New agent looking for a brokerage
My name is Hillary Fox and I have been an emergency room nurse for ten years that is looking for a full time change to real estate. I recently passed my licensure exam and am looking for a brokerage to work for. I am looking for advice on the difference between brokerages and how to choose one here in Charleston (I live on Johns Island so would prefer to go with an office within 25 min from home)
I have been really really happy with Keller Williams. Each office is independently owned and has its own "vibe" so I would check out a few. I considered EXP as my next choice, but the model of revenue splits and the stock return model seemed really unsustainable. It did not make sense to me how to producers could earn more from the company than they provided in splits, and with the stock being down 70% in the last year, the market agrees.
Profit share makes a lot more sense than revenue share. It is more complicated, but growing profit is much more important for an agent than growing revenue. It does not matter how much money you or your brokerage takes in in GCI if you and your brokerage pay more for that revenue than you make, hence are unprofitable.
Hey Hillary,
Congrats on passing the exam! I'm going to begin that process myself. I'd recommend using the find-an-agent tab to start your due diligence. Everybody that is featured in Charleston is an investor-focused agent, and their brokerage information will be listed.
One note, though, please don't submit a lead for these agents. I encourage you to use it to find their names and then search for them on BiggerPockets and google. The agents who show up on the agent finder pay for their spots, so we don't want them thinking you're looking to buy a house.
I hope this helps. I wish you good luck with your search.
When I first got my license in 2016 I went to KW too. It was a great place to learn and get things started!
I eventually ended up at a small investment firm in Columbus. There's just 4 of us and I think it's good to be around other investors. KW after a while felt very much as a residential real estate company.
Congrats on passing that test!
Quote from @Nathan Grabau:
I have been really really happy with Keller Williams. Each office is independently owned and has its own "vibe" so I would check out a few. I considered EXP as my next choice, but the model of revenue splits and the stock return model seemed really unsustainable. It did not make sense to me how to producers could earn more from the company than they provided in splits, and with the stock being down 70% in the last year, the market agrees.
Profit share makes a lot more sense than revenue share. It is more complicated, but growing profit is much more important for an agent than growing revenue. It does not matter how much money you or your brokerage takes in in GCI if you and your brokerage pay more for that revenue than you make, hence are unprofitable. I
Interesting perspective Nathan- while eXp Realty’s long term sustainability is yet to be seen, Mike Delprete’s “2022 WTF” Inman presentation actually predicted eXp to have the most sustainable model (Check it out on YouTube). And while it’s not for everyone, there’s something to be said for zero bricks and mortar operating costs. Well worth checking it out Hillary- and congratulations on passing the exam. It’s a tough market to break into but with the right support network & plenty of hard work, you’ll succeed!
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Congrats on passing the exam @Hillary Fox! I'm curious, why at this time, are you considering leaving the nursing field for a career in real estate? What is it that attracted you to making it a full time career change? Appreciate the insight as I have a draft completed on my book for new agents and we're going through updates/additions.
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Quote from @Hillary Fox:
My name is Hillary Fox and I have been an emergency room nurse for ten years that is looking for a full time change to real estate. I recently passed my licensure exam and am looking for a brokerage to work for. I am looking for advice on the difference between brokerages and how to choose one here in Charleston (I live on Johns Island so would prefer to go with an office within 25 min from home)
Nurses make the best realtors....nurses and teachers.....congratulations.
Thank you for the encouragement, Bruce!
Brandon, my main reason for leaving at this time is the lack of compensation for hard work in the nursing profession, especially after covid. You can be the best nurse in your department, with the most education, most experience, orient new hires, be in charge, have management experience and get paid the same as the lowest performing RN in the department-sometimes less. This is not just at one facility. I have worked at many and that has been the case at each.
Add travel nurses into the picture during covid and they began to make 4x what I make for less work. These nurses are also asking me to start all of their IVs, and hardly know what tubes to put bloodwork in. Long term wealth is very hard to build with 2% raises every year when inflation is 8%. Every once in a while, you will get at 4% raise but it's not common and still not enough. There is little to no incentive to work hard and be good at your job and not hop from facility to facility.
With Real Estate, I have the opportunity to be compensated for how hard I work and how good I am at my job. I have been passionate for years about the power of real estate and am very excited to get started.
I have many more reasons but this is the main one.
@Hillary Fox are there any REI and/or brokerage meetups you could attend locally? Brick and mortar vs remote, team vs independent? All the brokerages have their pros and cons. As a new agent the main need is training and mentorship. Lookup the mentors in your area from your top 3 brokerage options and vet them. That's probably more important than the actual brokerage.
Hi Hillary, Congrats on passing your exam!!
I'd love to discuss how I changed careers from a pediatric nurse in Australia and in the healthcare field for 13 years, to ski patrol in Canada and now have launched my own business for real estate agents developing their own businesses and also selling real estate with my husband here in Mexico. Being global - we've chosen to work with eXp Realty, and have found it to be perfect for us and our lifestyle, with multiple income stream possibilities.
It's a huge transition and I've helped a lot of agents with their own businesses over the past 2 years, understanding strategy, optimizing the systems provided and ensuring you understand how to seek out the right kind of support based on your own working style.
If you'd like to have a chat I'd love to schedule a time and give you some unbiased info based on my experiences and the feedback from many other agents trying to build out their businesses.
Looking forward to connecting! - Christy
Quote from @Hillary Fox:
Brandon, my main reason for leaving at this time is the lack of compensation for hard work in the nursing profession, especially after covid. You can be the best nurse in your department, with the most education, most experience, orient new hires, be in charge, have management experience and get paid the same as the lowest performing RN in the department-sometimes less. This is not just at one facility. I have worked at many and that has been the case at each.
Add travel nurses into the picture during covid and they began to make 4x what I make for less work. These nurses are also asking me to start all of their IVs, and hardly know what tubes to put bloodwork in. Long term wealth is very hard to build with 2% raises every year when inflation is 8%. Every once in a while, you will get at 4% raise but it's not common and still not enough. There is little to no incentive to work hard and be good at your job and not hop from facility to facility.
With Real Estate, I have the opportunity to be compensated for how hard I work and how good I am at my job. I have been passionate for years about the power of real estate and am very excited to get started.
I have many more reasons but this is the main one.
Congratulations @Hillary Fox on passing your exam! As others have suggested, joining a local team is a great way to get started because "You don't know what you don't know."
I started with a local team for my first 2 years and went off on my own under eXp Realty. I believe they are one of the best brokerages in the world and a lot of top agents and teams in my market have been leaving other brokerages to join eXp.
The truth is, most of what you need to learn the first 1-2 years is available for free online via websites such as YouTube, Facebook groups, LinkedIn, etc. For people that need added accountability and guidance, a team or a coaching program will provide those (for a cost). Your choice of brokerage really has to do with your style of business, and what expenses you feel are worth paying for. This is one of the reasons I joined eXp, but there are plenty of good companies out there to consider.
Best of luck with your new career, congratulations on making the leap!!
Update: thank you everyone for the input and support. I decided to go with eXp and a local sponsor that is a part of The Dream Team with Kyle Handy. I am very exited to get started!