Should age determine someone’s knowledge in real estate ?

Question

The question that I’ve been needing answers on! Should age determine someone’s knowledge in this type of work!? I will state my opinion and after that I would like any opinions anyone has! My opinion is NO, age should NOT determine someone’s knowledge, I’m really young in this game and I feel my knowledge is skyrocketing each day more and more! Then again it goes with the time I invest in this as well, countless nights studying local markets , figuring out numbers , calling countless of people back to back, and the list goes on. I want people to hear my opinion out , maybe if you’re hesitant with someone’s age on a deal just hear them out see how they present themselves. Lots of agents and home owners think I’m a lot older by just the way I present myself! I would now like to hear everyone’s opinions! Thanks for your time.

Robert Carmody · Answer

Experience has little to do with age, and also doesn't always have a lot to do with the number of years an agent has been licensed either. Age brings life experience, which is often useful in real estate since customers are usually in some sort of transition in life, good or bad. And, at the same time, an older agent can still be brand new, or only work part time.

There is a difference between "having a real estate license" and "having a real estate business". About 20% of the agents in Albuquerque, where I am, have sold just 1 property, or none, during the last 12 months. 5 or 10 years of no sales from an "agent" who "has a real estate license" still equals 0 sales. Meanwhile, maybe you've only had your real estate business for 3 or 4 years, selling 25 houses each year. If you've got 100 deals under your belt, and another agent got their licensed 10 years ago,  but still at 0 sales, which would you hire?

Kevin McCormack · Answer

I think of what David Greene said on a recent podcast, “the truth told well”. If you can speak with confidence and show the knowledge that you already have at this stage, that should get the ball rolling and get folks to see past age.

Completely agree that if people say no because of age, that’s their problem. I am a new agent on the younger  side and dealing with the same challenges. I look at everything as gaining more experience, learning to deal with these objections just makes me stronger and believe or it not, more confident.

Keep learning, studying and pressing on. Soon age won’t even matter.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Age isn't that important; experience is. I would never buy a home from someone that has never purchased a home themselves. I wouldn't trust investment advice from someone with no Investments. I would prefer someone with more investments than me.

There's also value to life experience. If two people had the same general education and experience with real estate, but one was 30 years older, I would tend to lean towards the older person with more life experience because that tends to color everything that person does.

Tom Hovind · Answer

Adan, what prompts you to ask this question?

In short, no age by itself is no indicator of one's knowledge on a particular subject. What matters is your experience in the field, how many deals have you worked on.

This type of question is an objection that many real estate agents face when just getting started, and we teach them to refer to our broker's experience and deal flow as a way to overcome the objection. As a Flipper / Rehabber I can't see that being an issue for you unless you're trying to get investors to back your flips. If so, any legitimate investor will be more interested in your experience rather than your age. If you have 0 deals and are young, yes it may be a challenge to get backers. Of course, if you're older and have 0 experience in this field, it could also be a challenge to get backers. At that point, both old and young people tend to rely on friends and family to back their first deal if they can't do it themselves. Someone a bit older may have more friends with the means to back deals. They will have also proven their abilities to their friends through their past life choices and perhaps work performance.

If you're having trouble with certain prospects not taking you seriously, you need to let that go that's their issue, not yours. From your message, you seem to carry yourself well and can speak with intelligence on the subject. It's also possible that your message isn't what that prospect wants to hear and they're going to say "no" no matter who makes that offer to them. They may be using your age as an easy objection which they think you can't overcome because you can't become older overnight. In which case refer back to the deals you've done and the past prospects you've helped.

Should age determine someone’s knowledge in real estate ?

Most Popular Reply