[GyopoPlayboy]

How to Work in Real Estate

The first real job I got straight out of college was in real estate. It’s an awesome industry to get into, especially for those of you interested in side hustles. So I’d like to offer RVF my datasheet on how to get involved in the real estate industry as a salesperson/broker and why it’s a great idea for everybody to know something about it.

Real estate is awesome because you can do it full-time or part-time. It’s totally up to you and your broker/company. So let’s go over some of the very basic rules. Only applies to Americans (sorry rest of the world)

The VERY VERY BASICS (or PART 1):

1. You must be at least 18 years of age to be able to get a license.
2. You must be a legal US resident.
3. You must have at least a high school degree or something equivalent (GED)
4. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you don’t have a criminal record. (This is because you are essentially APPLYING for a real estate license, which means it can get denied. Misdemeanors are usually not a big problem. Don’t have felonies on your record.)
5. You must pass a course with a predefined number of hours for the state you want to get a license in. There are caveats to this (like if you majored in real estate in college) but if the caveat applies to you, you most likely don’t need this datasheet. For the majority who have never done anything related to real estate before, you will need to take a course.
6. After the course, you must pass a state exam. You can take this as many times as you need to.
7. Each state has different requirements for licensing. All of your specific inquiries can be answered by even the simplest Google search.
8. There are 2 types of licenses: Salesperson and Broker. You’ll want to focus on the Salesperson for now.
9. As a Salesperson, you must work for a Broker first.
10. No previous experience is required.
    

The SLIGHTLY LESS BASIC (PART 2):

1. Some states, but not all, have Reciprocity rules. Reciprocity is what allows you to practice RE in another state without having to get licensed there.
2. Reciprocity USUALLY only applies to brokers, but in some cases can apply to salespersons.
3. There is no rhyme or reason as to why certain states do or do not have reciprocity. New York has reciprocity with Connecticut (makes sense) and Alabama (doesn’t make sense) but not with neighboring New Jersey (also doesn’t make sense).
4. California, famously, has no reciprocity with other states.
5. Some states, but not all, require you to be a resident of that state in order to get a license there.
6. Brokers will almost always be required to be residents. For salespersons, you usually just need to be a legal resident of the US.
7. The exam is not difficult. Most states have a pretty low pass standard. In New York, I believe it was somewhere around 70% and for New Jersey it was even lower…like 65% or so.
8. If you fail, you will see your score. If you pass, it will just say PASS. Therefore, if you pass, you’ll never really know how you did.
9. You will need to RENEW your license every year/2 years/whatever according to your state’s rules. This requires taking another multi-hour course, but it’s usually fewer hours than the first time around. For example, to renew your license in NY, the course is only 30 hours compared to the 75 pre-licensing course.
10. Each state has different rules about where to take the course and how long they have to be. In NY, it was 45 hours when I got licensed (now 75). NJ is 75. Connecticut is just 60. Delaware is 99. States will differ in this regard.
11. Most states have approved certain community colleges and private institutions to teach the pre-licensing course. I myself took a night course at a community college. I believe California even allows you to take classes online.
12. I preferred the classroom feel of the night course because my instructor was cool, had loads of very interesting and funny experiences, and only had us focus on material that was likely to show up on the test. The rest of the stuff we would learn on the job. When I finished my course, I bought him a nice bottle of wine, which is not necessary or anything. I just genuinely liked the guy.
    

The BASICS (PART 3):

1. The actual licensing procedure is pretty straightforward in all states. Your course will definitely inform you of all of the following:
   

