Hi All,

Decided to skip the "Introduce Yourself" section of the forum & place my first post here ... as, that's what I am .. an "aspiring agent".

Been lurking on here for a week or so & obtained some valuable insights. I'd like to pose a few questions to the forum pertinent to my individual situation.

First about me though: I am a retired Federal Agent in my early fifties with a steady pension & investment income & solid access to health insurance - we live a debt-free lifestyle (house, cars, no consumer debt) so not counting on Real Estate to "get my living" but a few extra dollars from time to time would be nice to help fund our child's upcoming college education (and perhaps a new boat & better vacations!). My spouse currently works as an elementary teacher and planning to quit that, possibly after this school year but may decide to work just one more. We live in a smallish East Texas metro area but planning a move to the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex later this year.

I've always thought of real estate as something I'd like to do after my public career as I have a keen interest in houses of all kinds, construction, consumer finance, and I like to help people ... esp with things consumer related & financial. (of course, I also like to make money for myself!)

I have no illusions of turning this into a 100k per year career - I'd really just like to make 15k to 20k per year after I am established & can transition to part-time, and I'm fully prepared for the fact I could make zero & even a net negative income from it the first year.

Contrary to the plans of some folks I've read about here ... my plan is to enter the business of real estate sales full-time for a year or two & then transition it to a part-time/seasonal business after I am competent & established. [u]I would be interested to hear the experiences of anyone who has done this?[/u]

I'd also like to hear the experiences of some with regard to Texas Real Estate schools. I'm not too worried about the licensing as I am a quick study in either classroom, self-study, or online courses and always had a knack for taking standardized tests. [u]I'm interested to know what education provider recent Texas licensees might have used to prep for licensing & what comments (+ or -) they might have about those.[/u]

Also, for you already licensed TX Realtors, [u]what are you currently paying for E&O insurance & MLS/Association fees annually in Texas?[/u] (trying to get a sense of the real costs of starting up & staying in the business)

Thanks in advance for any advice/information members of the forum can provide. (Constructive criticism welcome as well - I have a pretty thick skin!)

Andy

Best wishes Andy. Since I am not in Texas my advice may be of limited value. Real estate these days is tough to piddle in. With constantly changing rules and the economic uncertainty this business needs daily attention.

If this exercise is for supplementary income perhaps get a license and work as an assistant or team member for a couple of years. This would provide a nice overview of the field and get you out of the house. From there, the sky is the limit.

What part of the piney woods are you from? I was born in Lufkin, and graduated from SFA.

Hi FSBO,

Thanks for your reply.

Have been to Pineville several times in past years on business and spent a year at Fort Polk with the 5th ID many, many, moons ago.

Currently hail from the Texarkana area for the past ten years ... but we are getting ready for the big move back to DFW later this year. (I've kind of been a career-gypsy the past 30 years - this is the longest we've been in one place) Already scheming on ways to re-build and expand a lot of personal & community relationships I had when I previously lived in the DFW area.

Not planning on "piddling" in the RE business & intend on giving it my full attention the first year or two, then scaling back a bit after I am established to whatever level I find comfortable (and still allows for lengthy fishing trips a few times a year :) )

As to being an "assistant" or "team member" at first, well maybe for a short time just to speed up my learning curve and build some relationships; but long-term that kind of defeats my whole purpose of wanting to take care of my own business and where results depend mostly upon my own efforts.

My former job was in an investigative position where one's career lived (or died) on self-generation of cases via informants, liaison with other agencies, and establishment of relationships with businesses & in the community- nothing was just plopped on one's desk to go out & work. Odd hours & weekends were the norm ... whatever you had to do to further a case, so I'm kinda' used to that.

One thing I am pondering is whether to go ahead & get my license & join the Association/MLS here ... or wait till I get back to "The Big-D". On the upside of starting up here, I could already have my first listing in my pocket (that being my own house I have up as a FSBO right now! :) )

"My former job was in an investigative position where one's career lived (or died) on self-generation of cases via informants, liaison with other agencies, and establishment of relationships with businesses & in the community- nothing was just plopped on one's desk to go out & work. Odd hours & weekends were the norm ... whatever you had to do to further a case, so I'm kinda' used to that."


Interesting...doesn't sound like a government/law enforcement job. were you a bounty hunter or PI?

So why's it a "former job" . . . . what happened to cause you to stop ? (or for it to stop?)

Follow your heart, it'll never let you down -- only make you stronger. You'll know after a year or so if this is the business for you. Don't let anyone get in your way!

It doesn't really matter much does it?

You're in Texas now, you'll be in Texas then. Getting started on getting a License is going to involve the exact same procedure: the same eligibility requirements; with the same educational requirements; preparing for the exact same testing procedure; and dealing with same Laws, Rules, and Regulations. It's just like one big happy Real Estate Jurisdiction.

So don't hesitate; there's a bit more involved than getting a Driver's License. The sooner you get started, the sooner you'll be can be considered for a License.