Becoming a commercial agent

[Barrett E.]

Hello, this is my first post, i've come across an opportunity to be a commercial real estate agent and want to field opinions.

I am a recent college grad, with a good job at a local bank. I am taking real estate licensing classes and was calling around to brokers in order to figure out where I wanted to place my license. I had planned on being an agent only part time, for supplemental income, to gain experience, and cut down on transaction costs for my own investments.

I contacted a brokerage that is widely viewed as the biggest commercial brokerage in my area. I spoke directly with the broker who said that he is actually looking for an assistant to mentor. This particular broker is easily the biggest commercial broker in the area, the local MLS statistics show him having the highest gross sales in the region for the last 4 consecutive years.

He said that I may place my license with him and work part time. He also offered me a position as an assistant - he offered to match my current salary (about 35k) as a base salary and said I can earn commissions on top of that.

I'm torn because im not certain I want to leave the good career job that I currently have at the bank. At the same time, this could be a great opportunity to learn from someone very knowledgeable and get a foot in the door in the commercial real estate market here, which is hard to break into.

I wanted to field opinions on trying to work a bit part time, and just be an agent for family, friends, and my own investments. Or should I take a leap and switch careers already even though i've been working at the bank for less than a year (recent graduate). Although my bank salary is not incredibly high, I have no doubt that it will increase substantially and be a great career over the long term.

I feel that I have the skill set to be a good commercial broker, but of course, I have no experience - so it's difficult to say.

What would you do? Switch careers already and take a unique opportunity to potential get into the commercial brokerage circle sin my town, or stick to the original plan or doing real estate agency part time.

I'm supposed to meet this broker for lunch this week. Any specific questions to ask? I do not want to simply be his paper pusher, I want to learn from him.

Thoughts?

[Anthony Halstead]

Barrett,

As a recent college grad you likely have little experience. The world is still wide open for you, no need to commit to a career in banking yet. Now you have the chance to take a divergent path in the same direction, it will make your journey more well rounded and probably open your eyes to things that you may miss in your current state.

Good points mentioned above include checking the contract for no-compete. Just because one has not been mentioned does not mean that one will not be requried... This does not mean to ask if there is one; ask and ye shall recieve...

But I see this as a golden oppurtunity. Same salary, commissions, opening a ton of doors that turn you into an insider, and it will not hurt your banking career if you decide to go back, but will instead give you perspectives and insights to give value to your customers.

Weigh the options, find out the specifics, but if there are no major deal breakers go for it.

I once had a guy talk to me in a bookstore; we were just looking at the same book, and started talking. I was a bit wary, because that was a favorite tactic for MLM and other type sellers, but he seemed to be wary as well. He asked what I did, and we talked a bit more. Then he said he had rights to a phone with radio (walkie talkie) included and asked if I was interested in working with him. It was a regional right. I thought instantly that it was a sham and made some excuse and left. Needless to say, Nextel did quite well after that, and I was not a part of it's growth.

Moral: Try to understand and minimize your bias when recieving an offer (I was in a bookstore, preconcieved notions of persons making offers there), take the time to do your DD (I did not look up his company and check him out), and be receptive of new ideas (I thought putting a walkie-talkie on a phone was some kind of pipedream sham MLM ponzi scheme, never heard of it so I should have checked it out).

You never know where or when that golden door will open in a new direction, but you need to be prepared so you can understand when the door opens (many never even recognize an oppurtunity because they do not know how to value one) and how to determine what to do.

Just some thoughts on life,

Tony