Flipper/Rehabber · Louisville, KY · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
I am an investor, mostly flips, and am finally getting my own license. I will be using the license for my own investing and maybe a couple other investors. I will be low volume and could go several months doing no deals.
What should I be looking for in a sponsoring broker? What questions should I ask? What things to steer clear of? What kind of deal is typically offered?
I am an investor, mostly flips, and am finally getting my own license. I will be using the license for my own investing and maybe a couple other investors. I will be low volume and could go several months doing no deals.
What should I be looking for in a sponsoring broker? What questions should I ask? What things to steer clear of? What kind of deal is typically offered?
If you have particular recommendations feel free.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.
If you're experienced with the process and don't need much training, there are a bunch of 100% brokerages in the city with light monthly fees and no volume requirements. If you are going to be listing properties for sale, take a hard look at the brokerage's reviews online. Even though we as brokers know that we're all independent, the public will consider you as "working for" your brokerage, so if the brokerage has crappy reviews it might be best to not associate with them even if you are saving $x/mo.
I am an investor, mostly flips, and am finally getting my own license. I will be using the license for my own investing and maybe a couple other investors. I will be low volume and could go several months doing no deals.
What should I be looking for in a sponsoring broker? What questions should I ask? What things to steer clear of? What kind of deal is typically offered?
If you have particular recommendations feel free.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.
If you're experienced with the process and don't need much training, there are a bunch of 100% brokerages in the city with light monthly fees and no volume requirements. If you are going to be listing properties for sale, take a hard look at the brokerage's reviews online. Even though we as brokers know that we're all independent, the public will consider you as "working for" your brokerage, so if the brokerage has crappy reviews it might be best to not associate with them even if you are saving $x/mo.
@Eric M. the real questions will be what do you want out of a brokerage? If you are just in it to represent yourself on an occasional transaction, then it makes sense to join a 100% commission outfit like @Matthew Olszak mentioned. If you want training, you will need to determine how much training you will need and also what type of training. Many of the big name brokerages offer a lot of training on how to do a traditionally modeled business. Do you want to do open houses? What about listing properties? Do you need to figure out how to nurture zillow leads? These are all questions that only you can answer.
Keep in mind that there are around 40,000 licensed agents in the Chicago MSA, so if you want to make money at this you will have to work hard just like anything else.
Just to follow up, I am ending up going with Kale Realty. Not sure about their reputation, there were definitely some questionable things I found....but seem to be mostly tied to rental issues with their "own listings". Fees are pretty low and I like that they have an office available to use very near my house. We'll see how it goes.
The upfront Board of Realtor/MLS fees kind of surprised me. None of the brokerages' websites really mention them. For some reason, I had the impression you could pay a monthly MLS access fee without joining the B of Realtors. I guess that is only some places....not Chicago.
Incredible racket they have going. Cannot believe the Zillows and Redfins haven't been able to crack it yet to create a better/cheaper "MLS". Gotta believe MANY brokers would be happy to jump ship and list in a different place if it is cheaper and easier than MLS.
@Eric M. quite to the contrary, the realtor boards are what are keeping brokers in business. If the zillows and redfins of the world had their way, everything would be going through them lol. The realtor board also does provide a lot of value to agents, as they have attorneys that prepare all the contracts we use, etc. Being a realtor is not as cheap as some folks think, but it is the cost of doing business. I am glad you ended up finding a brokerage to hold your license.
Yeah, it doesn't take a special BOR attorney to create a solid real estate contract. But it does take a monopoly to have such a hold on a bunch of people to be able to convince them that those contracts are somehow special.