Career Path...Real Estate questions.

[tyler33 0]

Im a senior and I want to get my college planned out. I kind of want to go to a tech for 2 years. I'm interested in real estate and realize you can just take a course and get your license. But I was gonna see if anyone knew more about this. I just dont want to get my license for real estate, I want a degree; something to fall back on. If being a real estate agent doesn't work out, I want to be a loan officer, or something with a bank, or innsurance or something with buisness. I dont know what degree would best be for that though. I have some other questions below.

1.Is real estate a good buisness to get into?

2.Will I be able to make a living doing real estate, I can't get a base sallery, because its on commision, I dont know if I want to take that risk.

3.Will you make more money,get hired easier for real estate if you have a buisness degree?

4.How does it work with selling houses, does the company split up property between agents to sell?

5.If I move states do I have to take that program over and get a new license?

6.Is real estate hard to get into

7.Is a loan officer easy to get into, a lot of job openings?

8.What degree do you think I should go to, theres 4 year and 2 year schools offering the same program. Will I still land the same job?

9.Anyone that works in a bank, innsurance office, or real estate at all give me some opinions, how you got started, schooling, ect.

10.Any opinions or things to share, what do you think?

Im just wondering if you guys can help me out on anything, probably just the people that are associated with these jobs, but I figured it was worth the shot. To let you know Im kind of leading on going to SD, so im trying to find a school out there. Thanks.

[hockeymom 2]

Hey Tyler,

While I have not worked in real estate I have known people who failed at it and people who are wildly successful.

In simple terms, it is straight commission – the more sales you make the more you earn because the commission structure increases in the agent’s favour.

You find your own clients – no one hands you any leads. The real estate brokers talk about handing you leads, but the reality is what they may get (from phone ins to the office) is not enough to build a business, and the people who do call are generally not really serious about buying something “right nowâ€. People usually call a specific agent about a specific house that is listed/advertised.

Lead generation is key – usually you get those by getting permission to advertise some other agent’s house. Tough – you need a budget to start advertising at a time when you have no income. Or you “sit†another agent’s open house – and gather leads from whoever walks in the door.

The ONLY other way of getting leads is by pounding the pavement or working the phones. If you are not comfortable with telemarketing, and doing cold calls this is not the business for you. If you are not comfortable constantly asking family, friends and total strangers if they are interested in buying a house, selling their house or if they know of anyone who is in the market…. It is not likely that you will be successful in this business.

I do not know how it operates in the States. In Canada realtors are licensed by a local real estate board… TREB is the body in Toronto.

You also need to be prepared to work evenings and weekends – that is when people are available to look at houses. My neighbour is one of the top selling agents in this area…. She is out there every weekend and almost every night. Her phone is constantly on. She loves the business and thrives on it. She says you need to be prepared for it to take 1-2 years before you are in full swing. It is a tough business to break into because so much of your long term business is dependant on referrals.

Hope this helps somewhat.

[Dante2004 0]

Get a degree first. RE is a tough market, especially at first. With 0 clients to start with...real tough. Plus, the housing market isn't exactly "hot" right now. This will change with time (roller coaster), but you probably wouldn't want to get into this profession right now. You would be fighting for business against established (currently starving) agents. Go to school...get your degree and by the time you get out, hopefully the market will turn around in your favor.

On a side note...I am sure there are many GREAT agents out there, but I have dealt with some pretty dumb ones. Especially those who recently got into the profession when the market was hot. They became accustomed to properties "selling themselves" and these people know very little about their profession. If you REALLY KNEW you stuff, I think you would stand out in the crowd. Thoroughly understand financing options, real estate trends, what someone should/shouldn't look for in a home. Anything you can do to help the customer along with their buying decision.

I've dealt with agents that...

Don't know how to calculate square footage

Don't know how ARM's work

Don't know how to calculate mortgage payments

Don't know local code/laws about parking boats on your property

Don't know association fees for condos they are showing me

And the list goes on. While it is MY job (as the buyer) to educate myself before the sale, you would increase your "sales based on emotion" if you can quickly answer these questions for a customer.

In reality...a Real Estate agent serves ZERO purpose for an educated buyer. I can access all the information (property values, tax info, MLS listings, etc.) myself on the Internet or through local governmental offices. For this reason, I no longer deal with agents and sell all my property FSBO (For Sale By Owner) and I try my best not to purchase property through an agent...although sometimes you have to.

