[USER]

Backstory: I’m a 34yo woman. I’ve always worked full-time in addition to running a small business. Business is going very well but I have busy periods and then very slow periods because of the type of work I do. This is my busy period and I am set to make good money soon, but winter and spring slow down considerably. I suddenly had to quit my FT job due to issues with the employer. Now is my opportunity to either push for full-time entrepreneurship which may be difficult, or to make a career switch. I don’t have a degree but have some college education. My previous roles were marketing (in an industry I wasn’t passionate about) and project management/web design for a small tech agency.

I enjoy the idea of real estate. I am always looking at the home sale websites, talking with people about the market, and am a homeowner who went through the buying process 4-5 years ago, and then helped my boyfriend sell his old house right after that. I’ve expanded my knowledge on home improvement in these past few years and love it. I’m up on current trends. I enjoy working with people and am personable. I am organized and thorough in any projects I do.

I’m mostly looking for input from those CURRENTLY working as real estate agents.

• Do you need to mostly be available for clients in the evenings and on weekends? This would conflict with my current small business since that’s when my target clients are available.
• How expensive and difficult is it to get a real estate license? What is needed upfront to be successful?
• How do you choose the right brokerage to work under? We have a huge brokerage in town, and several smaller ones. I also know some people who work for regional or national brokerages which don’t have a local office.
• Are you seeing a shift in the market where there may be too many real estate agents soon? The market was booming but it seems maybe it has plateaued recently.

[Joop]

I currently work as a real estate agent and really enjoy seein the different homes in the diffrent areas and talking to people who are thinking of doing property transactions. I am a RE investor myself, so I really enjoy learning more about what people look for/like about the homes and what prompt them to think about buying/selling.

That said, I have another real full-time job not related to real estate and am not really local to the area, so what I found best fit me is just working at Redfin as an associate agent (I don’t do deals..and no pressure on having to think about paying a brokerage for technologies/admin office work/generating deals..and can just focus on helping out with showing/open house etc). I really love doing it because I personally enjoy seeing homes/seeing different things/getting a peek into personal lives (many agents don’t..because the bulk of money made is actually from doing transactions yourself).

For me, it is perfect as a sideline job.. I can dictate my own avaialble hours (and many of those hours will be evening/weekends) to utilize my license and earn a little extra money (without any pressure of finding/doing deals). I’d say if you are local to the area and has extensive network/know people, it’s a cool job…but the hardest part is finding those who want to buy/sell using your services! From what I heard..being a successful RE agent is really hard…you rely on commissions and good network/referrals to be financiall sutainable (so it’s common that maybe the first 1-2 years..you won’t actually make anything net wise).

I heard 90% of people with licenses quit being real estate agents within 5 years.

Don’t miss: Is it appropriate to invest 80% of your savings in stocks, funds or real estate after retirement?

[Jaime]

Full time mom and realtor here. Way too much to text but would be happy to voice message. In my personal experience, if you want to get out more than you put in you will likely be working full time+++. There are no business hours.

Some days I have so much time I worry if I’ll need to get a job and some days I have so little time for anything I want to cry and get anxiety about whether or not I need an exit strategy.

The ability to have boundaries is 100% essential or you will work 24/7 and be able to justify it. If you’re looking for a side hustle to complement your current business/job/parenting/household…real estate isn’t really it, in my personal experience. I am sure other realtors can chime in with something entirely different so take everything with a grain of salt and pray about it.

In terms of barrier to entry, there are few and the cost is low. In terms of growing from there, it’s a HUSTLE. That being said, it sounds like you have the interest and skills to make it work but ‘easy’ isn’t a word I’d use to describe it.

If you’re already an entrepreneur, it sounds like some of the challenges of growing a real estate business will already be familiar to you.

Explore these too: Saving for a home/real estate purchase

[Author]

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