PDA

View Full Version : How to become a Realtor?



Street_Soldier
07-13-2006, 12:21 AM
Anyone here know how? Is it hard?

I dont want to do it as a job I just want to save some cash when i buy my first house.

Thanks

Fcuk
07-13-2006, 12:22 AM
You take a 2 week course which i think is changing in 2007 or could have already possibly changed. after that if you pass i think you need a 70% or 80% to finish the course and recieve your certificate. Easy as that! :thumbsup:

Street_Soldier
07-13-2006, 12:25 AM
sweet dude! i m going to make millions

robpark
07-13-2006, 12:26 AM
I believe it is going to become 6 weeks or 6 months (something like that) very shortly...

If it is just to save money...then cool...but if it is to do for a job...keep in mind there are already more than 5000 realtors in Calgary!

TDA
07-13-2006, 01:01 AM
good luck... haha... for every 1 realtor that is striking it rich and living it high theres like 20 that are starving...

nosegrindR
07-13-2006, 07:53 AM
Originally posted by TDA
good luck... haha... for every 1 realtor that is striking it rich and living it high theres like 20 that are starving...

:werd:
especially with everyone lately jumping on the bandwagon thinking they're going to be rich :rolleyes:

i'm glad they're extending the course length, hopefully it'll weed out all the idiots from this saturated market.

Xtrema
07-13-2006, 09:24 AM
Originally posted by Street_Soldier
Anyone here know how? Is it hard?

I dont want to do it as a job I just want to save some cash when i buy my first house.

Thanks

You'll probably pay just as much for the course and signing up with a agency.

Unless you're seriously think it as a career, don't bother.

Weapon_R
07-13-2006, 09:42 AM
Buy and sell your own property and make a minimum of 12k per home + appreciation. Awesome investment if you want to do that.

JordanLotoski
07-13-2006, 10:58 AM
Iam a realtor...i took the course like 2 years ago. There were 32 people in my class.. Iam am the only one still doing it. Its a great job if you actually make it.


keep in mind there are a ton of expenses being a realor, my desk fees alone are close to 500 a month plus what i pay the calgary real estate board every month which is about 350.

Good luck.

googe
07-13-2006, 12:02 PM
The hardest part isnt passing the test, but you need to be employed by a brokerage. Brokerages dont hire people that dont want to work and just want to save money on their own place ;)

Street_Soldier
07-13-2006, 12:25 PM
Thanks for the info guys.

Hmm will I have to pay the real estate board every month OR can I just pay them when I want to sell or but a home?

I m going to say this again, I m not going to be doing this as a career. Do you guys still think its still worth doing?

How hard is it to sign up with an agency?

JRSC00LUDE
07-13-2006, 01:12 PM
Given my 10 years of land titles work experience, I would say the first step to becoming a successful realtor is to make sure you know absolutely fuck all about how land title transactions actually work. Morons.

Could just be a Saskatchewan anomaly though and no disrespect the those 1 in 100 that actually know what they're talking about!

Slightly off topic but needed that rant today.......good timing, thanks.

Weapon_R
07-13-2006, 01:41 PM
Its VERY simple to find a job with a brokerage. Brokerages work on commission so it's not a big deal to them unless you are costing them and not making them any money.

Fees for the Real Estate Board are levied when you list or sell a property. There are also fees that you have to pay to keep your licence, but any decent realtor should easily cover his fees as the payoffs in real estate are great.

As for the job portion, real estate is perfect for full time or part time work. Even if you use it only to buy and sell homes for yourself, and no one else, its a worthwhile investment if you keep active.

Street_Soldier
07-13-2006, 02:18 PM
thanks man. wish me luck.

HRD2PLZ
07-15-2006, 11:32 AM
I have been a licensed Realtor since 2003. And similar to what MIWYFSHOT said, there is only 3 of us from my class of 35 still active in the business. In fact, I have done a few transactions for those I took the course with. Real Estate is an expensive business, I pay about $1000 for the franchised brokerage I work for, plus a commission split and the related CREB, AREA and RECA membership and licensing fee's. Not to mention phones, vehicles, etc. If you are planning on going into it to save money on your first home its probably not worth it, after you pay for the Provincial Licensing Course (changed since I have taken it) and the Calgary Real Estate Board Orientation you will have to join a brokerage. The brokerage will also take a commission split depending on the brokerage you chose. I would estimate the start-up costs to be in the neighbourhood of $5,000 - $7,500. My annual expenses (office fee's, licensing, etc) is probably in the range of $18,000 - $24,000.

