I am currently taking a real estate course at my college, and plan on taking the test once the class is done in November to get my license. I am currently a receptionist at a dental office and am basically bored to tears every day, and come home feeling miserable and not wanting to go back to work the next day. I feel completely unaccomplished, and am working here while I am waiting to get into my clinicals. I make $10 an hour at 32 hours a week. My fiance on the other hand is a project manager and makes at least quadruple what I make, allowing me to take a leap into realty if I so chose to do so. I guess I am just wondering if it is realistic to want to make up what I am making at my current job if I were to quit? I am really excited to start, and my fiance isn't worried about the money (just wants me to be happy since I think I may be making him miserable in turn :eek:), but I just want to at least contribute what I have been contributing now. Thanks in advance for any input.

Your HAPPINESS or DISCONTENT will roll over into all aspects of your life because you will feel unbalanced.It will takes it's toll emotionally,physically,spritually,financially.

Why do you feel you have to contribute financially?Your idea of giving might not be what he needs or wants to recieve.

My wife always felt bad that I made so much more money than her until she realized there were other ways that she contributed to the relationship in a postive way that i couldn't bring to the table.

What I here your (fiance) saying is follow your dreams and I only want to see you happy.

Real estate might not be right for you.You need to make sure it's something you LOVE to do and not just about the money.You need to talk about issues now before you get married such as whose parents house you will go to on the holidays,who will stay at home when you have children,division of labor and chores etc.

These items aren't as sexy as planning a wedding and the honeymoon but lay the groundwork for longterm success and problems avoided down the road.

If you find something that excites you everyday that's what you should persue.Many people die until they reach there deathbed and want to come alive when it's too late.

I will tell you it's worth it to have the life I want and feel I am living the life I am destined for.

good luck

Hear, hear!!! This is probably the greatest quote I've seen on this forum for some time!!!! It bears reapeating!

You need to make sure it's something you LOVE to do and not just about the money.

You HAVE to love it. You must. It is not easy to make money in this business, at least not in this current market, and considering that everyone and their dog is a real estate agent these days.

The beginning of your career may drain you dry financially. There are a LOT of fees to get started, then there's continuing education, the cost of gas for your vehicle hauling buyers around, the cost for marketing, a website, a decent digital camera, computer and printer if you don't already have them, etc.

I love the process even when I get caught up with CRAZY, half insane clients. I love the stress that is invovled, I love the challenges. I love touring houses, I love trolling the MLS to see what's new and what's gone...

If I didn't love it I'd go crazy in between paychecks. I haven't had a closing since July and two of my deals went south, so out of four deals for September, I only have two closing, and nothing else in sight.

OH WELL - it's still fun!

Oh Perky Realtor you hit on the nail. Real Estate I think is the greatest job I've ever had. But it comes with a price, and yes you have to love it.

KJS3639 thats great you are taking real estate classes, but as many of us have said on other threads you will not be contributing to the household for awhile. There is a big learning time and thats fun too, but you do not get paid. Real Estate is not House Hunters, LOL where are the couples that get in a huge fight right in front of you!!! now thats real estate. So it's something to think about before totally jumping in, remember no pay check every two weeks, and you'll be spending money, really got to budget in this business.
All the best too you and your future husband.

Sometimes, real estate is better than TV.

For instance, I got a message from my seller one day, that somehow, signals got crossed and they didn't know an agent was showing the house that morning. The agent showed up with a nice couple, and while the agent and wife were checking out the kitchen,

the husband went exploring down the hall, running smack into a naked lady - she had just gotten out of the shower and forgot to bring in a clean towel from the laundry room. No worries, she was alone, right?

Well, it wasn't too long before she was alone again!

And I say - why don't exciting things like this happen on MY showings? About as exciting as I've had was my customer's kids getting stung by wasps that built a nest under the porch railing!!! That's BAD, not FUNNY like naked people in the hall...hee hee.

For the most part though you're going to deal with people who don't know the market saying "This is way overpriced" when it's the cheapest home in the area and is priced as it should be....or you get people saying they want 3 bedrooms and a basement and end up buying a 1 bedroom cottage on piers from a FSBO....you'll have fun customers too though...but it ain't at all like TV.

