Hi everybody, I haven't been here in awhile because I left the real estate scene but I'm on my way to being back and I have a dilemma.

I got licensed last summer, joined RE/MAX and by January I was no longer motivated to be in real estate. I did not have a good teacher and I was really depressed about the whole money situation. I think I just joined the wrong company. So in January I left and got a regular job again, and my finances are back to being great. I have some money saved and I'm going to try this adventure again, different company this time.

I'm having a little trouble figuring out what to do. I have an interview tomorrow with a team of 2 real estate agents. They currently have alot of listings and they are one of the top teams. They are looking for someone to do some part-time admin work for their team and they are also going to give some buyer leads to whomever they hire to work in their off-time. They are also willing to teach and I think it would be a great learning opportunity for me. The only problem is that their office is about 25 minutes south of where I live and the area they service isn't really an area that I'm interested in doing business in, I'm also not entirely familiar with the area either. I would be fine with it for now and for the next couple years in order to learn but after that I would like to be back to the areas where I live and where I'm comfortable.

On the flip-side, I could join a company closer to where I live and in the area I want to service, but I doubt I will find a team to join. There are a couple companies around here that I believe have great training so that might be good for learning. Most companies I have talked with are willing to give me a mentor for the first couple transactions. I would really love to get alot of real experience, such as going on appointments with experienced agents. I think the team that I am interviewing with would provide me with that.

So anyway, I was wondering if anyone has any opinions about whether I should join this team or if I should stay local to where I am comfortable.

Thanks so much!

Team or no team, will you be quitting your job? Do you have money set aside to carry you for the next six months? I'm guessing that real estate admin work is not going to pay all your bills and while receiving buyer leads is good, you still need to close deals. How much effort have you made in exploring the brokers and opportunities in your local area? Know your options before you commit to anyone.

Not the best time to come back it's been a rough 18-24 mon. down here in Fl

If I can join a team with a part-time guaranteed income, yes I will be quitting my job. I have enough money saved to where if I am working part-time I will be fine for quite some time.

Last summer, I did research all of the area offices pretty thoroughly, obviously not good enough because I picked an office that was not good for me. I do plan to meet with a couple of other offices before I make a final decision.

My area has been pretty steady even through the bad economy, and we are getting even better. With all the great deals on the market right now, It's a great time to be a buyers agent, lol.

If that 2-agent team is the best opportunity you have for training, and if you have your mind made up to get active in real estate, then go for it. Training is key for you at this stage. I can tell you that driving a half hour to get to the area where you'll be working will be a pain, but you'll have to carry that cross. Don't forget, you'll probably be making multiple round trips on certain days because as a buyer's agent, your team will expect you to jump at the chance to show property at all hours.

This probably does not apply in your case, but I know one very successful broker in my area who has a team with multiple agents and he runs his business in such a way that none of them individually know how to prospect to become a primary agent. They are all dependent on him and he likes that just fine. My advice to you though is get your basic training under your belt, and then expand that to learn all of the well-rounded skills you'll need if you want to be a primary agent or run your own team or business some day.

Going into real estate is opening a business, not getting a job. Looking for guaranteed income and wasting time doing grunt work for busy agents is a bad plan. Work for a local agency, start prospecting locally, and become the kind of agent who needs to hire a loser to handle grunt work.

Teams almost always break up, that is a simple fact. There is not enough money after post-brokerage splits and everyone is always looking over their shoulder to see who's pulling their load.

The fact that it is far away in an area you do not want to prospect absolutely kills it as far as I'm concerned. Why would would you waste time working where you don't want to be? Makes no sense at all.

You don't need teams or "training" or motivational seminars. You just need a brain, the Internet, and the willingness to get out there and get it done.

There is no guaranteed income in real estate. If your mindset is an "easy" re-entry and collecting chump change to shuttle contracts, you will ultimately fail again.

Repeat after me: I am opening my own business, I am opening my own business, I am opening my own business.

Starting is Real Estate is, like mentioned above, starting a business. If it took you so little time to get discouraged and could not get motivated I'm not sure that even a team would help you succeed.

I would vote that if you pursue it join the team and take the part time income, at least you have some money. Don't burn your bridges though with the current employer, you may need a new job in the future.

And repeat after navarac: I am opening my own business.

LOL, hey guys. Well I didn't take the job with the team.. I realized exactly what navarac said.. It would be pointless to waste time working in an area that I have no interest in being in the long run.

REOdayton.. I know that my getting discouraged after such a short time is a bad sign, but I believe I really joined the wrong office. On top of not getting the training that I needed as a new agent, I also didn't feel at home there with the people.

I just went and talked to a company about 3 minutes from my house today. The broker there (non-selling) seems to be just what I need. She is a stickler with her agents.. maybe the kick in the butt I need every now and then. It's a top company in the area with alot of training for agents. She is giving me a mentor and she said I can go out with the experienced agents to get some real life experiences. Hopefully this is just what I need to succeed.

Thanks for all the comments.

I am opening my own business.. I am opening my own business

Amanda the key is most agents fail because they go from an "employee" position to an "owner" position. The difference being as an employee you don't see how the customer interest in generated you just "service" the customer on behalf of the company.

As a business owner YOU ARE the person that generates business to come to you before servicing them. Not being able to generate the business is the number one killer of agents.

Amanda- I wish all the luck, Congrats!