Hello-

First of all, this forum is fantastic! It's refreshing to see so many honest resources for those just starting out.

I recently broke free of the corporate torture chamber and decided to start working for myself. I past the R.E. Exam this past weekend and am now shopping around for brokers. The information I've found on this site has been incredibly useful, however I was wondering if anyone had some state specific advice to give. I am located just outside of Orlando.

I'm well aware that it's going to be difficult and time consuming in order to make 'just ok' money at the beginning, but I accept the challenge. I am looking for something that doesn’t require ANY start-up or usage fees. I really don’t want to pay anything unless I’m able to sell. I think a 70/30 split with solid training, paid basic marketing (cards, ads), and MLS NAR is reasonable. Or is it? I'm very independent but I realize that I will need leads to start out with; I have pretty much every electronic known to man here at home. Any advice or names of offices in the area would be great!

Thanks a lot for all the great info so far!
Tony

bump

If you need leads you're probably looking at a 50/50 split.

KW offers a 64/36 split to start which caps at 21-28K a year, and provides some floor/open house opportunites.

I would not rely on these passive leads to build a business. Our new agent training manual is pretty awesome though, and focuses new agents on creating business through their own sphere of influence.

Generally, you won't get much from a broker as far as materials. Before I decided to hang my hat with Realty World, I interviewed 7 brokerages in my area. None of them will let you work for free or based on commission splits only - and none of them will provide you with marketing materials without charging you for them somehow or other. The broker I signed with stressed to me "This is your business - you are a contractor, not an employee." My broker pays for just listed/just sold cards that push his brokerage, anything else is on me. I have a monthly franchise fee, and I pay my own membership dues to the AR's - i get a good split and I'm happy with the training i've received thus far. Again - this has just been my experience...but while you're interviewing, remember...there's no such thing as a free lunch and the people who offer to take you to lunch are trying to sell you something.

Best advice I can give you is to do searches here for interview tips (especially the new agents 101 thread) and make up an interview sheet...interview as many brokers as you can before you make your decision.

Josh

Ditto what ManFromTheBand stated.

I'd also suggest picking up "21 Things I Wish My Broker Had Told Me" and "The Complete Idiots Guide - Success as a Real Estate Agent"

You can start by seeing which of the big offices are around your area by going to their corporate websites and doing an office search.

I guess you could base your office out of Orlando too...but that's up to you.

You are starting your own business, make no mistake.

Just a heads up thing:

When you join an office you will need to join ORRA and by extension NAR if that office is a member.

When you join an office they can make your license active then and there on the Internet.

Then you should go to the ORRA site and schedule to meet/join online as soon as you can.

You need to get your EKey to access the MLX database.

When you go to ORRA (Orlando Regional Realtors Association) expect to spend about 2-3hrs there.

You will shell out about $1000 that day.

Dues for ORRA for the year, Dues for MLX access for the year and Supra Key rental for a year.

You will learn when you have been scheduled to take the MLX class, get your Supra key on the spot and test those out, and learn when your Orientation is.

You are not technically a Realtor until you take this day long (7:30AM->5PM) Orientation.

They have them just once a month.

You will get the Ekey in the mail in about 3-4 business days after your 1st visit with ORRA.

You will then need to register to be able to activate your key and add a PIN.

It's a little keychain device that displays a 6 digit random number every 60 seconds.

To login to the MLX, you will use your ORRA member ID, plus the 4 digit PIN + the 6 digit random number.

You MUST have this in order to access the MLX.

The Supra key isn't really a key as much as it's a little black box like an old bulky pager.

It is what allows you to acess lock boxes.

You will come home with a folder full of stuff and your Supra key.

ORRA is located at 1330 Lee Road just off North John Young Pkwy.

Ask your potential brokers what sort of training they offer. Ask to meet with the office manager as they will probably be your go to person for everything.

Don't expect quite the split you mention up front.

It's likely that your broker will have a graduated split that goes higher as you earn more.

Hope this helps...

The company I signed up with offers 100% commission $79 a month and $125 per sales transaction fee,free weekly training classes like contract writing, ad writing and marketing workshops, how to do a market analysis. Training and mentoring programs available for new agents which they give you leads and pay for advertising.
If I chose to work with a mentor it is a 70/30 split with my mentor. Since it is a 100% commision I have to pay for everything. What do you guys think? Does this sound good my fiance said I should have interview more brokers but I felt comfortable with this broker and I really like the fact that they offered the mentoring program.