Hey can someone tell me what the average cost os monthly and yearly for being in RE? I know there are cost fro E&O, MLS, Realtor.com, sometimes office fees, etc. I know that some of these depend by area / office. But can you give me the general run down?

Thanks!

Im pretty new too - licensed in July - but from what I have experienced and seen there is no clear cut answer here. After your licensing fees, access to MLS, etc the rest is dependent on what brokerage you are with. Desk fees, franchise fees, office fees, advertising fees etc are all different in pretty much every office. The way mine is set up is a lower split to cover the fees until a certain amount is met per year (mine being 16k) then commish is 100% minus e&o.

SO for me, after paying my yearly MLS access fees I am not paying anything else monthly except for expenses that I incur. However my commish is reduced to 55/45 to cover the desk and office fees.

I have a great Excel spreadsheet you can use for budgeting. Send me an email if you are interested. marketingguy@shaw.ca

One thing you'll learn really fast is you can spend a fortune on all the gimics, websites & advertising in this business. My commission split is 80/20, $100 monthly desk fee & $100 per transaction for E&O. Website costs me $89 monthly (www.propertyminder.com), MLS dues are $700~ annually, E-key service is $125 quarterly, lock box/key boxes are $115 each. In the City that I do business in we are required to have a business license which is another $201 annually.

As a general rule, I'll tell new agents that they'll easily spend $2-3K in startup costs. Minimum.

Unfortunately, the detailed/itemized 'fees' provided by all the brokers you interview with will ALWAYS be low estimates.

In my area most brokers estimate about $300 in MLS charges for new agents. The actual check you'll need to write when you sign up at the board is over $700. That's because our board require you to pay two quarters in advance (non-refundable.)

Little things like that add up pretty quickly.

Of course you'll need lots of 'pocket change' for gas, open house supplies, signs, seminars, lock-boxes, and coffee at Starbucks with all those new 'business contacts' you'll be networking with!

Make and estimate of all your costs... then double it.

Good luck!

$2,000 per year for dues, license fees, and insurance.