I was thinking of becoming a real estate agent, and i know alot of you are. First, would you recomend it. Can i make a decient living (that is if i work at it of coarse), any realtors in Michigan here.. How is the market there? Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Real Estate is an awesome industry that can truly unlock the path to wealth for your family. It is hard work.

Many people think that all you need is a sign in someone's yard and the 6% commissions will be rolling in and this is not the case.

There is a wealth of technology available for agents and good old fashioned networking is a must!
This is a service business, so if you are prepared to SERVE - and work hard at it - then I say, "There's always room for one more."

One word for you... "Marketing" I've been in this business almost only 2 years and I've seen newer agents who were swimming in Business because the mkt was hot and they had a huge sphere of influence....but then, usually a year or two later the well runs "bone-dry" and they run out clients.

They do not have lead-generation systems in place too continually replenish their prospect list.

Whats real big up here, because I am in a good- ol' boys town, is that agents will shepherd their small group of clients from personal relationships and end up starving eventually while the 20-40 agents who have managed to remain in the business for 20+yrs and paid their starvation dues and established a reputation/name in this 130k community so they get most of the business.


I would start with www.adtrakker.com and www.realmarketingpros.com

It shouldn't take to long to set up your campaigns for:

Expireds, Fsbos, Renters, and Buyers!


Again, in my opinion the worst thing you can do in this very competitive business is do NO lead generation and work with un-motivated people. (does this describe 60% of Realtors?)

Would anyone suggest commercial real estate? or waterfront homes.. these are interests of mine and higer dollar ammounts..

I would suggest setting your sights a tad smaller until you actually grasp selling Waterfront property.
Commercial Sales would mean that you should join a Real Estate Company geared only to Commercial RE in order to really learn the business. I would also suggest seeking a CAM license as well.

How long did it take some of you to take off or sell your first home?

i would recommend selling residential first to get the hang of the real estate business. i would like to sell commercial one day too, but right now i am getting my feet wet selling residential. if a commercial deal comes along, then i might take it, but i am focusing on homes for now.

Been doing RE since only 8 months in the US.
But I have a 10 years experience in this business from Europe, both in RE and Marketing.

Given that, it took me 3 weeks to get my first listing and closed my very first sale after 7 weeks.

It takes tons of time and dedication to get some transactions going, but it will eventually happen and when it does it never stops (referrals from previous customers and continuous marketing are key elements for me)