I have an opportunity to go to classes to get a real estate license and become a real estate agent. A friend of mine is a broker and asked me if I wanted to. He explained to me how it all works.

My question is would it be a wise thing to do right now? I live in a area that slowed down but wasn't really hit as hard as parts in the rest of the country. Is the bad going to get worse in the real estate market?

I had lunch with some of the attorneys I work for and the whole conversation was the properties they were buying on the cheap. Calling it the ultimate buyers market. Money to be made.

Don't give up your day job.

What part of VA do you live in?

Up or down, there's always money to be made.  You just need to be adaptive to the situation when it changes.





Don't go half way, you need to devote 100% of your time to it.  I tried the part-time thing for a while and it didn't work well at all.





Property management or rentals would probably be a good supplement when sales are slow.



Don't start until you've got at least a few months of bills in the bank, it's not for everybody.



 

+1



It's all about momentum.. The deals you have, the more people you are in front of, the more business you will generate.



If you aren't "all-in" on your marketing and your focus, it will not work now.



The benefit you'll have is a lot of the "part time realtors" got out of the business in the last year or two when times got "hard".. IE.. only 1-2 people showed up to their open houses this weekend instead of 12-15.



 

btt for more responses/help.

nobody on arfcom likes realtors so that explains the lack of feedback.




I think you should do it.



At the earliest you are probably 2 months away from getting your license.



The thing that's not always clear is the total cost of getting up and started.



2-3 good months of classes (90 hours + exams here in AZ)



Class fees.. $300-500

State Exam Fees: $90-120

Local/Regional Association fees: $400ish plus an annual fee.

Local MLS dues: $240 per year.



Plus you'll need open house signs, supra e-key, for sale signs, name badges, marketing material.



For me it was pretty close to a $2000 ordeal just to get licensed, and up and running.



Then you'll need to find an office, do interviews, etc.



My suggestion would be to find a broker that has a lot of training, because even fresh out of the classes you truly wont know enough to do a complete transaction right away.

My other suggestion would be to not go at it alone for the first year. Find a team at your office, they will help you write contracts, handle transactions, they'll eventually give you leads, etc. You'll be splitting commission with them, but it's better than "not knowing" or fudging a transaction and getting nothing.