Hi :) I have a few questions for all you RE Agents out there :)

I was wondering why you personally got into real estate? If you could do it again, would you? Why or why not? What is the best thing about being in the real estate business?

I LOVE IT.

I love houses, I love property, I love the process of getting listings, marketing them and then finding buyers.

Yes, I would do it again!

The best thing about the business? The entertainment factor - never a dull moment, and the fact that I can drive around seeing some of the most beautiful land in the state, and call it "work."

Of course with the crazy gas prices I don't drive around as much as I'd like...

I'm seriously not in it for the money - but the money is nice when I make it. I got into it both because I just WANTED to do it, and because I want to start building up a collection of investment property. Haven't done that yet but will.

You might find it helpful to look at a Thread entitled:

Making it to five years and beyond as an agent

from just a few months ago. I think the responses there will still be representative of today; at least mine are.

Hmmm, I seem to be having trouble finding this thread. Can you paste the URL possibly?

It started 4/23/08; and

http://www.agentsonline.net/forums/ubbth...html#Post221912

should get you there.

To love houses and people is a not a good reason to become a Realtor, because after few years in the business you will not love neither of them lol:-) I personally started because I like to compete, I like challenges and this business never allow me to get bored. RE business gives me freedom and independency, I could work like a horse, but I am flexible with my time and can take day off or vacation almost any time I want.

Sorry, Viktor - maybe it's not enough of a reason for you, but it was for me.

For me I love INVESTING....

I love finding the deal before the next person...

I enjoy working with my clients in more of a business environment such as 9 to 5 with no weekends. I did weekends and nights with my other businesses previously and made a life committment that I never wanted that again.

So far it's been awesome!

Super Realtor - does this mean you only use your license to purchase investment property? just wondering how you are getting around the weekends?

I do investing along with commercial property. Business owners and investors and developers conduct business Monday through Friday 9 to 5. The only exception is a time sensitive issue with which you occasionally do some work on the weekends. I also list REO properties for banks. They are vacant and the buyers agents show them on the weekend while I take it off.

I would never do regular residential listings as I don't want the hours.If you build up to a top producer you can have staff and buyers agents handle the weekends duties but that is not the business I want. There are hundreds of ways to conduct your RE business. As long as you enjoy RE it comes down to what part of it you want to specialize in that meets your goals.

Pick one:
1. More millionaires have been made in real estate than in any other industy.

2. I want to be an investor but I can't qualify for financing yet.

3. I'm sick of call center work.

4. My mantra is work smarter not harder.

5. Little investment in relation to a high profit potential.

6. It's my legacy. My maternal great grandmother is a minorty and lived in the deep south and lived comfortably since the 1940's even until death at 90 yrs. of age as a property owner/investor and her husband (great grand father was a Mason/small business owner). Also, the same with my paternal grand mother.

I love people. I love helping people with things they cannot do (or think they cannot do) for themselves. I enjoy the constant change and challenges invloved. I hoped to make enough money to feed my family, and am doing so. And I was lead to this business...
Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY!!! The thing I would change, however, is that I should have gone out on my own a few years sooner than I have. I learned a lot from my first broker, but I think I have learned more in the short time on my own, and I like it!
I watch all the newbie agents jumping into a big franchised office and getting disillusioned, so I recommend agents start with an independent, smaller brokerage with more personal attention. I think it makes a lot of difference...

Well, I have 3 reasons why I wanted to get into real estate.

1.) I was actually inspired a few years ago when I first went house-shopping with my parents. The agent took us around so many different houses. I love the thrill of being able to just go into a random house and seeing how it differs from the other houses in the neighborhood. Everytime we arrived at a new house, it was like a new surprise was hidden behind the front door and you just wanted to see what was inside, and how people live.

2.) I love the fact that real estate agents are independent contractors (is that the right term?) and are able to set their own schedule/goals/plans. I think it really helps because whenever you come across a challenge, you would face it yourself and sometimes your solution is more effective than the one given to you by someone else. I don't know if this makes any sense.

3.) I was also motivated by this one real estate agent who sold our house when I was younger. We gave the listing to her and once we signed the agreement, she pretty much did nothing in terms of marketing and just left the house there on the MLS until a magical unicorn came by. I was really motivated by her that I could do better if I was capable of selling the house. Oh, and she took horrible pictures of our house, so I was motivated by that too.

