I just passed my salesperson exams and have been interviewing lots of brokers (one of the largest brokers in my area and another franchisee type that has a nationwide footprint). They both have decent training but the franchisee seems to offer a little more, but I would have to pay part of my commission to the mentor for my 1st 4 deals, whereas the broker herself will be my daily mentor for the 1st six months at the larger company. So at first I decided to go with the franchisee, but when I reviewed their Independent Contractor Agreement (which was vague in some sections), I asked some questions to get further clarity and understanding the companies rules and policy. The broker answered my 1st set of questions fine but then when I came back with some follow up questions and understanding some of the legal rules, I got very short and uninterested answers from the broker. He concluded in his email response that if his answers are a concern that perhaps this is not a good fit then. I was taken back by his response. I was looking for a more inviting response rather than one that shutting the door if I needed further clarification. SO, since this is my business, I expect to understand everything well on my contract and are not going to sign something that I don't understand fully. So with that said, I am now thinking this is probably a sign on how I will be supported by this broker in the future. For those of you with experience in this field, please let me know what you think. I now think I should sign with my other top choice where the broker is going to give me 1on1 mentoring for the 1st six months. Appreciate your feedbacks.

It sounds like you already know the answer. If the contract is vague and the broker refuses to explain it then you know it will come back to haunt you later.

Most ICAs are written in such a way that there's no convenient time to end the relationship EXCEPT when you have no business in the pipeline. Leave at any other time and the Agent will be leaving Commissions and future business on the table.

That condition occurs ONLY when you're first starting out, and then again when you've lost your touch and your business has dried up.

Some people never have a touch and therefore, never have any business in the pipeline anyway.

At the stage you're at, you have to trust your gut feel, or the subliminal signals that you're receiving. Consider yourself lucky to have had this little tiff BEFORE even tying your dinghy to that ship. If you can't question to clarify a policy that's already written, can you imagine how much value would be placed on your opinion while un-written policy is being developed in the future?

Long engagements make for long-lasting marriages . . . . the people involved have a better idea of what blemishes exist underneath the surface of their counterpart. Breaking off an engagement is far cheaper than getting a divorce . . . . and the situation you're evaluating is really analogous.

Good luck with your next candidate.

Thanks Bigtoe. Yes! Something just doesn't feel & seems right.

Thank you Vermont! Yes. My gut feeling says to walk away. This company brags on how good they are and that they are an open book company. For those reasons and claims alone, I expected to see that they are answering all my questions and provide the extra clarification on their contract. Hummm...

I agree with Bigtoe and Vermont. Move on...NEXT!

Not all companies are good for new agents. Your education right now is the most important thing to focus on. Who you start with now may not be the best for you in the future, just depends on how the broker runs the office. Once you get the education then it’s time to get some real business going. Hopefully your broker will help you get new business.

Are you sure it was just one e-mail and set of questions you were asking or multiples??

I am the head broker and I use to charge 300 a transaction fee for residential.

Had 55 agents at one point and now down to 15 (by choice).

Agents can be a real PITA.Now what I am doing is creating a small team of commercial agents.The split is 50/50 period.For that I scrub the leads,do the marketing,and teach people how to close sales.

I don't mess with residential anymore.If an agent doesn't fall into line with my plans or gives me grief they are out the door.

If you want to make a lot of money here is the plan.If you want to try to build a better mouse trap go do it elsewhere.

Best thing to do is to have a mentor.You schedule a time and that's it and follow instructions.The problem for many agents is they aren't consistent and do not follow the directions exactly for success.

I generally ask the agent did you do A,B,C?? They said they just did A and of course they didn't get the result.They were just either lazy or felt an easier way existed.

Hope you have luck with your new broker.

Frankly I don't like your one sided question, very vague on details and designed to make the broker look bad when it is very possible he just discovered you were brain dead and thus not the caliber of person he wants as an agent in his company. What was vague and what didn't you understand? I've never met a broker that wasn't able to clarify contract clauses, that is what we do for a living and believe you just didn't pass the interview.

I agree that you could look at if from those two different points of view. If you can't decipher THEIR ICA, they may think you're not going to be able to decipher real estate contracts (and there are many varieties in Virginia, along with the REO contracts which 99% protect the bank and they all vary)...then there's the situations in transactions that call for some real (and sometimes creative) thinking.

I will say that EVERY franchise claims their No.1 - I've never seen sooo many No.1 companies of any type as in real estate. A few who have tried to "woo" me these past years have tried to entice me with their special websites and special lead generation but when you sit down with them and find out you'll have to PAY for those promises, it becomes a whole different ballpark then.

I don't think you're really going to know where to go until you get out there and experience them. I certainly don't think I'd bounce from one company to the next every 6 months, but, I've been with two LARGE franchises before (2 yrs each) and both promised me THE WORLD and that just didn't happen.

I'm an independent broker now and sometimes I think about going back to a franchise (particularly when times have been tough) but, I don't think times would be any tougher anywhere else plus I'd have to deal, again, with those "promises" that never come to fruitation. It'll make you NOT want to go into the office.

One smaller franchise just called last week to set up an appointment for me to talk with their broker about all the WONDERFUL things they have going. Well, I have a gov't REO contract and THEY don't, so I suspect all the broker wants is MY contract b/c once I put my license under that broker, every listing, every contract I have, becomes theirs. I told the person on the phone that I just wasn't interested -thanks for calling!

Interesting attitude for a broker. your agents are ind. contractors. their obligation is to perform (close sales), not please you or "fall into line," as if they are your employees subject to strict control. under the law, you cannot exercise much control over an independent contractor's methods, attitude or behavior, provided their actions are legal and competent. you can establish generally accepted company policies that don't serve to exercise unreasonable control. In over twenty years of real estate experience, I have NEVER seen a situation or transaction where there was NOT some grief. It's the nature of the business. I would never use "grief" as a reason to release an otherwide good agent.

I say this for your benefit, and I have seen several companies financially destroyed by the IRS, as a result of wrongfully treating ind. contractors as employees on a large scale. the IRS will impose HUGE fines and penalties. the deciding factor for the IRS, based on federal law, could be something as seemingly innocuous as giving the contractor training. It only takes one complaint to the IRS by an aggrieved contractor, and you have a nightmare on your hands.

parts of an ICA may not be enforceable. for example, in certain states, non-competition provisions are not enforceable.

you should have a lawyer review the ICA to know what is enforceable and what is not.

I think the response is odd based on the market today. Managing Brokers are usually very interested in getting a new Agent to join their company and team.

I would not take it personally and go and try a better fit. You don't want to feel uncomfortable right from the beginning. I feel Brokers need Agents now so they should be more inviting and helpful.

Thanks,

Mario