Being an agent to earn commission and use that to invest

Being an agent to earn commission and use that to invest

Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2018 · 14 posts · 4 votes

Hello BP,

I am a college student who is working with my dad on both of ours first deal (I will post a detailed summary with pics once it is finished). I am wanting to either start investing while in college or try to save as much money and meet as many people as possible to get after it when I’m done with school. I have 2 years left of school. I’m going to be an agent in the next few weeks. My idea now is to become an agent while in college and get some sales, while also learning from helping my dad and another investor I’ve met to be prepared for my own investments. If an owner financed deal comes along then I’ll have enough for a down payment, but if I end up not buying a single property while in college I’d have money saved up and 2 years of 1099 income to show. Correct me if I’m wrong, but if I show fairly consistent 1099 income for 2 years and have good credit, I should be able to get a loan. This would set me up well for my first investment.

Please criticize my thoughts or give me advice! I’m open to any and all ideas, but I just wanted to share my current plan and see what people had to say.

Thank you!

0Reply
29 views

Most Popular Reply

Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 407 posts · 267 votes
7y

Hi @Ross Hewitt

You'll find that being in commission sales doesn't make financing easy. Lenders will want an arm, a leg, and your unborn child.

Real estate sales can be a lucrative opportunity if done right, though you'll find find that your sales database takes longer to build than you may think at this point.

See this reply in the discussion

4 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 407 posts · 267 votes
    7y

    Hi @Ross Hewitt

    You'll find that being in commission sales doesn't make financing easy. Lenders will want an arm, a leg, and your unborn child.

    Real estate sales can be a lucrative opportunity if done right, though you'll find find that your sales database takes longer to build than you may think at this point.

  • Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2018 · 14 posts · 4 votes
    7y

    @Seth Ferguson thank you for the response! That’s good to know.. so do you recommend focusing on building relationships to maybe form a partnership down the road and using what I save as skin in the game? 

    And yes, I’ve heard it can take a while and am trying to be as realistic as possible with myself. Are you an agent?

  • Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 407 posts · 267 votes
    7y

    @Ross Hewitt

    You're much better off meeting with experienced brokers in your area, finding out what their brokerages do, and speaking with some of their experienced agents who also invest.

    Honestly, a message board can't come close to replacing those conversations.

    Just focus on finding out how successful agents built their business and learning how those agents that invest got it to work with their sales business.

  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    7y

    I won't criticize your thoughts but I will give you a dose of reality.

    It will cost you up to $2,000 to become get licensed and insured. You will have monthly fees/dues on top of that. Any commissions earned will be split with your Broker and then you pay your personal expenses out of that. You probably need 1-2 sales just to break even.

    About 80% of all agents let their license go within the first year. 87% of all agents quit at some point. That means you have a 13% chance of being successful. You probably think you're smarter than the average bear and really jazzed to make this a successful career. Well, I can't tell you how many new agents I've seen that had the same attitude and then they disappear within 1-2 years.

    Almost 70% of all REALTORS are women with a median age of 54, an average of 10 years experience, and college educated. In my experience, most of them have actual life skills from buying/selling personal homes, working other jobs, etc. Most of them work 40 hours a week on their real estate business and are actively involved in their communities. Most of them are married to another income earner and/or have a pension from a previous job so they're able to handle multiple months without any income. Despite all this experience, the median income is just $54,000. 

    You will be competing against people that have far more life experience, far more real estate experience, more education, are more involved in their community (networking), have an established referral network, and they are working the job full time. In the end, what will you gain? $10,000 in commissions? Maybe $20,000 if you have a good first year? You could work as a night watchman and make more while working on your education.

    Real estate is a great career but it takes a while to get there and it takes the right kind of person. If you jump into it, get the true picture and go in with eyes wide open.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7243 Reviews
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.