LOL

The first time I got my license was because I thought there might be more to life than sitting in a law office from 9 to 5 with my face buried in volumes of law books. I was a paralegal for many years before I got my license in 1980. I too was motivated by the fact that I had seen how alot of other Realtors performed, and they were just plain lazy or they didn't know things about their business that they should have. I thought with my law background, that I could represent and educate my clients much better and I was accustomed to doing that without giving legal advice.

The second time I got my license was in another State. I really did not want it, but my husband insisted that I go for it. So in essence, I didn't want it, it got me. And here I am 14 years later.

Because I love it and I love helping people. There's a rewarding feeling being able to give the keys to a home someone just purchased and knowing you were an integral part in helping them acheive a dream.

I kind of fell into it. I was looking for a career change and my kids were getting older. I wanted to be accessible yet I wanted to do something just for ME too. Something I could be proud of. I wanted to be good at something, anything that wasn't directly related to my parents or my children or my husband. So while my husband and I were looking for a house we met this Realtor. I was so impressed by her and how fun her job must be that I started looking into what I had to do to obtain license. I decided it would be a smart thing to do until I decided what I really WANTED to do. Went to school, took the test, never looked back. I absolutely LOVE going to work every morning.
I used to dread Monday mornings knowing I had to go to work. Then I became a Realtor. Now I can't wait for Monday morning. I'm good at what I do, and every year I work I double my business. I LOVE IT. I never thought I'd absolutely love it like I do. I lve negotiating, the thrill of the listing hunt, and the challenges. The REO and BPO end of the business is my favorite and I'm hoping to learn the commercial end soon. I'm planning on getting a Brokers license when my youngest is a little older. I hope to have my own office in ten years.
There's only one thing I can think would be better...and that's making a career out of my hobby. Someday maybe. But if RE is as good as it gets for me I'm just fine with that.

I wanted to be a Realtor as a kid watching the Realtor that helped with my parents home. I tried to join up when I was 18, but WOW, I could not afford it. So I went on to school and took a job in the IT field and worked through college. 14-15 years later, several companies later, I was still in the IT Field and not loving it. I did what I had to do and put my time in, sitting in a cube. Then my department merged with another department and I had to interview to keep my job. I kept it but I needed to get A+ and Cisco certifications. My wife also worked for the company as well, and had to interview. I knew then that the company really could care less, we were just numbers.

So I signed up for the A+ classes at night. I saw that the RE Classes were next door. So on the first break I walked over to the RE Class and asked the instructer, it was that or shoot myself, and I do not own a gun (LOL). He agreed and the next morning I dropped the A+ certification and started RE Classes secretly (only my wife knew).

It was not until I passed the License Test that my co-workers found out. I took my boss out for a beer and told him I was leaving. He asked how much I wanted to stay, I told him I needed a Career change not a raise. I agreed to stay on for 4 weeks to complete some projects and interview my replacement. That was 3 years ago Tomorrow.

This is a great business to be in because there are so many different ways to make money and the start up costs are very minimal.

My reasons:
I like architecture but don't want to be a architect.
I like building homes but don't want to be a contractor.
I like marketing but don't want to be a marketer.
I like web design but don't want to be a web designer.
etc etc..
Real estate encompases a lot of different professions which is why I was drawn to it.

Sorry cant pick one The reason I got into real estate is because it allowed me the flexability to be with my son and since it was the one thing I was good at I figured why not.

I'm nosy.

I like to see what everyone elses house looks like inside..

Tired of working 2nd & 3rd shift 7 days a week for corporations that didn't care about me. Even though I made really great money, the lack of control of my success because of the limitations imposed by others made me desire to become my own boss. Looked at several business opportunities before deciding RE investing would be the most enjoyable, and becoming an agent would make the most sense. I could have spent money on infomercial get rich quick schemes or some other lame brain scheme but after studying the code of ethics versus the business model some investors use, it became apparent to me for the sake of my ethics/upbringing, the best option was to become licensed and take my oath. I didn't come into the business thinking it would be easy and I would become a millionaire overnight, I did my research and saw the odds were against me. But I knew that I was willing to work longer hours than most, and that could be the key to my success. Being realistic about the time, money and income possiblities is essential. I still see/hear new agents expect to make it big right away, ignoring the statistics of what happens to most agents in the first several years.