My point...capitalize on the un-educated buyer by thoroughly knowing your stuff! And have a degree in case it doesn't work out!

GOOD LUCK!

[hockeyherb 1]

1.Is real estate a good buisness to get into? - This question doesn't have an easy answer becuase it all depends on how YOU like it and how much effort YOU put into it

2.Will I be able to make a living doing real estate, I can't get a base sallery, because its on commision, I dont know if I want to take that risk. - If you start out with zero contacts guess how much money you will make early on? If you're young and living with your folks it's not a bad time to start though and see how you like it. Don't think about trying it when you have a wife and kids to feed - then you're talking risk.

3.Will you make more money,get hired easier for real estate if you have a buisness degree? - RE agents don't need any special background which is why their ranks have swelled in the US. Obviously hot markets attract people to an industry with a low barrier of entry like real estate. Now that the market has cooled, there are going to be thousands of people leaving this profession in the next few years. Those with some prior education or experience should land on their feet - the others, not so much.

4.How does it work with selling houses, does the company split up property between agents to sell? - you have to do all the work yourself to get buyers or sellers. Your company might find you leads but those will be few and far between and will likely go to the established agents in the office.

5.If I move states do I have to take that program over and get a new license? - don't know about this one, but I think so.

6.Is real estate hard to get into - heck no, which is why it gets ultra competitive when the market is hopping. Like any sales related job, the top 20% will make 80% of the money - the rest fight for the scraps and the more people there are the more fighting there will be.

7.Is a loan officer easy to get into, a lot of job openings? - for this you need to start with a bank. Friends of mine who got this job usually came out of college with a business undergrad degree and then join a bank management training program. This could be a perfect job to do before you start as a RE agent because you will make tons of invaluable contacts. See question 2 above.

8.What degree do you think I should go to, theres 4 year and 2 year schools offering the same program. Will I still land the same job? - what program? I'd suggest getting a business undergraduate - of the 4 year kind. It will be more versatile in case your plans fall through. Besides, college can be some of the most enjoyable years of your life so do it while your young. It's very hard to go back when you're older.

9.Anyone that works in a bank, innsurance office, or real estate at all give me some opinions, how you got started, schooling, ect. - as I mentioned, my friends who do this had college business undergrad degrees. Other friends from my MBA program ended up in the commercial and private banking areas of their companies. You get to deal with much wealthier clients and companies then and enter the banking food chain higher up so you make more money. But don't worry about the MBA until you get your undergrad and then get some work experience.

10.Any opinions or things to share, what do you think? - what is it about RE that attracts you? Is it because you see some agents driving around in fancy cars (most of them lease it by the way)? If it's a business you've just always had a fascination with then I'd suggest investigating what schools offer a real estate management program, and try to go to the best one that you can get into (or afford!)

Here's a website I'd suggest you start following if you haven't already. Many people that post are cynical on this site but it might open your eyes to the current state of the housing market. It's not pretty right now. Look at the Oct 30th posting called "This Market is Going South" especially. There are some comments there about new agents and how they're faring in the current conditions (not well).

Housing Bubble Blog

Good luck

[sdcopp 1]

RE is a tough market to crack, and tougher to do as a primary income until you've had some things roll in for you and get you going. I've known several people to work it as a second job until they can make decent money off of it. Best advice: go get some sort of general business degree, even if only an associates. That right there will open enough doors for you throughout the career changes you'll have in life, and will give you enough to work with in any of the job environments you listed already.

[tyler33 0]

Thanks for the posts guys, If you have any more info, comments, ideas or anything just post. I think I got a main idea and a good plan. I'll post below what I plan on doing.

Going to SD to a 2 year tech for buisness and administration. While im going to tech get my RE license and see what its all about. If I really like it and im doing good (get lucky), then stick with it and just have my associates buisness man and admin degree. If I dont like RE as much as I thought and it really isn't the thing for me. Then transfer to a different college in SD and go my other 2 years to get my bachelors in buisness managment and admin. I have realized that you can do a lot with this degree and I am leaning on getting this. Things I would really like to do is a loan officer, something in a bank, innsurance underwriters, or something with innsurance. These workers make good money, only thing I am a little shy about is there job rate till 2013 is a bit under average growth. But I think with this degree I will still be able to find plenty of work?

Just wondering what you guys think of my plan?

Whats the MBA?

