First Year in Real Estate - Fees/Costs and Cold Calling

[Kat Wyninger]

Hi All - 

I just finished real estate classes and was starting to reach out to brokers when I was told by one broker that maybe I should consider doing something else because being a real estate agent is really expensive.  I’ve seen several people make that statement before without going too deep into the costs, and then others countering with something like, “one deal will cover your costs.” 

Most mention MLS fees, desk fees, continuing education, etc., but there are a lot more actual costs, like buying leads, marketing, signs, etc.

Real Estate Express gives an estimate of just over $6,000 a year to be a real estate agent, but I don’t know if that covers marketing, buying leads, buying a camera, etc.

There is also so much conflicting information about broker fees.  I’ve seen $1500 to $3000 up front just to join at Keller Williams?  After that, there are hundreds of KW reviews that say their monthly fees are too high, but no specifics.

I wanted to work as a real estate agent because my current job has a fixed, limited income.  It’s a decent income, but I hate that it’s fixed.  No matter how much or how hard I work, my pay isn’t going to increase.  I thought being an agent would give me the greatest chance to learn the real estate business inside and out, earn extra income to pay down debt and save money to invest in real estate, give me time to repair my credit, and give me the experience and credibility I need to convince investors to partner with me on deals.

My second concern - I’ve read Jennifer Allen’s book “Sell With Soul,” and I would love to believe that being a successful agent is possible without cold calling, however, I’ve been listening to hours of podcasts and webinars and reading books and coaching materials, and it seems like most if not all of the successful agents (with the exception of Allen) are saying the same thing - success in real estate depends on cold calling.  A lot of cold calling.  The recommendation seems to be that you need to be cold calling (FSBOs, Expireds, etc.) for around 2-3 hours/day, 5 days a week.  

Is this the reality of being a real estate agent?  That you need $6,000-10,000/year to get started, that constant cold calling is necessary, and that even if you do this you only have about a 3-10% chance of making it?

Sorry for the long post, and thank you for any feedback!