becoming a real estate agent?

Question

I am currently a junior in high school and as i am graduating next year i am curious as to becoming a real estate agent and then after establishing myself using the commissions to fuel my investing. I had a few questions for anyone with experience as an agent?

1) Assuming that i am proactively learning, marketing, and improving myself as an agent, how long would it take to become profitable?

2) What can i do to increase my odds of succeeding as an agent and not only becoming profitable, but becoming a high seller?

3) Would it be feasible to attend college and act as a real estate agent at the same time?

Also any other advice would be well appreciated. Thanks for the help!

Dawn Brenengen · Answer

@Kenneth Huddleston You can definitely be an agent and attend college at the same time!  Being young might be a bit of a hurdle to overcome until you get some experience under your belt.  Being inexperienced is a hurdle for every new agent, so don't let it demotivate you.  Congrats for thinking about how to be an entrepreneur before you ever even get into the rat race.

Rob L. · Answer

Hey @Kenneth Huddleston ,

I think your age will be both a benefit and a challenge for you at first. If you start right out of high school and start as an agent and investing on the side you could have a nice portfolio by the age of 25. Most people at that age are just getting out of college and trying to figure out how they will pay off their student loan debt...

1) Assuming that i am proactively learning, marketing, and improving myself as an agent, how long would it take to become profitable?

I would plan for at least 1 year maybe 2 to get a solid foundation going. Starting out its not unusually for it to take 6 months before your bring in your first commission. So I would plan for that.

2) What can i do to increase my odds of succeeding as an agent and not only becoming profitable, but becoming a high seller?

Find the top 3-5 agents in your area and invite them to coffee/lunch. Find out what they are doing to succeed and then copy them. Most successful people are happy to share their habits and strategies. I'm in sales myself I have no problem sharing my best practices because I've found knowing what to do and actually doing it is what separates the top 20%.

3) Would it be feasible to attend college and act as a real estate agent at the same time?

Yes, I work a full time job and have my RE license as well. It can be done with proper time management.

Goodluck

Nathalie Hirsch · Answer

@Kenneth Huddleston

I admire the fact that it seems you have thought about your career and future, which is hard to come by these days for teenagers, so kuddos to you! As for your questions, this is my opinion

1) Assuming that i am proactively learning, marketing, and improving myself as an agent, how long would it take to become profitable?

It all depends on your drive and how hard you work. I have heard of success right out of licensing school but then again I have also heard it can take a solid year of building before a first close. So just take it all into perspective. Don't get discouraged if after a year you still have no deals, just re-evaluate and change tactics.

2) What can i do to increase my odds of succeeding as an agent and not only becoming profitable, but becoming a high seller?

The best thing you can do is find a great mentor who is successful and closing lots of deals and learn as much as you can and copy their system.

3) Would it be feasible to attend college and act as a real estate agent at the same time?

Absolutely! The great thing about RE is that you can generally set your own hours. For me, I generally have clients that work full time so evenings and weekends are when they are available and that works great for me as I also have a full time job aside from being an Agent. I would imagine that is generally what would work for you as well.

So there you go, my two cents! Hope it helped, good luck!

Brian P. · Answer

Kenneth

I can only speak from my experience. I started investing one week after my 16th birthday but I was only able to do that because I had a married 19 year old brother that was legally able to contract, you had to be 21 back then.

After 10 years I became an agent then broker. I did go to college but in addition to carrying a full load of courses I worked full time and still managed to do a deal now and then. Truth is college gave me some new friends and my wife, but career wise I could have skipped the whole thing.

When I became a broker, I actually hated to add a new agent to my office because I knew that generally only one out of a 100 would really make it. Most new agents think they know what they must do but most can't do it and reality hits, you have to put int the time and during that time do the things you don't like to do. Most full time agents today and even then do not do the job they need to do and are really part-time. Most are gone after 3 years unless they have some support system that allows them to stay

Now the good news you can do it but you are going to hate my first statement. I had a new 21 year old agent and he too had a weight problem and I knew that even though he was a great guy that it was a built in resistance factor to success especially in sales.  He went from 350 to 200 in a little over two years. Last time I saw him a couple years ago he was 180 and looking good. He told me that was the biggest difficulty of his career, and yes he could have made a living even at his weight but not even close to what he made as a leaner person. There is discrimination and prejudice against the over weight. To help cut into that, I teamed him up with an attractive new agent which helped during his start up period, and his work ethic is just what she needed, both made it to the top 20%

Kenneth Huddleston · Answer

Thanks! I realize inexperience would be my biggest flaw but everyone is inexperienced at some point. As for the rat race, it would be nice if i never had to enter it in the first place!

Tavis M. · Answer

my advice is go to college then join Redfin... they are  based out in Seattle i believe.  They love college grads and they will take interns.

Or get your license, join a highly successful team that closes a lot of deals a month... you will learn fast and wont have to worry about having to pay for expensive marketing.

Best of luck young man...

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