Good Luck with your decision :thumbsup:

Palmiros
07-15-2006, 04:47 PM
Thanks for the info guys, I have been also thinking about this. I`m looking to make it a full-time job, in the future..

robpark
07-16-2006, 02:39 AM
Yeah...everyone thinks they will strike it rich in real estate...

To put it into perspective....

I work on a team that sells homes generally in the multi-millions, close-in.... We tend to do business with other realtors selling to the same market. I can think of maybe 10 realtors we deal with on a regular basis; realtors that list and sell homes of a similar calibre to ours... 10 realtors out of 5000 striking it rich...and guess what, they've all been in the business for 20 years (with the exception of 1 that I can think of). Realtors who do not sell million dollar homes and strike it rich do so through volume...No one is going to ask you to sell a condo building if you have no experience and lack the necessary team to handle the load..again we are back to issues of time and money (staff do not come cheap).

The thing about realty is, it is directly tied into the fortunes of the city in which you conduct business... If the city goes bust, no one wants to move there.. Worse still, lots of people want to leave...excess supply, no demand....prices plummet.... How many realtors do you think go hungry when this happens? Can anyone honestly say that in 20 years time, they know for sure Calgary will still be the economic tiger it is now? Not to mention it takes time to build up a client base and get your name out there.....

Realty is not quick money; if you go into it with the attitude that it will be easy, you won't make it. It will take perseverance and a solid investment on your behalf just to start out.

A colleague of mine put it in really simple terms:

"As a realtor, you wake up every morning unemployed. You spend your day trying to find work, to pay your bills, fees, marketing.... For those who succeed, there is nothing easy about it."

And every morning, you'll wake up with 5000 other people trying to do the exact same thing as you.

JordanLotoski
07-16-2006, 12:05 PM
^^^good way to look at it Rob!!

Hey Ive got a listing in Heritage Point on the lake, have any buyers looking in that area by any chance hahaha

D. Dub
07-16-2006, 02:34 PM
Originally posted by robpark
A colleague of mine put it in really simple terms:

"As a realtor, you wake up every morning unemployed. You spend your day trying to find work, to pay your bills, fees, marketing.... For those who succeed, there is nothing easy about it."

And every morning, you'll wake up with 5000 other people trying to do the exact same thing as you.

Well isn't that depressing :D

robpark
07-16-2006, 03:46 PM
Yeah...on a second look...it seems a little depressing! Not my intention though, just wanted to get the point across that there is nothing easy about the money in real estate... There is a lot of fun to be had as well...

As with anything in life, those who work hard will reap the rewards.

Vr6boi
07-17-2006, 05:19 AM
Well said!!!

I've been a realtor for over 2 years now and I must say it's hard work to get started.
It's not easy building your business. The networking is never-ending, not to mention the phone calls when your on a roll.
It's very rewarding if your successful, but if your not can be very depressing.
I can't imagine sitting at my old desk working 40-50 hours a week though. Being free to do what you want is nice, especially if you have family.
BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET, thats all I gotta say haha

rvd
07-17-2006, 09:23 AM
MIWYFSHOT, HRD2PLZ, robpark, Vr6boi could you recommend a few books to read about being a succesful realtor?

HRD2PLZ
07-17-2006, 09:52 AM
Originally posted by rvd
MIWYFSHOT, HRD2PLZ, robpark, Vr6boi could you recommend a few books to read about being a succesful realtor?

I never read any books. I think its all about the experience. I worked with an experienced family friend when I started out, then went to a different brokerage and worked on one of the Top Teams in the city, then left the team to pursue my own career goals. Not sure any books, cd's, video's would "teach" someone how to be a sucessful Realtor. Developing a sucessful real estate career does take lots of time, effort and energy. It doesn't happen over night and its constantly a work in progress.

A career in Real Estate shouldn't only be for the money.

robpark
07-18-2006, 02:42 AM
Hahahaha... books eh?

I could list them off... but I am currently pursuing a degree in Urban Studies/City Design, so..... I understand the city in many more ways than real estate and the books of reading can be... REALLLLYYY dry.... I wouldn't wish that pain on a complete stranger! The degree has helped but it goes into so much more depth than just land value/settlement patterns...

