Can I do this part time?

Question

I am in the Twin Cities area, but am wondering what brokerage you would recommend for a rookie.

1- Who do you recommend as broker and why?

2-Can I do this in addition to a full time job?

3-Is it even worth it doing it part time?

Kobe Xin · Answer

@Eric Johnson

I agree on your point about brokers with iBuyer capabilities. If you’re with a company that are partnered with or has their own iBuyer program, you can have a lot more flexibility in the market as an agent in this day and age. At the very least, it can be an option for potential clients who may not want to list on the open market.

Eric Johnson · Answer

Just google their name with Class Action. That's a start. Do you really want to spend all of the time trying to erase web history of you being an agent for them when the sh_T hits the fan?

Did they tell you that there was a 'no compete' involved? A "quality" company does not have to force people to stay on board. It's that simple.

For all of their "training", yes, they DO have a high agent count. But also one of the lowest %'s of transactions per agent. Go over to Remax Results, and try to hang your license there as a new agent, and see what you are told. And consider the difference.

Keller Williams may have some "super teams", but rarely do they cultivate a "super team" internally from their own tools and training. They largely recruit teams that originate from other brokerages for the marketing aspect.

The MLS will provide you with all of the "tools/data" that you need to get a start. As you move forward, you will come to see that any of the tools other brokerages are offering, far superior tools are commercially available. It's easier to pay for a tool on your own, as you come to realize that you need it, then the longterm loss financially you will have giving Keller Williams their typical 70/30 or 80/20 commission splits. A typical data/tech tool is around $100 per month and usually month-to-month. So what? Around $1200 a year if you are paying monthly?

If you close even 3 sales in a year, at whatever commission split with Keller Williams, how many THOUSANDS would that cost you a year? It's a wash, financially speaking. Especially considering that you are spending all of your own money marketing to start with on top of that.Keller Williams has yet to produce anything tech-wise that the industry is raving about. Even after the announcement that they have a Billion dollars to dump into data/tech a few years ago.  College students with a start up and less than $1000 a month have achieved more. They have legions of agents talking their tech up... but truth be told? The EXPERTS in data/tech (tech journos/data science geeks) would be doing endless blog articles about the data/tech that Keller Williams has. But you don't see that. In fact, just the opposite when you evaluate the offerings and compare them against commercially available tools that 'anyone' can have access too. An agent can go pretty far with just a quality CRM like Zoho or Podio (free versions to start) to keep them on track and whatever data-oriented tools they need external from the MLS.

Start looking at 'transaction' brokers that only charge you a small fee per transaction with a higher % of commission split. While some may not take on an agent with less experience, others will try to work something out with you, as your experience grows.

Look at brokers with an 'iBuyer' capability or partnership. Those are the future.

David M. · Answer

Account Closed

Here are a bunch of prior discussion threads you might find useful:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Your questions should be mostly answered, directly and indirectly, with the above discussion threads...

You can do it part time.  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) I believe put out a statistic that some 50% of transactions are done by Realtors that only do somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-6 transactions a year..  In general, it is a good/possible practice to start part-time as a Realtor.  It gives you time to build up your business and learn the trade.  NAR's own statistics show 75% of agents drop out in their first year. About 90% to 95% as a I recall drop out by their 3rd year.  This is mainly due to lack of income.  It generally take 3 to upwards of 5 years to really get your business going.

I think the definition of "full-time" and "part-time" is up to you...  This is a sales profession.  The bottom line is you need to get leads, hopefully good quality leads.  If nobody wants you to list their house for sale or wants to work with you to find a house to buy, then you can definitely work it "full-time" since you won't be spending anytime actively trying to make a sale.  Its no different from any other new business.

Yes, as a "full-time" agent, one that doesn't have other obligations, you can provide "more service" since you won't have to take off from your job to handle an inspection.  You can be more available during the day to broker the transactions.  This could anything from talking to the other agent, your client, the attornies, the lender, the closing agent, etc. --- and it could be all of them "at the same time" to try to get a deal done (which I've had to do).  I guess if you can sweat pipe or put sheet metal together (perhaps in a baking attic) while making phone calls, texts, forwarding documents and/or emails, etc. then you are good...

Now, not every transaction is that way...  Yes, I've had to 'pick up the slack' for the agent on the other side who had had a full time job...

Just remember you still have your minimum annual dues and fees.  Don't forget that you still have your own advertising and various costs (signage, business cards, trinkets, etc.).  I hope this helps.  Direct message me if you want to chat.

Good luck.

Account Closed · Answer

@Kobe Xin  thank you

Account Closed · Answer

@Kobe Xin what exactly is ibuyer?

Account Closed · Answer

Thanks for the info.. what makes Keller a bad pick specifically? Their pitch was good when I was asking questions 🤝 but it was all about how much training they’ll give me etc

Melissa Zimmermann · Answer

There has been quite a few podcasts that Brandon Turner and David Green have done about being a realtor.  Unless, you really want to pursue the sales side of real estate, it's not necessary to be licensed.  You will also, fall under more ethics issues and disclosure issues when buying and selling your own investment property.  If you want to focus on the fix and flip or buy and hold; I recommend you find a good agent that might pass along a volume discount on your listings and let them pay for the overhead and do the continuing education to hold that license.

Kobe Xin · Answer

ibuyers are institutional buyers such as opendoor or offerpad or zillow just to name a few. These companies are taking up a lot of the real estate agent market share. They usually offer cash to buy from sellers thus making it a very enticing sounding offer to many sellers.

Some brokers have partnered with ibuyer platforms and are allowing agents to also benefit by introducing these sellers to certain ibuyer platforms.

Eric Johnson · Answer

Google "Continuing Ed Express" if you are looking for the 90 hours of training to take the test. Very inexpensive, and you can do it all online at your own pace. When you pass the test, at that point you are still not beholden to any of the "we'll train you" brokerages when you do get licensed.

Eric Johnson · Answer

There is a benefit to being licensed..... Just watch out for the more predatory brokers Like Keller.... they like to throw people on 'no competes' if you try to leave. They're also one of the Real Estate brands currently facing multiple class-action lawsuits for... being what Keller Williams is.

DO not fall hook line and sinker for the advertisements that say they will train you to take the test (see above).

Edina has maybe the worst 'split' locally, so there is that. If you are going to generate all of your own business.....why would you want to give most of your commission to Warren Buffet? Edina 'USED' to be local, but are part of the Warren Buffet Kingdom now.

Research the brokerage before hanging a license with them. If you DO get licensed, do NOT become one of the agents that pretend to be an entrepreneur, never goes 'full-on' and takes the broker exam, and just uses another out of state brokerage for their marketing and exposure. After the 2-3 years, become a broker, and establish your own brand like a true entrepreneur. America is littered with agents that have marketing espousing how they have been an agent for a decade or more, but they are still just an 'agent for some out of state brand. They never go and take the full risk of starting a business, and just ride on some other co's name to make a living.

And please, please DO not start a Facebook real estate page with a name containing 'pro', 'elite', 'masters' ect. That is so tired.

This comment is all aimed at residential real estate. Commercial agents are a different breed.

Can I do this part time?

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