Well way way back when I was sixteen I thought wow I would love to be a Century 21 agent the ad was on the TV ok this takes me back to the stone age of black & white TV. Now 2001 I finally become an agent. No I don't love houses because most of them stink,(I think how do people live this way) I enjoy the hunt, I enjoy the challange, yes LOL I enjoy the agonoy of defeat makes me a better agent. Do it again yes, why, god sometimes I wonder brings me back to the challange, no real estate is not House Hunters on TV its real emotions. As an agent you wear many hats just to keep your seller or buyer sane, oh and yourself too.

I love competing and thats why I am an agent!

wanted to sit around and look busy without actually doing anything.

Yep loving nature (landscapes), architecture, ppl, etc is a common reply to this post, and I feel the same way. This is something that has been in my heart to do for a long time. I just waited for a long time to pursue it. I have read real estate books as far back as I can possibly remember, dont remember most of what they said now, been so long ago ( I got distracted with drycleaning for many yrs there ) but when you have a passion about something it never goes away, and its never to late.
So I'm actually gonna go for it now :). Try my hand at it, I just pray for a good mentor. Luckily for me my husband has a good job which will allow me to commit long term -- financially speaking.
I hope its all I've dreamed about -- realistically. Sure we all dream about the money, but for me its just something about the house and the ppl, and just wanting to bring the two together.

My wife always always has a list of homes she thinks we should go preview.

Like Perkey Realtor said - Never a dull moment! what I like about real estate is that it is ever changing. In 15 years I have been in business it has never been a bore. I love the research it takes to do a fabulous job for my clients. There's always something new to keep me on my toes. I came into real estate because I wanted to help properly educate buyers and sellers to make the best decisions possible. Unfortunately not all agents do what is best for their customers. Like I always tell my clients "I'll show you YOUR options, not mine".

The freedom, the money, and I love houses.

I am new to the forum....and am getting into real estate for several reasons...

First - I have wanted to do this for a very long time...took the test in 1973 b4 classes were required and missed by 1 question. Never went back to take it...then kids and life came and it wasn't priority...no time or money to do it.

Second - three years ago my husband became ill and we had to move back to our farm...not that we minded!! During that time I was blessed to be able to start a brand new career as a banker, an opportunity that is very unusual for a woman 50+.

As a part of my job, people come in for mortgage loans.... I don't work mortgage loans and refer them to others within our company(I do home equity's tho) and run across many people weekly who are wanting to pre-qual for their first home as well as those who are wanting mortgages for weekend property. They have not talked to realtors when they come to me!

In July I received an unexpected bonus and the timing was perfect! So I finally took the plunge to start what I had wanted to do for 35 yrs!

I have 3 realtors in town who have come to the bank wanting to talk to me....and really I just need their sponsorship because I have my own leads coming in weekly...this forum has opened up a lot to think about when deciding which to go with...

Tj

Welcome to real estate. You will find a lot of trials, but just as many rewards.

I see one potential problem with your plan to get leads from your banking job. You don't want to be seen as a threat to other realtors, so they are hesitant to send their clients to your bank. Make sure the management at the bank is comfortable with how you will handle.

But this looks like a challenge that you will enjoy

[quote=Alabama]Welcome to real estate. You will find a lot of trials, but just as many rewards.

I see one potential problem with your plan to get leads from your banking job. You don't want to be seen as a threat to other realtors, so they are hesitant to send their clients to your bank. Make sure the management at the bank is comfortable with how you will handle.

But this looks like a challenge that you will enjoy [/quote]


Thanks for the heads-up on the way to handle potential clients...We live in a very small community and many of the brokers and salespersons are already asking me to drop by which is exciting...and of course they know I am a banker, their banker in some cases.

Yesterday I had a bank customer who wanted a mortgage application and the first thing I asked was "Do you have a Realtor?". They said no, and I explained where I was in the process (finished classroom, working towards taking test) and asked if they would mind, once licensed, if I could follow-up with them.

I will continue to do that, asking first if they have a realtor or if they are already working with a realtor and if so, back off. To me it's the ethical thing to do.

The branch manager is excited that I am doing this as are the mortgage rep's. There is another banker in another town close by who is also a licensed r.e. agent. I might call him to see how he handles his customers.

Thanks so much for your heads-up!
Tj