I'd have to echo what has been said already and say experience is the best bet. I know for a few people who dabble with investments in real estate and currently work on one of the best (if not the best ;) ) teams in the city. You cannot beat that kind of exposure.

Knowledge is part of it, but a lot of it is people skills..which are generally harder to learn than just reading a book...

Try get a job at a brokerage near you and have a taste before you go into it on a "forever" basis.

scat19
07-23-2006, 01:35 AM
Originally posted by robpark
Yeah...on a second look...it seems a little depressing! Not my intention though, just wanted to get the point across that there is nothing easy about the money in real estate... There is a lot of fun to be had as well...

As with anything in life, those who work hard will reap the rewards.

You told me that quite a few times, 10 house listed today, and 5200 some realtors out there......

Street_Soldier
07-25-2006, 11:11 PM
If anyone wants to know

to become a Realtor you need to take a class called

"Introduction or Real Estate" they offer it at the the real estate board of calgary and Mount Royal College.

It costs $125. 7 hours total.

Then you have to take a test 50 questions, you have to get over 70%. The test costs $55

Then you have to take a 90 hour class (3 weeks M-F 9AM-4PM)to get your actual liscence. Costs $1225.

Then you have to get your liscence. Costs 200-300

Then you have to get insurance 100.

Brokerage Fees.

Well after 2000 dollars and about 3 weeks you will be a realtor. Easy as Pie :)

Oh yeah you have to do this before Sept 30... Because after Sept 30th they are changing it. The course will then be like 200 HOURS and cost like $3000-$4000

Vertigo
09-04-2006, 12:03 AM
Also being a Realtor, I'd tend to agree with all the comments listed thus far.

What I would like to add is that many people will get their feet wet by working with a builder as a salesperson firstly then branch off into obtaining their real estate license. I know of a few friends that have done this due to the very very low startup costs compared to being a licensed agent (oops... I mean associate).

The other option is to find a successful associate looking to start a team. Some of these arrangements will minimize the financial strain of marketing (as it's born by the head of the team) and still allow moderate gains with a whole lot of experience. There are those who stick solely to Buyers or Sellers associates, for example, who gather leads through the efforts of the whole team.

Good luck to all those who give it a shot :)

Nitron88
09-19-2006, 12:14 AM
too many realtors out there nowadays and the qualifications to pass isnt all that high. So nowaday s it quite easy to run into ones who arent all that professional. Then again ive met with a couple who are fantastic! :thumbsup:

rusich
10-01-2006, 03:12 AM
I wonder, what would be the appropriate price range and type of vehicle for a starting assosiate? You input would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. What do you think of a Legacy GT for these purposes? Is it too sporty for that?

frozenrice
10-01-2006, 11:21 AM
OFF TOPIC QUESTION:

To the experienced realtors : maybe you can answer this.
I work for a builder. One time we had a customer come in and buy a house from us. The story goes that the customer had a realtor list their house and in the same process look for a new one for them. While the realtor was listing/selling for them, the customers by their own accord came into one of our showhomes and ended up buying a spec from us. No realtor involvement in the new home sale whatsoever. Once the realtor found out that the customer bought a new home instead of buying resale, the realtor starting pestering us for a cut of the commission. It started (after the sale was finalized and construction started) with friendly phone calls to our showhome sales rep saying that the he/she was calling to tell us that he/she was so and so's realtor. A few weeks would go by and they'd call again and say, "this is a friendly reminder that this is so and so's realtor, blah, blah, blah". Then the letters slowly started coming in, each time getting less and less subtle about what they were looking for. It became obvious to us after the first few calls what the realtor wanted. Our stand as a builder is that (from our understanding and customer's acknowledgement) is that they came in without a referral from the realtor and the realtor did nothing for the customer during the process of doing the paperwork and such. At the time, we didn't even know the customer had a realtor.
I guess the question is, is there a proper process that the realtor has to follow when it comes to new home sales? In the specific situation above, what gives the realtor any right in requesting part of the commission when it was obvious that he hadn't done anything with the new home sale? We do have a realtor program and I have seen the paperwork in which we acknowledge realtor involvement so I know it's not a case of our sales rep not wanting to split his commission.
Please do not take this as a realtor bashing question either. I know you all have a living to make and what not. I just don't understand the throught process behind a scenario like this.