No Money Down

When you are new in the real estate business it probably would be wise to choose a company based on the training program that they have. Not all companies have training. For instance some companies only hire people who have had a certain number of years of experience and are already making money in real estate. The problem with new agents is that they often do not yet have a grasp on how to produce any business so they truly start off as a liability. It does not take long though to get a grasp on how to go about conducting some business. A company that has a training program will usually give you some direction in which to start getting the ball rolling. Franchise companies usually have the most organized form of training although you do pay for it typically.

The other way that you might choose to go is to find a mentor who will work with you during your first year. This usually involves sharing the fees for any business that you generate in return for the training the person provides you along the way. Many people start off this way because learning from someone who is already successful can be a invaluable lesson in itself. This way you can start with what ever company that person is working for and hopefully be happy to stay there once you are on your own. The other positive side to this approach is that in away you have a partner. This partner should be able at some point to rely on you to take care of business when they are out of town and in turn should ultimately be willing to take care of your business when you are out of town.

Being a real estate agent is a 24/7 job. You must be prepared to make yourself available when ever a client is in need of your services. It is almost impossible to deviate from this approach simply because there are so many agents available that if you do not take care of the customer when it is convenient for them, they will probably find another agent who will. If you are not interested in living this life style I highly recommend that you do not pursue this line of work. The other way to handle this is to have a partner as I mentioned above. Someone who will cover you when you are not available which means you have to do the same for them. I have worked in the past where my partner and I would trade off weekends. This way you can avoid working every single weekend which is usually when a lot of people want to look. Occasionally you have clients who do look during the week but many people are off on weekends so it is their free time. It is very hard to avoid weekend work. For those people who do not mind weekend work, you can often become the partner to several agents by simply making yourself available and letting other agents know that you are willing to pick up slack for them.

Being in the real estate business is a way of life that you must grow accustomed to. One week you are slammed and the next week you have nothing but marketing to do. It took me many years to figure out how to make my down time more productive. Many tasks took much longer than needed because I new I had all day when I did not have a customer to work. Recently though I have changed this approach and filled my time with a new endeavor I would like to share with you.