I heard it is good money if you work hard, which I can and will do. They get to wear suits which I like, and drive around and do paperwork along with no physical work. I have worked for my dad (plumber) and I dont want to go into that. He offered me a job which I would be making great money, I just dont want to do that kind of work.

Another question is, transfer program for schools. I looked it up, and if I went to SD tech, and I can transfer to get my bachelors to a choice of 6 different schools in the area. Thats only another 2 years though right. It would sick if it took me 3-4 years to get a degree I could get right away in 4 years.

[mack 44]

Watch "Glengarry Glen Ross" and see the bad side of that field.

[hockeyherb 1]

Going to SD to a 2 year tech for buisness and administration. While im going to tech get my RE license and see what its all about. If I really like it and im doing good (get lucky), then stick with it and just have my associates buisness man and admin degree. If I dont like RE as much as I thought and it really isn't the thing for me. Then transfer to a different college in SD and go my other 2 years to get my bachelors in buisness managment and admin. I have realized that you can do a lot with this degree and I am leaning on getting this. Things I would really like to do is a loan officer, something in a bank, innsurance underwriters, or something with innsurance. These workers make good money, only thing I am a little shy about is there job rate till 2013 is a bit under average growth. But I think with this degree I will still be able to find plenty of work?

Just wondering what you guys think of my plan?

Whats the MBA?

I heard it is good money if you work hard, which I can and will do. They get to wear suits which I like, and drive around and do paperwork along with no physical work. I have worked for my dad (plumber) and I dont want to go into that. He offered me a job which I would be making great money, I just dont want to do that kind of work.

Another question is, transfer program for schools. I looked it up, and if I went to SD tech, and I can transfer to get my bachelors to a choice of 6 different schools in the area. Thats only another 2 years though right. It would sick if it took me 3-4 years to get a degree I could get right away in 4 years.

MBA stands for masters of Business Administration. Basically you'd take that after you got an undergrad degree and wanted to take on more responsibility in the business world. If you ever want to run a bank or other corporation, or get a high level job in marketing, finance, etc you would probably want to get your MBA. As I said though, just get your undergrad first.

Your plan sounds pretty good. Are you talking San Diego when you say SD? You honestly couldn't pick a worse city for a housing market right now. I think you'd be lucky to find someone to hire you because Southern Cal is just full of realtors right now, the majority of them are starving too because sales have fallen off a cliff. If you're really interested in RE you should know this kind of stuff. Start reading whatever you can get your hands on about real estate and stay away from the 'gurus' who talk about 'no money down, get rich quick' schemes. They don't make money on real estate - they make money telling YOU how to buy real estate. As the old saying goes....Those who can...do. Those who can't...teach.

You crack me up saying you're looking forward to wearing suits and doing paperwork. :lol: :lol: Give it a couple of years and you'll be yearning for the days when you no longer have to wear suits or do paperwork. The glamour wears off pretty quickly, especially when you can't wear $2,000 suits and the $250 suits and $30 shirts you can afford feel like sandpaper by the end of the day. (Invest in the best shoes you can buy though - nothing pays off like a good pair of shoes.)

Personally what I would do if I could go back in time to your situation....I'd take the plumbing job for a couple of years, bank a good amount of dough while studying for the real estate exams and actually learning more about the industry. Then go get your degree and try to get your dream job. You'll definitely have a leg up on your competition coming out of school because you'll have some life experience to draw upon, and you'll likely have a lot more motivation to do well in school after doing manual labor for a couple of years.

I went back to school in my early 20s and made the Dean's list every semester whereas during my first degree I was a very average student. The difference was motivation. The second time through I knew exactly what I wanted to do and so I was taking classes with that goal in mind and I focused like crazy on getting good grades. There were plenty of job offers when I graduated the second time.

[tyler33 0]

Talking about South Dakota, in the sioux falls area. I work for my dad in the summer, he owns his own buisness and it sucks, its so much work. I think I am going to follow through on my plan. I have 10 grand saved up in the bank, and school costs about 5 grand a year for 4 years. Im going to get a job if I am not playing hockey to pay for other things. Just seems like with this buisness admin degree there is a lot of job outcomes for it.

[djosbun 0]

Stay away from being a loan officer. I did that temporarily while between jobs. Lucky for me, it was 2 years ago while the mortgage rates were really low. Lots of schmucks in the business because they'll hire anybody. DEFINATELY not want you want as a career.