• You register to take the test either online or on a form that you can mail in and pay a (usually) nonrefundable license fee. This fee varies greatly depending on your state. It could be as low as $50 or as high as $150.
• You complete a fingerprint check at any police station that has the capabilities. I forgot how much I paid, but it was very low.
• You also submit a background check, the fee for which is usually around $75 +/- 25 depending on your state.
• You pick a test date.
• Bring 2 photo-bearing IDs. (Driver’s License, Passport, Military ID, Citizenship certificate, etc… Gym membership cards and such don’t work. Don’t be retarded.)
• Bring whatever proof of registration that you are told to bring. If your registered on a website, you’ll print it out. If you mailed something in, you’ll get something in the mail.
• You may (and should) bring a calculator. There are math-based questions on the exam.
• No cellphones/food allowed.
• You’ll have anywhere between 1.5 to 2 hours to finish the exam, depending on the state. I finished in 40 minutes, but that’s cuz I’m friggin awesome
• And that’s it. If you fail, it shows you your score. If you pass, it’ll just say PASS.
• If you fail, you can retake it so don’t panic.
• My advice to pass the test: When you take the course, take notes/highlight what the teacher emphasizes and then memorize it later when you get home. A week out from the test, go back over all the things you memorized or highlighted.
• CONGRATS! If you pass, you get your license immediately as long as you’ve done your background check and fingerprinting. Now all you need is to find a broker who will employ you!
  

THE REAL WORLD (PART 4):

1. Brokers will have no problem hiring you. It requires very minimal investment on their part and they stand to profit if you turn out to be good hire.
2. Now, here’s the big secret that nobody will tell you but is kind of obvious: the salespeople with the largest networks and best connections make the most money.
3. That means you could be a snot-nosed kid fresh out of college, but let’s say you were a Division 1 athlete and everybody in the neighborhood knows you. Every broker will want to hire you because they know you can attract clients.
4. Or let’s say your dad is well-known. Or you just know a lot of people.
5. Brokers will hire you and most but not all will offer some sort of training using their own proprietary material. But what brokers are really looking for are people who already have networks that they can bring with them to the firm.
6. Looks matter. I didn’t think it was just coincidence that my firm hired a lot of tall good looking former jocks and women who could be models.
7. But even looks are nothing compared to your sales prowess. We had one guy there who we affectionately called Oddjob, cuz he was short, Asian, and stocky, but that guy was closing deals left and right even in the middle of the housing market collapse when people were losing jobs.
8. It’s the least 9-5 job I’ve ever worked in my life. Oddjob, and some of the other top producers, were very seldom seen at the office. If you were doing your job right, you were out networking and lining up potential clients. Yankee games were a popular client-meeting spot for a lot of the guys there, as were any celebrations/parties/openings.
9. Two other guys had this unusual arrangement worked out where they agreed to go 50-50 on every deal either of them came across. Even my boss said he was initially taken aback by how trusting they were of each other but it’s been going strong for the last 10 years. So if one guy is on vacation in Spain, and the other guy closed on a $10 million deal, he’d split his commission with the dude on vacation. There were literally a thousand and one ways you could set up your own commission structure, your work schedule, and your lifestyle.
10. Lawsuits happen all. the. time. It’s usually not personal. It’s corporations suing corporations while other branches of those corporations continue to do business with each other.
11. Commercial real estate is different from residential real estate. Residential, I feel, is more about helping clients find a good emotional match. I myself worked in commercial, where it was mostly corporations hiring us to lease properties on 20, 50, and even 99-100 year leases for office space. Or some rich Saudi Arabian oil prince who wanted investment properties in NY now that prices had fallen flat, back in 2009.
12. Commercial RE is a full-time job, meaning that you may not want to work a second job because it will be too time-consuming. Residential RE, on the other hand, is much more flexible in this regard because you can finish your 9-5 job then show some properties afterwards. With commercial RE, there’s a lot more paperwork than in residential and you work closely with RE lawyers and accountants to create presentations to make pitches to investors.
13. The market’s (partially) rigged. And not to the average joe's benefit. Take the real estate lawyers, for example. The ones who’ve been in the game 10-20 years know everything about everything. They’re the ones who sit in the back during sheriff’s auctions, when the city is selling off distressed properties or foreclosed homes. These guys know which homes to buy and which not to, which to flip quickly, which to hold onto, etc… If you’ve ever been to one of these and think you’re going to get rich flipping homes like this, you’re in for a rude awakening. Those RE lawyers probably smile and wink knowingly at each other when they see someone like that come in. Like Ygritte likes to say often: “You know nuthin, Jon Snow.” They, on the other hand, already know everything.
    

