What Questions to Ask Brokers Before Hanging License

Question

Hi BP,

I am working on my agents license and want to get people's thoughts on good questions to ask a broker to help decide whether to hang a license with them. I've googled a few different lists but curious to hear all of your thoughts.

Russell Holmes · Answer

@Shafi Noss depending on whether you're jumping into it full time to start, ask how flexible their training is, the cost, the schedule, etc.  Is it required to be in the office for a one-size-fits-all training or can it be tailored to your schedule and interests within the industry?  Real estate is a broad industry, being in a class of 15 or 20 agents all pounding the phones for expired listings and FSBO can burn someone out quickly. That's one of many different lead gen methods and not for everyone.

What types of marketing tools do you have at your disposal with the brokerage?

What are their policies on personal deals?  If you plan to invest, find out if they waive broker's split on a few per year. For truly loose restrictions on investment deals you'd need to go to a flat rate brokerage that doesn't offer training, but most that do offer training and support still allow a handful of personal deals per year and have minimum broker fees over that amount.

What flexibility do you have on setting commissions and what are the minimum broker fees if you sell a cheap listing or discount commission for an investor client who does volume with you without major headaches?

What is the annual cap?  Are there franchise fees/market center fees/ etc on top of that?  This is important but do not make it your top priority.  You'll get a lot of training before paying in your first dollar of broker split.  A 100% brokerage with no training has the 'best split' and you'll be completely on your own and it may take a year or more to sell your first.  A team with a 50/50 split may have the 'worst split' but get you up and going quickly.  Take it into consideration among other things.

Will you have a local go-to person to ask questions that come up on the fly?  This could be your broker directly or a mentor, agent you're shadowing, team leader, etc.  Nothing worse than cold training to the masses without someone to get answers from on unique situations that pop up.

Are there any successful teams within the brokerage you could interview with also?  I was very dead set on being an independent agent and I don't regret it.  But I really should have given more consideration to joining a team to start with also yet I didn't interview with any.  I'd likely still have gone independent, but it could have been of great benefit to start out as a buyers agent for a team with a little more guidance.  I've met several successful independent agents that got their start on a successful team.

Jason Webb · Answer

What's the commission split?  What are my monthly costs? What kind of training is available?  Do you provide leads?  Do you provide any other services?

Kobe Xin · Answer

@Shafi Noss

What is your main goal of becoming a licensed agent? I got licensed because I wanted to learn about the real estate industry and be a part of an environment where I can learn to create wealth through real estate. If generating wealth is a priority of yours I would definitely ask how the brokerage can assist you with that and whether or not they provide the resources necessary to be a successful investor. If your goal is to only be a successful agent, then I would ask how the broker can help you generate leads and ask more about their marketing tools. One of the main aspects of a broker that aspiring agents tend to forget to ask about is their marketing and lead generation tools. Make sure you understand which of the tools the broker will offer you for free and which one they will charge for, some brokers will just give you a list of the tools they offer but end up charging you a lot of money if you decide to use them.

Lynn McGeein · Answer

@Shafi Noss It's important to first know your priorities, then find a broker who will assist you in reaching those goals.  If you're new to real estate without a large sphere of influence, you'll likely be focused on one who provides guidance, training and referrals.  I looked for a broker who allows me flexibility on charging commissions, no additional admin fee charged to my clients, no required office hours, good access to broker and office staff when I do have questions, and yearly fees/commission  are reasonable. The downside is there are limits per year on my own sales and no LLC allowed where I'm even a part owner, but I'm not selling my own right now, anyway, so this worked for me.

Justin Tahilramani · Answer

@Shafi Noss - are you interested in making offers on VA or HUD homes? If so - you may want to stay away from brokers that list foreclosures. HUD will not let you bid on ANY HUD homes if your broker lists HUD or HUD. Not even one that's in a different city, county or state. VA is hit or miss as are banks.

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

The answers will be similar at major brokerages; yet the brokerages are very different. This is a big decision and you should take your time. I would talk to agents who have switched brokerages and can tell you why they did it and what is different. And of course put Keller Williams on the list to check out.

What Questions to Ask Brokers Before Hanging License

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