People are not accustomed to having to PAY to work. LOL. Some of my clients think that my van is a "Company" Van since it has the company logo decals on the windows. And of course they are shocked to discover not only do I own it but I pay for every drop of gas I waste use on them.

Very inspiring.

You're so up-beat . . . . I'm now exhausted, and feel penniless !

Okay, now that I've recovered from that temporary depression, I find that most fees and dues are reasonable at the National level and the Local Level. Everyone pays the same thing at the Nat'l level. And at the local level, you can go in and bash a few heads to reduce expenses . . . . but the State level is a problem.

What gets me is that at the State Level, our dues are big and are getting BIGGER and BIGGER as the number of dues paying REALTORS® goes down. The Vermont Association of REALTORS® (VAR) takes well over 50% of our annual dues, demanding well over 200% of what Nat'l gets.

But we only have about 1300 REALTORS® in the whole State, so that's less than the number in some major cities around the Country. And it's an itsy-bitsy State.

My teacher said he used to have 100 people in his class a couple of yrs ago when the market was hot. His last class had 10 people. I geuss if you dont have a second income or savings a lot of people just cant hold on.

Agreed. Consider how much it would cost you to start a restaurant, or a hair salon, or a construction company. Relative to other small/independent start-up businesses, getting started in real estate is a bargain.

A new agent shouldn't need to invest tens of thousands of dollars in equipment, since most of what you need is stuff you probably already have (a computer, a reasonably presentable car, professional clothing, a smart phone). Other things like business cards, mailers, and a website can be gotten inexpensively. My local MLS/AOR dues cover tons of other freebies: online forms, IDX, discounted printing services, and all kinds of CMA tools. Many brokerages offer additional tools as part of their commission splits as well.