REFLECTIONS (PART 5):

1. Having a real estate license means that you now carry a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of your clients. This will teach you very important negotiation skills when you’re trying to work out a good deal for your client.
2. I now feel more confident about getting into real estate investing than most people out there. Whether it’s to buy your own home or some investment properties, I know enough that I won’t be taken for a ride. Also, if you are engaging in a RE transaction as the buyer, you are required by law to tell your agent that you have a real estate license. I’m not sure why. But it certainly makes it less likely that they’re going to try to yank your chain.
3. I would highly highly recommend real estate to kids in college as a part time job. Probably residential, as commercial usually requires having finished your college degree. If you’re 18 or 19, what an exceptional education you’d receive in sales. Instead of getting hammered every Friday night or doing kegstands, I’d much rather be watching how someone closes on a $400,000 townhouse.
4. Time investment on your part is quite minimal. When I was getting licensed in NJ, I took a train over to a community college for a few hours every other night and finished the 75-hour course in 3 weeks over a summer. Or I could’ve done just a few hours 2 or 3 times a week over 2 or 3 months. It’s really not a huge amount of time and at any rate the time you invest in getting this kind of knowledge is an investment more than an expenditure.
5. I love working with people who work on commission. There’s a spirit there that you just can’t find among the salaried workers. Even I couldn’t wait to get to work because I always felt like I could possibly miss out on something.
6. I also loved the stories they had. You meet some very interesting people in this line of work.
7. I also made a lot of interesting connections. Chinese millionaires. Brazilian entrepreneurs with 2 or 3 wives and condos all over Florida and New York. Sons and daughters of dictators and politicians who attended the most hoity-toity private schools in the area, the Brearleys, Choates, Trinities, Daltons, etc…
8. This job taught me more about life, women, and society in 1 year than all my previous 20+ years of life experiences did. That’s either really sad or inspiring, I haven’t decided which.
   

TL;DR version:

1. The basic requirements you need to get a real estate license: like be over 18, a US citizen, have at least a HS degree, don’t have felonies, etc…
2. Take the course either at local community college or private institution so you can take the test.
3. Take the test. Retake if you fail.
4. What the real world is like: RE is all about who you know. Hustle your ass off, learn as much as you can, make solid connections, make money hand over fist.
5. I’d recommend everybody, regardless of situation, to invest some time in learning about real estate. If you’re in college, you’re in the best situation because your school might offer courses for free or you could apprentice at an agency.
   

[peterthephoenix]

Good sheet. Thanks for the share.

[Theseus]

Yo Gyopo, nice post.

I just got into the RE game and have my eyes set on engaging in a personal conquest of luxury RE for an international brokerage firm.

I'm based in Houston, Texas right now, but I'm considering moving to FL or NY to build a rolodex of wealthy clientele as well as cute international girls.

What's your take on all this:

-How to network with wealthy prospects?
-Go from rising champ to full on intenational RE agent?
-Are those two markets good?

[Thrill Jackson]

I don't understand how residential real estate can be part time. How do you report to your boss? Are their certain sales numbers you need to put up? Is all the money you earn based off commission? When you sale property, can all of the paperwork be turned in outside regular business hours? Do you have an office building that you need to reside at? Can you write off expenses for lunches or is it not rebursed at all? I appreciate the data sheet bro, there is just so much you left out.

[TheFinalEpic]

(05-11-2016 11:35 AM)Phil Jackson Wrote:  

I don't understand how residential real estate can be part time. How do you report to your boss? Are their certain sales numbers you need to put up? Is all the money you earn based off commission? When you sale property, can all of the paperwork be turned in outside regular business hours? Do you have an office building that you need to reside at? Can you write off expenses for lunches or is it not rebursed at all? I appreciate the data sheet bro, there is just so much you left out.

Residential is what you want to make it. Residential realtor here. All money you earn is based on commissions, and you don't have a boss, you are an independent contractor. Your "boss" is your broker, and every brokerage will hire you because they run a volume based business trying to get as many realtors in the door that pay monthly dues to them. Most large brokerages are worth mid 7-low 8 figures because of this.

