hi sim!! hope ur doing well! Can you explain the process of how you got into real estate? How long was the course and was it hard? And was it hard finding a job after? and is the pay good or is it scary because its based pureply on commission? Im super interested in getting my license so any advice you have would be amazing! thank you
I'm going to preface that I feel like there's a big misconception about being in real estate and that I'm just being really transparent about the journey and expectations.
So there's actually quite a bit involved when considering a career in real estate. Firstly, there's a whole bunch of different roles you can do in real estate such as property management, leasing, sales, BDM, buyer's agents and more so it could be worth starting your research there and thinking what you may like or what may suit you. A lot of people always jump to sales but you can still make great money in other roles that you may suit better and actually enjoy better. However, don't fret if you're not sure because most people work it out as they go :)
Secondly, all countries and even states have different real estate laws including what qualifications/certificates you need to practice and what they limit you in practicing. So you need to look at the legislation and requirements for where you plan to practice. If you are based in AU like me, most states require you to start with a certificate and then move onto your license but each state's certificates and licenses are different, including the tests. I have done the training for 2 different state's legislations and they were SO different. They're not 'hard' tests per-say but can take a lot of time and research (they're also atrociously laid out a lot of the time which just makes it more tedious unfortunately). There are heaps of different companies that provide the qualifications so choose somewhere that gives you lots of help. (Think Real estate in NSW is great).
I assume you're interested in the sales aspect so I'll explain how it works to get into that specifically next:
Again, everything depends where you live, but assuming you're in Australia like myself, most states legally require you to be in the industry in sale for at least 1-2 years before becoming your own 'stand alone' agent. This means you will generally been in a support role (such as associate, prospector, CSM) for at least a year before you can essentially work for yourself. To be completely honest, this initial period in a real estate career is usually the hardest. You are generally paid absolute minimum wage, get all the shitty jobs, work wayyyy over hours and are lucky if you get any commission. These roles generally evolve around learning how to generate leads for your agent(s) which means being on the phone majority of the day everyday and then attending appointments, the odd bit of admin and if you work for a prick doing their laundry and getting their coffee.
After 1-2 years you can then progress to getting your license and becoming your own agent or a lot of people also consider other roles in real estate or simply continue staying in a support role to another agent but take a role with a more higher earning agent so they can get paid better and make use of their experience.
When it comes to converting to your own agent every agency generally offers different commission schemes and every office will have different 'split' structures. So when you, or another agents in your office, sell a property an office will always take a cut of that commission. I feel like a lot of people don't realise this. But say you you charge 2% commission and it equates to $20,000 - most offices have a 50/50 split so you, as the agent, will only walk away with $10,000. So yeah, you work out (sometimes negotiate) your commission scheme and split and away you go! Then over time if you go off you can hire people for your team etc etc.
Almost every really successful individual in sales I've met has had a career path that looked like 3-4 years of absolutely grinding on pretty shit pay but sticking to it and only generally by the 5th year really seeing success and good money coming in
Expect to work well over normal 9-5 hours and not get paid for it, as well as sacrifice hugely on personal and social life because of it
More than 3/4 of people will quit real estate in the first 12 months
It's a hard gig. Don't expect going into this and making easy money
Remember that being your own agent means everyone relies on you and everything falls back on you. With flexibility comes a lot of responsibility and out of hours.
Research agencies/agents that are reputable (don't just go for an agent who u think earns heaps of money because unfortunately they're often the pricks - you want to find someone who will actually train you and people who work with them think they're great and insightful)
Reach out to recruiters and keep an eye on seek for roles OR better yet, reach out to a business/agent you admire (there are ALWAYS job openings in real estate)
Never say yes to a job straight away, always think about it and do your research
Remember that you don't ( and probably won't ) start where you want to finish so be open to different opportunities
The closer you work to home the easier
If you have any more questions feel free to send on over :
That was hella long sorry but hope it helped
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