Looking for the best real estate brokerage firm to work with

[Julie Seger]

Good morning! My name is Julie Seger, I relocated to West Michigan 3 years ago from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Now that I am more familiar with the area I have decided to obtain my real estate license. My question for all of you is, how do I decide which brokerage firm to work with? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Julie Seger

[John Warren]

@Julie Seger congratulations on becoming a realtor! The answer to your question really lies with what you goals are.  When I started out as a realtor, I knew that I wanted to be an investor friendly agent in the Chicago new west suburbs. There are surprisingly few knowledgeable investor friendly realtors in the areas I work (Berwyn, Brookfield, Riverside,  Oak Park, etc), and I ended up with the brokerage I am with now because they gave me the freedom to pursue my business with investors. 

Some larger, national players will offer more "traditional" training. For instance, I don' have many opportunities to do open houses, etc. This suits me, since I would rather work with folks who discuss cash on cash return and cash flow! If you want to do a lot of traditional business, though, it may be beneficial to work with a big player to get the training and mentoring.