Being a Part-time Real Estate Agent... YAY or NAY??

[Shannon Webb]

Hey Guys! Im not sure if yall remember me, but a while ago, I was looking into wholesaling as a means to jump into real estate investment. And since that time I have taken steps to get better acclamated with the field through means of education.

As of this Summer, I will be completely done with my Associates in Construction Project Management, and have decided to further my education in Architecture in the Fall! I am super excited about this because I think this aligns completely with my dream in designing and developing Real Estate!

But here is the thing.... In order for me to go to school, I would need to relocate back up to the Atlanta area, and will need an income that is lucrative and flexible enough to sustain a living AND allow me to focus on school, and so thats when REAL ESTATE came to mind!

What do you guys think? Is this possible to make a living with real estate PART TIME? What tips would you give to someone in my position? I am a single mother trying to build an empire and a legacy for my daughter.... What do you suggest???

Shannon Webb

Your "not-so-new-or-favorite" wholesaler

[James Propeck]

Hi Shannon!

Your drive is admirable! I HATE being Mr. Negative, so it kills me to say this, but if you want to be a broker, you really need to be available full time. I was A licensed broker with Prudential in Oregon for a few years and what ultimately killed my dream was trying to do it part time. I was working with a couple investors, who bought cheap properties that wouldn't pay my ledger balance, let alone my bills, and struggling to list homes after losing the builder I worked with at the beginning of the bubble burst. So, I took a job and tried to sell dirt on the side. I still have that job, but I'm no longer a licensed RE professional.

That was my experience. But the point is that you really need to pound the pavement, research and tour properties and make yourself available to clients at all hours just to survive as a broker. So many times I would tour a home with a client at 8:30am, go to the office and do some prospecting, meet with my team over lunch, research new listings and follow up on phone calls all afternoon, then go home only to have the phone ring during dinner because an offer was coming in at 8:00pm, so race back to the office or property and negotiate a deal, which may or may not close! That was a pretty normal day!

Your goals and aspirations are wonderful and I wish you the best of luck! As a father of two young 'uns, I certainly know exactly where you are coming from. My advice, if your heart is set on working in RE, would be to look for a broker who needs a licensed assistant. Use that to make contacts and learn the market and inventory, while producing a steady income. Then start looking at listing some homes on your own. At that point you will have trusted partners who can help out when you are unavailable and will do more than buy you dinner when YOUR deal falls in their lap.