Becoming a Realtor
Dear Phyllis,
I have been enjoying your real estate question and answers for years. You seem to have such a vast knowledge of all aspects of real estate, does that just come from experience? Or did you have special training? Now that my children are grown I am considering going to school and obtaining my real estate license. What can you share about becoming a Realtor?
Cindy
Dear Cindy,
Thank you! Prior to selling real estate I was a mortgage banker. I held a variety of different positions. My experience as a loan underwriter included an in-depth analysis of the appraisal process. This knowledge has greatly helped me when appraisals come in lower than the selling price of my listings. I have the skillset needed to rebut low appraisals.
When I first became a Realtor I attended numerous seminars and conventions. I highly recommend obtaining as much knowledge as possible. Not all seminars are valuable and if you find one that is just a sales pitch and of no value to you, don’t be embarrassed to walk out.
Becoming a Realtor requires a lot of out of pocket expense. Multiple listing dues are required in order to search the MLS and obtain showing information on listings. You will also need to pay for a keypad to open lockboxes and errors and omissions insurance. Basically you pay to go to work each day.
Being successful in real estate means being accountable seven days a week. You won’t necessarily be meeting people every day, but you will be answering calls and emails daily. Over the years I have had numerous assistants and many of them branched out on their own and became very successful real estate agents. You will learn more and have a better opportunity if you can find a job as a real estate assistant to a top producing Realtor. The other aspect of being part of a team is that you can take a vacation and know that your clients are in good hands.
