All Forum Posts by: Mark Johnson

@John Fortunato I just recently finished reading The Wealthy Gardener and it was amazing.  It is more of a mindset book like Think And Grow Rich.  

The agent always pays

I joined Keller Williams in 2015 and before that I was with Coldwell Banker.  Not all Keller Williams offices are the same but the best ones will have a lot of free training available for you to attend in addition to the online courses you can pay for that are offered through the corporate office.  

No matter which office/company you decide to go to, ask to speak to 4~5 of their newer agents (1 year or less) so that you can hear about their experiences.  They will probably refer you to the best ones who will speak glowingly about the office but you should be able to still get some good ideas about what to expect.  

Personally, I would look for a good amount of free training and an environment where the top agents in the office are willing to give you some advice from time to time.  My first office had some good training but the atmosphere was lacking and the top agents wouldn't give you the time of day.  The KW office I am at now is amazing and all of the agents are very open with each other about how to grow our businesses even though we are all competitors.  

I have never been one to really focus too much on commission splits.  In my area, the top offices in the city all offer similar splits for the most part.  The ones who offer lower splits generally have less too offer.  There will definitely be people that disagree with this but that has been my experience over the last 10 years.  

I agree with what both @Anthony Dooley and @Marylin OShea said.  You should definitely purchase The Millionaire Real Estate agent book.  It gives you a blueprint on what you need to do to build your business.  

Not all agents agree with this but as a real estate agent, your main job is not selling homes.  The number one thing you need to focus on is generating leads.  Since you are part-time, I would focus on the 2 lead generation methods below.  

1. Open Houses: 2 per week.  Have a list of other homes in the area that are similar but about 15%~20% below the price of the house you're holding open.  Preview those homes prior to the OH.  When people come through the OH and don't like it, let them know about these other homes and why they might be a good fit.  Use the "I got an opening on Monday at 6pm or Wednesday at 5:30pm if you would like to schedule a time to go see it." line.  Your goal is to get at least one buyer's appointment per open house.
2. For Sale By Owners: Everyone is doing this but most don't continue their follow up. That is the key here. Search FSBO Domination on Facebook. It is program that Brandon Mulerin put together and it is pretty good. I don't do FSBOs anymore but this worked for me a couple of years ago.

Referrals from friends and family will eventually become your main source of business but that trust takes time to develop.  You might also want to consider calling For Rent By Owners.  These are basically investment properties where the owner is doing the property management.  They are easy calls to make and you will come across a certain percentage that don't want to deal with it anymore and would consider selling.

I hope this helps.  

@Linda Morales I agree with @Mark Pedroza, you should contact a lawyer that has experience in this field and get their help/advice.  Good luck and I hope you are able to work everything out.  

@Kristian Peter The real estate agent I learned about prospecting probate leads was working in San Diego.  It was about 3 years ago when I did the training but I am pretty sure he got all of his information by sending someone down the the courts.  

I've only done their training but have talked with other agents across the country that use AllTheLeads.com and are happy with their services.  I am based out of Missouri and I can get everything online except phone numbers.  I use BeenVerified.com to look up their contact info.  

Tanaya, I am with KW in St. Louis.  You might want to try prospecting probate leads.  Most of my business is from my SOI but I have been having success with probate over the last 2 1/2 years.  My goal this year is to close on 50 probate sales.  The best part about these leads is it will also give you several investment opportunities.  

I am not sure how it is in PA but here in MO all of the information is available online for free.  I just need to pay for my BeenVerified account to look up the phone numbers of the executor of the estate. 

Check out www.AllTheLeads.com for their training course on probate.  I believe it cost $300.  You can also look at their YouTube page and get a ton of value from there.

Sabrina, I am a realtor in St. Louis and have dealt with this a few times.  I usually had to find a cash buyer or someone with conventional financing.  If its in a lower income area, that might be hard.  Where is it located?  I can reach out to my lenders to see if they have any products available.   

You might also want to reach out to some of the community banks that work in the neighborhood of the condo.  It is a long shot but they might be willing to do keep the loan on their books.

Lastly, have you tried owner financing or a lease purchase option?  I have a friend here in St. Louis that only does that and he has more buyers than properties so he might be able to help you out.  

Maryland Heights, Bridgeton, St. Ann, & Overland all fit that criteria and are located next to the locations you're already familiar with.  You can also look down in South County in the Affton, Hancock, Bayless, & Mehlville School Districts.  Arnold and the areas of Jefferson County that border St. Louis county are also doing well and should have properties that would suit you.  

@John Moore As an agent, I’ve been prospecting probates for the last year. I suggest calling the PR. AllTheLeads.com focuses on probates and has some good info and lots of masterminds and role plays on their YouTube channel.