Hey guys...I went on my first interview tonight and it wasn't at all what I expected but I think that was a good thing. It went well but I was suprised at the business model and the commission structures.

Here's the details:

The broker deals with bank owned properties. He gets ALL of the listings directly from the banks. He says that he gets about 15 to 20 listings per week and he currently has 8 other agents.

I would not be responsible for getting listings at all but he said that I could get listings and he would go on the listing presentations with me until I get how its done.

There is no floor time or calls or knocking on doors. He gets the listing and assigns one of his agents to hold open houses. Once the agent gets assigned the house, that agent keeps the listing until it's sold. The agent holds open houses thursday - Sunday until its sold. The broker told me that on average the houses sell over one weekend and he gets 20 to 30 people per day in the open houses.

The commission split was 15% on the entire commission. He said that his fee is 5 to 8 % on every deal and I would get 15% of that.

All I would be responsible for is holding the open houses and taking the offers or "Bid's" as he called them. The office staff handles EVERYTHING else (dealing with the banks, attorneys, mortgage people, closing, etc.).

He said that on average the Agents sell a house per week and that I should sell one my first two weeks.

I thought that this might be a good way to get started in the business and gain experience.

What do you guys think?

Keep interviewing, you can do better than 15%! Yes, you will some other tasks to do to but at only 15% I think he is taking his agents for a ride.

What is the average sale price of the homes? If the homes are all over 500,000 and if you really sell one house per week - at 5% commission that could end up being $3700 a week for you...even at 200,000 a house, you could net 1500 a week IF the broker is being truthful...that's a potential of $60,000 a year or more if you sell 40 homes...

Hey, if you can do all that without expenditures on your part...hmmm. I would consider it, to get started anyway...but it depends on how truthful the broker is and how much money the homes sell for.

15% is low compared with most splits,(at least in my state) However, working for this broker, you might have an opportunity to gain a lot of "hands-on" experiece and make some money, both of which are very valuable to newer agents. It wouldn't be a bad thing to interview elsewhere, also. Good luck and keep us updated.

Kenny you needed to ask in the interview what is the average sales price of these foreclosed homes.If he says he doesn't know RUN!! Believe me if he is getting 18 to 20 listings a week he knows where every penny is going.

So if the properties were mostly 75k you would be looking at about 562.00 if you sold one a week.

It sounds like you will be a gopher to manage buyers and get contracts for the listings.

This is common for large REO brokers to hire buyers agents and house sitters for there listings. A power broker in our area does it and offers 80k to 100k per year.

Yes, if you look at it from a pure percentage standpoint, 15% IS very low - BUT as I understand it, the broker is giving the agent the listing (unless I'm wrong). The agent is only a warm body in the house till it sells.

I'm also assuming the broker double ends most of these sales?

If the sale prices are over 150,000 even at a cobroke at 2.5% you could get $500+ a week just for sitting the open house, if it does sell once a week like the broker says. So even at a co broke, it's not bad for babysitting an open house.

HOWEVER, I would ask for a much higher split on your own listings that you get yourself.

I am located in Long Island, NY so the prices are all over the place. He has listings that go from $150,000 to 1 Million.

Here's what I was thinking...

If I work for, lets say, Century 21 and charge 5%, I split that with the agent that finds the buyer. That brings it down to 2.5%. 50% of 2.5% is 1.25%. So that would be what I make.

In the office that I interviewed with, I get 15% on the whole thing (5%). Double that 15% (because I would be splitting the 5% anywhere else) and I'm up to 30%. So in reality, Im sacraficing 20% of my commission but all I have to do is show up at open houses and fax him back the bid forms. No office time and nothing else to do.

If I sell a home off the MLS, I get 75% of whatever the sellers agent is giving.

If I get my own listing the conventional way, I get 50%.

I only get 15% (of the entire fee) on the listings that HE gets and gives to me.

You can always try it for a month and it could work out great.

That sounds like a good deal to me. Give it a shot, just don't sign any long term commitments.

From new agent to new agent, I'd consider more than your immediate earnings. For instance, how much can you learn working with this broker, and how will that impact your business in the long term? It sounds like you could, potentially, miss out on a wide swath of knowledge and experience because your duties would be rather narrow compared to a traditional agent's. Just something to consider.

Thank you all for your input. You were all very helpful.

hey kenny, i was reading your thread and found it interesting since I am also an aspiring agent.... please keep us updated with your progress. did you take the job with that broker? how is it going?

Kenny, i have only had my license for 2 weeks but when i talked to my first office i was ready to sign, then i talked to a second because everyone told me i should and i wasnt sure anymore i ended up talking to 8 offices. about half way through the interview i realized that was the office for me. all i can say is from my experience talk to a lot of offices and when you find the one that fits you i think it will be obvious.

Dean: Not that it matters much; but just to make it clear . . . . Was it half way through your 1st interview that you had this realization, half way through the 2nd, or was during the 8th ? Thanks !

When I had first passed the state exams and was looking for a sponsoring broker I interviewed several (not sure now but I think maybe 8) using the same set of questions and then making a comparison table. I assured each that their answers would remain confidential as some of the questions were potentially sensitive.

When decision time came I chose the first company I had interviewed. It was a very good fit for several years. The owner eventually lost a fight with cancer, his son sold out to a larger company (part of the price establishing him as an officer in the larger company). Many policy changes, failure to honor past agreements, and some additional factors too long to discuss here and the path forward became obvious. I left and am now in business on my own.