My office I like to say is Starbucks, and I have a home office. And yes you can deduct expenses like any business would. I would recommend incorporating and operating via that vehicle instead of as a proprietorship as well, as it saves you some liability.

[Thrill Jackson]

^I appreciate the response, how much do you usually pay the broker monthly?

[Theseus]

Quote:

Residential is what you want to make it. Residential realtor here. All money you earn is based on commissions, and you don't have a boss, you are an independent contractor. Your "boss" is your broker, and every brokerage will hire you because they run a volume based business trying to get as many realtors in the door that pay monthly dues to them. Most large brokerages are worth mid 7-low 8 figures because of this.

Any input on how to get into working luxury and/or international?

I'm sure the monthly due is higher then let's say, Keller Williams or Remax.

[Big Swinging Dick]

Can you residential real estate guys give a rough ballpark of what you're earning?

I've always associated realtors with 50-year fat housewives who sell a couple houses a year. Can you make an actually living from it?

[TheFinalEpic]

Remax will charge in excess of a grand a month for desk fees and such. I'm with a smaller brokerage that charges far less.

You will not be able to do international real estate as you want to pursue as real estate and its licensing is a state-by-state case. Luxury is pursuing the high end stuff and where you live. Josh Altman and selling 13mil homes in LA comes to mind. If you look at the luxury market, you hit a much smaller percentage of people, in our market anything over 500k is considered the upper echelons. Consider that the turn over on luxury properties is terribly slow (months and sometimes years on market) as opposed to stuff that the average Joe can buy.

You can make a killing in real estate, but there are the goofs that go in and don't market themselves and wait for business to come to them. If you're a hustler and go after it, look for low six figs. I personally know multiple realtors that have cracked 500k+ per annum.

[Cattle Rustler]

Rhetorical question: If someone is making a killing doing X, why would they give away their step by step blueprint in real time? Notice, there's a difference between Gypos datasheet and telling you what people or programs to use.

Couple of things for those thinking about hitting the "international" or "luxury" segments:

Are you attractive? Really nigga, serious question....

Look at the niggas who sell luxury stuff, they don't look or dress like you're average joe. The rain makers definitely had some cosmetic work done. At that stage is about sales and good looks.

For Theseus:
-How to network with wealthy prospects?
How is the richest nigga you know in htown? How many rich people do you know? Do you know where they work out, sleep, eat, drink?
-Go from rising champ to full on intenational RE agent?
What is going to be your angle? There's plenty of ballers in Texas, perhaps you can help them with their second homes and such and become their rep.
-Are those two markets good?
Locally, no. Mexicans are the foreigners who invest in Houston but the Peso is weak and economy is sluggish. The luxury market has gone down too due to low oil prices and depressed local economy.

Globally is the same thing: Brazilians, Russians and Chinese don't buy as much due to weak currencies and cut in their net worth. The Ultra High Net Worth folks still buy but it's different at that level.

[TheFinalEpic]

My business partner and I have a running joke about real estate and the type of people in the industry. They're either 1. Douche bags (we fall into this category) 2. Schlubs that do 3 deals a year 3. Gay or 4. Women.

The infatuation with "only selling luxury homes" is one that I fell into, however it doesn't return like you'd hope. Think of it this way: The higher in value a property is, the less people will be able to purchase it (shocking I know). Pushing volume at a lower entry point is going to reach the same results of selling one luxury condo a year. Commercial realtors do at most 2 deals a year. It all depends on you, I like the feeling of closing a deal, doing so only once a year would drive me bonkers.

[Theseus]

Lots of solid intel and tough questions being dropped by you cats, much respect.

Quote:

How to network with wealthy prospects?
How is the richest nigga you know in htown? How many rich people do you know? Do you know where they work out, sleep, eat, drink?

Quote:

My business partner and I have a running joke about real estate and the type of people in the industry. They're either 1. Douche bags (we fall into this category) 2. Schlubs that do 3 deals a year 3. Gay or 4. Women.

