Recommendations for starting as a new broker

[Katrina B.]

Hello Everyone,

I've recently I just finished my pre license schooling in pursuit of holding my brokers license. 

I am wondering if you have any recommendations for starting as a new broker, who you'd recommend as a company or a princpal broker to get in touch with, and would you recommend applying for positions now or waiting until I pass the state test? If you live in the Portland Metro area and have time, I'd be interested in getting together with you to hear some of your experiences. 

Thank you for taking the time out of your day,

Katrina Bonney

[Joel Owens]

New agents tend to always look at the COST of everything starting out because typically they have no money. So a brokerage firm has to sift through the crud of new agents to see who might be a rising star versus another dud that peters out after a few sales.

The low transaction fees and higher splits are for SEASONED brokers and agents. The ones that do not need constant hand holding and are not just learning the business.

14 years in I am still amazed at how much new agents think they are hot stuff and deserve the world (no fees, high splits, unlimited training) yet have done nothing yet in the business. Frankly it would seem this is why a lot of them fail miserably right from the start.

The new agents that soar typically say let me learn and I do not care what the cost is because they know they are paying for experience from someone with long term success in the business. I know brokerages that basically run new agent mills. They go after newly passed state exam agents and know if they put time into them for training and a 50/50 split then they might do 1 to 2 deals before leaving the business.

The reality is about 90% are gone the first year of being in the business and 5 years later the remaining ones about 20% of those left survive. Right now the numbers are skewed from this because the residential real estate market is peaking and everyone with a pulse is thinking ( My friend is doing real estate and crushing it. This is the solution to all my problems!) lol

When the agent learns that residential sales most occur within a 3 to 4 month span and also that when the cycle comes back down from a hot market it will be much harder to buy and sell property. That is when the average brokers and agent and the poor planners will not eat. They will be going to work part time at Wal-Mart etc. or leave the business all together. 

I just tell it like it is. I get tired of hearing the fairy tales etc.

If you are becoming a new agent then save most of your closings, learn constantly and never stop, invest to grow passive cash flow. This way when sales volume goes down you have some supplemental income coming in. Don't thrive or fail based on having to complete the next transaction.