Accidental Real Estate Agent

[Shaun R.]

I got my RE license in Louisiana to make it easier to find investment properties. So far, I've had a little success and have our second rental property under contract. I've loved having access to the MLS and being able to make my own offers.

So here's the thing... I also used my license to help a friend of mine to purchase a home, and that commission check for $4,900 I got yesterday has me hungry for more.  I've got a full-time job that keeps me pretty busy, but I do have time to do some part-time work.  I hung my license at a smaller office and I believe most of the agents are part-time.  I'm setting a goal for myself to close more transactions than any of the other agents in 2018, other than the broker.  

When I got my license I had no intention of doing any work as an agent for other people, but now I believe it would be a waste not to use it.  And it will allow me to earn extra income to help purchase more investment properties.  But, I need to learn how to be a good agent.  I've been listening to some podcasts, but what other resources would you recommend to a new agent to get educated on what it takes to be successful in this field?  

I've got the bug now, and I want to do big things in 2018.  Help me get this upcoming new year kicked off in the right direction.  I know there are some successful agents on this forum that have lots of knowledge to share. 

[Ryan Landis]

@Shaun R. first off congrats on getting licensed. Second, you learned what I learned when I started off - cash flow is great, but it's not that passive and $100 a door per month is $1,200 a year when I could easily just grab a commission from the license I got and reinvest it (yes, there are differences in taxes and passive/active but you get the jist). Long story short, I disagree with a lot of what is being said in these comments.

The vast majority of part time agents treat it as a hobby, have no idea what they are doing, etc. But, if you are actually investing on your own and help people out with the same level you personally look at deals, I would argue you are probably doing a better job than 95% of the full time agents that never invest. In addition, if you have the "crush it" approach, you will be fine. The vast majority of agents fail not just because they can't do the job, it is because most people who start a small business fail (they never have done it before).

As @Robert Leonard mentioned, Gary Keller's book is a good read. Talks a lot about focusing on listings vs. buyers and the follow up/touches that are required to really build out a business. If I could do it all over again, I would stay disciplined and buy a house each time I got a commission. One way to grow out the system might be to offer property managment for clients you help with purchases. This will teach you a lot about the process (and likely that you don't want to do it, but how to manage a property manager down the road). 

Lastly, keeping your full time gig makes you less "dependent" on the sale. I have some part time agents on my team and I tell them to leverage it. Sure, a full time agent goes in and talks smack about a part time agent. I tell the part time agents to go in and talk smack about the full time agents if they really need to (PS - most agents are not actually competing against anyone else during those listing presentations either). "Well seller, my full time job that pays me $100K+ makes it so that I am not dependent on the commission check from the sale of your home to pay for my kids to go to school - instead I am motivated to ensure you get the most you can" - try that one out. Maybe wordsmith it a bit. It also reminds your clients that you are smart enough/work hard enough to have a full time job. A lot of agents (not the top producers but the others) really just "fell" into real estate and do it because they could not make a career out of something else.