Literally 'laughed out loud' at Final Epic's joke. Yo, I actually just noticed this the other day while going through the different agents working at different wealthy realty firms around America.

Quote:

How to network with wealthy prospects?
How is the richest nigga you know in htown? How many rich people do you know? Do you know where they work out, sleep, eat, drink?
-Go from rising champ to full on intenational RE agent?
What is going to be your angle? There's plenty of ballers in Texas, perhaps you can help them with their second homes and such and become their rep.
-Are those two markets good?
Locally, no. Mexicans are the foreigners who invest in Houston but the Peso is weak and economy is sluggish. The luxury market has gone down too due to low oil prices and depressed local economy.

Great questions Cattle Rustler.

Yeah, currently I'm in the process of meeting different wealthy people in my local hood. Actually was invited to a mansion party a few weeks ago, so the process of it is slowly paying off.

I'm also looking up the richest parts of my city and learning the ins and outs, the high end restaurants and befriending the staff.

One big thing I'm hustling on at the moment is building a rolodex with realtors already decades ahead of me that are working wealthy properties/prospects. Going to be meeting one next week actually.

This brings me to the next questions:

You guys have any breakdowns on how to establish a rolodex of potential prospects and building a resume for getting into a luxury firm?

What are important languages to learn? I'm learning Spanish, with Mandarin in mind in the near future.

[Sidney Crosby]

In Canada, be Chinese to sell to foreign Chinese buyers = profit

[Northwest]

(05-12-2016 09:13 AM)Theseus Wrote:  

Lots of solid intel and tough questions being dropped by you cats, much respect.

Quote:

How to network with wealthy prospects?
How is the richest nigga you know in htown? How many rich people do you know? Do you know where they work out, sleep, eat, drink?

Quote:

My business partner and I have a running joke about real estate and the type of people in the industry. They're either 1. Douche bags (we fall into this category) 2. Schlubs that do 3 deals a year 3. Gay or 4. Women.

Literally 'laughed out loud' at Final Epic's joke. Yo, I actually just noticed this the other day while going through the different agents working at different wealthy realty firms around America.

Quote:

How to network with wealthy prospects?
How is the richest nigga you know in htown? How many rich people do you know? Do you know where they work out, sleep, eat, drink?
-Go from rising champ to full on intenational RE agent?
What is going to be your angle? There's plenty of ballers in Texas, perhaps you can help them with their second homes and such and become their rep.
-Are those two markets good?
Locally, no. Mexicans are the foreigners who invest in Houston but the Peso is weak and economy is sluggish. The luxury market has gone down too due to low oil prices and depressed local economy.

Great questions Cattle Rustler.

Yeah, currently I'm in the process of meeting different wealthy people in my local hood. Actually was invited to a mansion party a few weeks ago, so the process of it is slowly paying off.

I'm also looking up the richest parts of my city and learning the ins and outs, the high end restaurants and befriending the staff.

One big thing I'm hustling on at the moment is building a rolodex with realtors already decades ahead of me that are working wealthy properties/prospects. Going to be meeting one next week actually.

This brings me to the next questions:

You guys have any breakdowns on how to establish a rolodex of potential prospects and building a resume for getting into a luxury firm?

What are important languages to learn? I'm learning Spanish, with Mandarin in mind in the near future.

To answer your question about getting into the luxury business, you essentially have to do what you picture the "typical realtor" doing. Golfing, luncheons, cocktail parties, basically rubbing shoulders with wealthy people, etc. Its an entirely different ball game, as people are essentially paying for your connections.

If you're serious about targeting the luxury market, my best suggestion would be to meet up with some of the biggest agents in your market, and essentially say you will work for them, do 100% of the work, and give them a pretty healthy cut of any commissions. In turn, they'll teach you the ways, get you into social circles, and essentially pass the torch. I'm sure if you're from this corner of the internet you'd be fairly good with people, and one of those big agents will probably like you.

I'd recommend reading the books of any of the TV real estate personalities. These shows are retarded, but the agents in the shows are actually very good at networking and selling, and are generally pretty intelligent businessmen.

