balloon? Yeah, I like being with RE/MAX, mainly due to the perception that it's where serious agents end up. But if I left the company would I lose business? Nah. If I were new and looking for a company, do I think I'd do better at RE/MAX versus somewhere else just due to the name? Nah.

Interview around and find the place that feels right. If it's not right, you can leave - it's really not that big of a deal.

I don't even work in an office for my Re/Max Team. In fact, the Re/Max Advantage Plus Broker also owns another brokerage called Agent Referral Network, which operates under the Re/Max umbrella.

So all my transactions go through Re/Max, but I only pay $263 in desk fees a month. My split is 50-50 for a "Team Generated Lead" or 80-20 for a "Personally Generated Lead".

I also pay a $495 transaction fee for every deal. But in the end it keeps my monthly cash flow budget down.

I also notice that Re/Max is still making a big push with their national and local advertising, trying to get people off the fence for buying into this great Buyer's Market. I think that speaks volumes to their success as a business.

I am still new at this. Can you tell me if I understand how splits & such work...Hypothetically..if a house sells for $300,000 at 6% commission (I know commission is negotiable..just a hypothetical number here)... That would give $18,000 that the listing agent & Buyers agent to split. Then each agent splits that amount with their broker, depending on the agreement. A 70/30 split would mean broker gets 30% of that $9,000 & agent gets 70%. Correct? Are there usually any more fees that you pay out of that? Steve mentioned a transaction fee. I am sure there are many things that agents have to pay for, but I am wondering what usually (or can) come right out of your commission.

My office requires me to pay a $30 per transaction E&O insurance fee.

Also, the franchise gets 8% of every commission, before my split with the broker.

But that's just for my office; each office is different.

I sure hope Tycoon isn't still looking for a company to sign up with.

He's probably looking for #2 by now.

Tycoon: when you start out, you want good training. Go with the office that will help you get the best skills. Once you know what you are doing, look around for an arrangement that can put the most money in your wallet.

Don't make a decision based on company brand, base it on training and support.

I was with RE/MAX for 4+ years. It was where 'seasoned' agents went. Then they started to hire new agents. Changed the atmosphere. The office I was at was not set up to train new agents.

I'm with EXIT Realty now and they have the best training programs I've seen so far in the business. Make sure the office offers the Live Interactive Training and EXIT Online University.

Splits are 70/30 on your first 100K gross commission and 90/10 after that for the rest of the year.

I started out with a brand name company but my focus was consistently investors and REO. The education was priceless but a 50/50 split on a $1000 commission was a killer. I was there for the first several years of my career and after that went to a 100% brokerage with a low monthly fee.

The thing that I have found about the 100% brokerages that have solicited me, at least as I have noticed, is that there is little to no training. Most agents that are on board are performers and need very little guidance.

how many agents are at your office?

how many have brought in 100k in gross commission?

Tycoon

The other are telling you to go somewhere with great training. Viktor suggested Cowldell Banker, yes I know what he meant, as a matter of fact I'm old enough to remember when it was Coldwell, Cornwall,and Banker.

Anyway they had a training program that provided the basics but their scripts were awful. I would get ex-agents from them and they sounded like robot insurance salesman, I had to retrain them. So unless they have greatly improved since then, forget it.

I found a small office with high producing agents gave the best training even though often times it was indirect training. You can add to it with self training from the library and the bookstore. Plus the positive atmosphere is priceless.

And don't think just because it is Coldwell Banker that all their training is equal. It varies with the franchise. They do have this or did have this faststart program at the franchise I worked at for awhile. It was taught by an agent that rarely sold more then 2 properties a year, but was an "expert" It taught only prospecting. No contract training at all. You could get much better prospecting training by buying one of the marketing systems by many of the real estate trainers out there and following them.

I was forced into taking this class as I was new to the company. Luckily the first company I was with had great training and taught new agents everything.

What is most important, I think, for a new agent is to find an office that trains you in the legal aspect of real estate. Contracts, your area laws and regulations, state law, MLS rules and how to use it. All the things that will help you when you actually have a client and need to do a transaction. Knowing this will make you look experienced to your first few clients. Then they need to teach you how to market yourself and get leads.

What kinds of things would you want training for? How to handle a short sale or REO? Prospecting? Something else? Thanks.