(and I HATE House Hunters! Which will they choose? Of course you know they're not going to choose 1 or 2 cause they've not seen #3 yet and the fake drama at the end drives me nuts. Plus I can't stand the host; her voice annoys me).

Thanks for all of the advice.

LOL Perky, you mean you don't like Suzanne Whang :laugh:

I must say I am definitely not getting into it for the money. I know it is tough and am totally not expecting to "get rich quick", I would just like to be able to contribute financially even just a little bit. I'm not sure why I feel like I need to contribute, I just feel like if I don't, i'm not doing something i'm suppossed to be doing (I know that sounds stupid). My fiance is very supportive and just wants me to be happy with what I am doing. I really do enjoy the aspects of real estate that I do know of, like surfing sites for houses, learning things in my class, and going onto our township site and looking at details of the houses I find that I like, such as how much it sold for last, what the specs of the house and land are, and anything else I can find. I also try to absorb everything I can when going out and looking at houses with my realtor since we are casually looking at buying a house right now. It all just seems like it would be a lot of fun and an interesting experience. When I get into something, I really get into it. I am just hoping it all works out and it turns out to be something that I can love once I learn the basics.

Well, if you get into it and love it, you'll be glad you did it. If you decide you hate it, it isn't hard to walk away from - just mail in your license to the state and go inactive. (That's how I see it, anyway-lol). And plan on it being awhile before there is much money coming in.

When I have a good deal working, it's a lot of fun. When times are slow, I would rather come home and catch up on housework than hang around the office. When I have good clients, it's a delightful time. When I'm working with a difficult client who won't remodel/make repairs and then gripes at me because I'm not moving his junk rentals in bad neighborhoods, I could walk away and not look back. There's a lot of good and bad mixed together in this profession, has been my experience. I am in a small office - it's just our Broker, my partner (who is a Broker Assoc.), and me. And our rental mgr. who is licensed but not in the MLS and who tries to steal our listings and sales whenever she can. *tsk, tsk*

You're right, I don't like Suzanne Whang. I only like a few people on HGTV - Vern Yip, Clive and Lisa on Designed to Sell, that dopey carpenter guy on Over Your Head, and Candice Olsen. Everyone else I either tolerate, or flat out can't stand. LOL

You sound very lucky = your fiance sounds very supportive.

It is an interesting experience, that's for sure.

Just got word from the buyer's agent for my deal...the FHA loan was kicked out of underwriting because the septic inspection was done by a home inspector, not a certified septic inspector or engineer. The deal is supposed to close this week, was supposed to originally close three weeks ago. sigh...thankfully the buyer agents have a personal friend who happens to be a septic engineer...so he's going to look at it.

Odd, the things you have to be able to think on your feet about. Make friends in all sorts of businesses, you'll never know when you will need them!

Why don't you tell us how you really feel . . . . Like do you really L O A T H E any of these Poor TV Folks ? . . . . These TV Real Estate Wanna Bees ? At least you know most of them by Name, that's Flattering in itself.

It's flattering to them, a sad commentary on my personal life.

LOL

and yes, I do loathe some of them - particularly Suzanne whang, and I can't explain why.

Then there is the show Million Dollar Listing, oh that show makes me laugh. Joe kid with his 60's hair cut, got to love L.A.

If your fiance doesnt care then go for it. If you don't like it you can always make 10 an hour somewhere down the road.

[quote] If you don't like it you can always make 10 an hour somewhere down the road.[/quote]

Well, somewhere down the road I should have my degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ultrasounds) in the next couple of years. I am on the wait list for my clinicals and am supposed to get in next fall, but I still want to do this and see how it goes.

KFS3639--
Somewhere down the road you will have your degree in ultrasounds?? If you think you will be able to sell 3-5 houses between now and next fall while you are waiting to get your clinicals, I wouldn't quit your paid day job if you need some money coming in. The NAR estimates that the average agent only sells 4 houses per year. I've been in real estate about 5 years and I worked my butt off door knocking for 2-3 hours every day for my first year thus I had a very fast start but I have only seen a handful of agents get started as fast.

If you want to "see how it goes," I would suggest getting your license and start part-time. Our office has had several successful part-time agents turn full-time after a few years. They worked every evening and weekend but they got a lot of deals closed. Ironically, one of our part-time agents decided she really didn't like real estate as much as her old job that was a 9-5 monday-friday with benefits so she quit real estate.