At the end of the day my focus is volume-based and catering to a larger section of the population, I've only dabbled in luxury real estate by pure chance, so perhaps take my advice with a grain of salt. I'd still recommend this career path to most of the men on here. It may not be something that will build true location independence, but you can make a lot of money to use in building other investments, businesses, etc.

[Theseus]

(06-12-2016 12:46 PM)Northwest Wrote:  

(05-12-2016 09:13 AM)Theseus Wrote:  

Lots of solid intel and tough questions being dropped by you cats, much respect.

Quote:

How to network with wealthy prospects?
How is the richest nigga you know in htown? How many rich people do you know? Do you know where they work out, sleep, eat, drink?

Quote:

My business partner and I have a running joke about real estate and the type of people in the industry. They're either 1. Douche bags (we fall into this category) 2. Schlubs that do 3 deals a year 3. Gay or 4. Women.

Literally 'laughed out loud' at Final Epic's joke. Yo, I actually just noticed this the other day while going through the different agents working at different wealthy realty firms around America.

Quote:

How to network with wealthy prospects?
How is the richest nigga you know in htown? How many rich people do you know? Do you know where they work out, sleep, eat, drink?
-Go from rising champ to full on intenational RE agent?
What is going to be your angle? There's plenty of ballers in Texas, perhaps you can help them with their second homes and such and become their rep.
-Are those two markets good?
Locally, no. Mexicans are the foreigners who invest in Houston but the Peso is weak and economy is sluggish. The luxury market has gone down too due to low oil prices and depressed local economy.

Great questions Cattle Rustler.

Yeah, currently I'm in the process of meeting different wealthy people in my local hood. Actually was invited to a mansion party a few weeks ago, so the process of it is slowly paying off.

I'm also looking up the richest parts of my city and learning the ins and outs, the high end restaurants and befriending the staff.

One big thing I'm hustling on at the moment is building a rolodex with realtors already decades ahead of me that are working wealthy properties/prospects. Going to be meeting one next week actually.

This brings me to the next questions:

You guys have any breakdowns on how to establish a rolodex of potential prospects and building a resume for getting into a luxury firm?

What are important languages to learn? I'm learning Spanish, with Mandarin in mind in the near future.

To answer your question about getting into the luxury business, you essentially have to do what you picture the "typical realtor" doing. Golfing, luncheons, cocktail parties, basically rubbing shoulders with wealthy people, etc. Its an entirely different ball game, as people are essentially paying for your connections.

If you're serious about targeting the luxury market, my best suggestion would be to meet up with some of the biggest agents in your market, and essentially say you will work for them, do 100% of the work, and give them a pretty healthy cut of any commissions. In turn, they'll teach you the ways, get you into social circles, and essentially pass the torch. I'm sure if you're from this corner of the internet you'd be fairly good with people, and one of those big agents will probably like you.

I'd recommend reading the books of any of the TV real estate personalities. These shows are retarded, but the agents in the shows are actually very good at networking and selling, and are generally pretty intelligent businessmen.

At the end of the day my focus is volume-based and catering to a larger section of the population, I've only dabbled in luxury real estate by pure chance, so perhaps take my advice with a grain of salt. I'd still recommend this career path to most of the men on here. It may not be something that will build true location independence, but you can make a lot of money to use in building other investments, businesses, etc.

Nice. Great intel Northwest.

Any other places you recommend to brush shoulders with them? Like tennis clubs or cigar lounges, etc.

Also, what are you thoughts regarding female vs male real estate mentors? Do you think age makes a difference?

Lately I've been establishing mentor connections with older RE cats. I assume the years they got under their belts prevent them from becoming competitive, unlike younger RE cats.

[mammal]

GyopoPlayboy,
Can you share some tips to someone looking to buy,especially about finding agood buyer broker?

