All Forum Posts by: Doug Merriott

Their website won't even load up... Not good sign in my humble opinion.

I believe that a new agent/investor would want the best training, the best support and the best opportunities at residual income. That is the reason I chose Keller Williams. To comment on what Gabriel had mentioned about if the brokerage is not profitable then there is no profit sharing, then you have to make the brokerage profitable and sell more!

Ha ha! I thought you looked familiar @Amanda Sutherlin but the picture is so small it was hard to recognize you.

you are a Rock Star, we talked about your success story one night at Pete and Shorty's. 

See you around.

@Jay Lohn That is a snazzy little tool that you show in the pictures. Thanks for that. 

Thank you for the recommendations @Amy Davidson and @Account Closed  and I have attempted to assist Pavel. He has a lot of things going for him including a very well defined criteria. Unfortunately his criteria does not match up well with Pinellas County. I have suggested that he look in Pasco County and the Gibsonton/Apollo Beach areas to meet his criteria. If any agents are available to help him out please do reach out. I have seen his preapproval and he is ready to act now.

@Michael King you definitely have a good head on your shoulders that is a plus. You are surrounded by sources of positive information. Just remember that one deal as a Realtor will more than compensate for the $1600 that you would make as a teller at a credit union. That is a pretty lower barrier of entry. I have to replace nearly that much per week if I wanted to go full-time. You will also have a lot more exposure to deals WHEN you are consistently talking real estate. You will have the time to call FSBO, I personally never hesitate to ask a FSBO if they will carry financing.

KW's training is what you make it. You are encouraged to call FSBO, expireds, knock on doors, you are trained to know the ins and outs of a sales contract, you are trained to market yourself. You are encouraged to timeblock 3 or 4 hours a day to cold-calling and lead generating activities. Sounds kind of familiar... Wait a second, that training sounds like it could be good for an investor...

Always make sure you are talking with other investors of all stripes too. Learn from those that did or do creative financing. Go to REIA meetings and your local Meetups.

You might get the warning that you will never be able to get a traditional loan, which is not true. I was at a REIA on Wednesday and a rep from a local lender was talking about a product specifically for 1099 workers that just needs a couple of years of bank statements to prove income.

Grab this bull by the horns and you will never go hungry again!

Congrats man. That is pretty awesome!

@Jamie S. Welcome to Bigger Pockets. It looks like you got quite the  red carpet greeting so I will simply say welcome!

Most Realtors do just 4-5 transactions per year and make about $20k. Many, including me, practice real estate in their spare time. My goal is to do 4-5 transaction per month. My goal is to provide a level of service that makes my clients feel comfortable, proud and grateful for choosing to use me as their Realtor. I think that goals separate the 4-5/year, just get by crowd from those that choose excellence. 

Many of my investor friends deride Realtors, sometimes even in good humor. The fact of the matter remains that 9 out of 10 houses are sold using Realtors. I don't see this changing any time soon. A good agent is more than just a robot that enters information in the MLS. A good agent can tell a tale of your home that will interest the internet viewer to want to come by and take a look. A good agent can take photos or hire a great photographer to highlight your homes best points. A good agent can steer you to deals, whether they are on the MLS or wholesale. A good agent looks out for your best interests before their own.

In a world where many folks are more and more overworked I don't see people wanting to take the time to show their home, or figure out contracts and disclosures. I don't see people relocating to new cities driving around aimlessly trying to find a good home in a good neighborhood.

As far as the fees I will just quote a friend of mine who introduced himself at a REIA meeting immediately after a $295 listing service guy, he said; "I am a Realtor and I charge 6%, because I am worth it.". If you don't value your Realtor's service, fire them.

Realtors are not essential, but neither is your car. You can buy a home without a Realtor just like you can get to work without your car but both will make the journey a whole lot easier. 

Hey Patrick,

First of all thank you for your service and welcome to Bigger Pockets!

St Pete has changed quite a bit in the past five years. The market is interesting. I hope that it has calmed a little when you come home.

Doug

@Michael King why did you choose to join KW rather than the myriad other brokerages that Fitchburg has?

I chose to be a Keller Williams agent for the simple fact the founder has authored and co-authored several books on investing and self-improvement. If your office does not encourage your investing then find an office that does. With that being said you should take full advantage of all of the benefits that being a KW agent affords you; unlimited training, a decent CRM, support of an interested broker, profit sharing, Agent Leadership Councils,  the list goes on, but I don't want to get off topic. 

Being a Realtor can have unlimited earning potential, but you have to learn the ropes. I would think that sticking a firm whose training program is as highly ranked as KW's would be the best choice for anyone just starting out. Using the training that KW provides and going out and earning Master Degree level salary at a young age should accelerate your investing to where you could retire in your 30's! All of this training will easily translate into your investing as well. 

There are some pitfalls to be licensed, I have not experienced any yet. I have worked with wholesalers and FSBO. I run everything through my office, give them their cut and go about my business. Yes it does hurt but I consider it paying for my education. When I submit a contract that is not correct I get an email from my MCA telling me what corrections need to be made.

I also use the tools provided by KW for my personal business. The CRM is wonderful for tasks and reminders and using Dotloop for transactions is great. 

I don't know if any of my ramblings will help you, I just don't understand why anyone (not just singling you out), would become licensed and not use it to go out and make a few thousand a month.