Questions about becoming a Realtor in Utah

[Nikki Jacob]

I've been listening to tons of podcasts, reading blogs, books, articles, and I think that I want to take the path of becoming a real estate agent so that I can have access to the MLS without having to bother someone else. My question is to anyone that knows the laws in Utah; if I go to school, pay all the Realtor dues and fees, do I have to be under a brokerage if I'm just doing my own stuff and not practicing as a Realtor to the general public? I spoke with an agent a while ago, but failed to ask her this. She did tell me all the fees involved and it's somewhere around $1,500 a year, or am I way off? I know there will be more costs involved initially with school and licensing, can anyone give me more exact numbers? Anyway, I don't want to actually work as an agent, so I don't want to get a job at a brokerage, but I'm not sure if I can legally get away with that. Am I completely in left field, or is any of this accurate?

[Gary Parker]

Yes you need to "hang" your license with a broker. There are brokers such as Equity that only charge $499 a transaction. The full service brokers such as Century 21 will charge a much larger chunk as a percentage from your commissions and "train" you. You will also have MLS fees, Association fees and license fees which are about 1200 a year I think. Sorry I can't remember the exact costs. Once you get going you will probably get listings as an extension of your investing business and that will off set your fees.

Let me know if you get your license and I will introduce you to some Equity folks.