[musashi]

I want to transition out of oil and gas to work as a realtor. It seems as though there is a low barrier of entry into this career but if you know what you're doing and work your ass off you can be successful. So my starting point is the University of Amazon.com. What books can you guys recommend for me? As far as a company I already own a corporation which I use for consulting in oil and gas, so I know all about tax write offs and liabilities. My strategy will look like this:
1) learn as much as possible with books and internet study, write the exam and find a brokerage to work at
2) find a mentor that I will work for part time for free while working 7 days a week, 16 hour days if need
3) focus on marketing (spending money to make money) which will lead to sales

Please tel me if I'm crazy or realistic. I'm in the Calgary market where yes home values are down because of lower price crude, but it's a buyers market, and still a substantial number of homes are being sold in this city. Basically I will learn as much as possible and then grind as hard as possible because I have a huge interest in it

[CaptainChardonnay]

(05-12-2016 06:23 PM)Sidney Crosby Wrote:  

In Canada, be Chinese to sell to foreign Chinese buyers = profit

A good friend of mine's fraternity brother from China graduated university and made 800k off his first sale then bought a Lamborghini doing this.

Can anyone bust out a Canadian equivalent data sheet?

[musashi]

A Canadian data sheet would be great plus recommendations on books on becoming a Canadian real estate agent or books that help a Canadian real estate agent.

[bodacious]

(10-10-2016 10:38 PM)CaptainChardonnay Wrote:  

(05-12-2016 06:23 PM)Sidney Crosby Wrote:  

In Canada, be Chinese to sell to foreign Chinese buyers = profit

A good friend of mine's fraternity brother from China graduated university and made 800k off his first sale then bought a Lamborghini doing this.

Can anyone bust out a Canadian equivalent data sheet?

Go for Toronto:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/vancouve...-1.3703805

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36956034

[Brother Abdul Majeed]

(10-11-2016 05:46 AM)musashi Wrote:  

A Canadian data sheet would be great plus recommendations on books on becoming a Canadian real estate agent or books that help a Canadian real estate agent.

Each province has its own real estate association which is further broken down into regional boards. An Ontario license will allow you to practice in any board in Ontario but isn't transferable to other provinces.

Most real estate agents tend to come to the trade later in life (after they have failed at other professions) but I always thought it would be a great job for someone fresh out of high school who already has a social media network. Most of his/her high school buddies will be buying their first home in the next few years so they will already have a "circle of influence".

I got my license in 2007 and retired in 2013. It was a way for me to kill time until I could properly retire and I did make quite a bit of money at it and learned a lot of lessons. Ironically my real estate was just kicking into high gear when I retired, but I was fed up of working with people (they tend to be very unreliable) and just had my heart on other things. I also practiced in a rural board and there was a lot of driving involved which was starting to bore the hell out of me. I also really felt a ton of pressure when I had listings that weren't moving and personally felt like I was disappointing people which I struggled with.

I was lucky and managed to get a bank contract almost right off the bat, so I did all of their "power of sales" (the Ontario equivalent of forclosures) in my area. It wasn't one of the main banks, but it gave me 6 or 7 listings a year with a seller who was willing to drop the price when required. This led to a ton of people walking through my listings and I was able to pick up buyers from that. My area has a lot of waterfront, so I'd snag the occasional buyer who was looking for a pricey cottage.

There's really no one way to practice real estate successfully. Most agents find a niche and work that to death. There are your condo guys who flog condos. Condos are a pain in the ass, lots of paperwork, lots of documents to be reviewed, and lots of chance that an enthusiastic buyer can get turned off in the process. There are agents who specialize in farms and will need to know about the different soil types and things associated with farms. Agents who sell cottages will have to be well versed in riparian rights and have to have a working knowledge of how the local conservation authority works. Rural agents will have to know how wells and septic work.

My personal favourite listing was a man who owned a 200 acre plot that had been granted to his great-great-great (not sure how many greats are in this) grandfather by the King for services rendered during the American war of independence. I had to go to the local registry office and scour through microfiche files for any possible surveys that might have been done in the past because all he had was an old "metes and bounds" survey on hand (a physical description of the land). We eventually discovered his plot wasn't 200 acres because in the 1960's the river had flooded and reclaimed a big part of his property. There was quite a bit of detective work involved. Real estate isn't just walking into homes and showing anxious ladies how much cupboard space there is and how new the kitchen counters are. A good agent will know his stuff.