Where to hang license for part-time agent

Question

Hi BP! Looking for some opinions on where to hang my license. Here's the scenario: So, I've been a commercial real estate agent in Atlanta GA for the past 10+ years but I'm interested in doing more residential real estate on the sales side and investing side.  I'm currently licensed but my license is on inactive status. I'm looking to hang my license with a residential real estate company. My goals are:

1.  To sell 1-3 houses a year, (mostly helping friends/family)

2. To purchase investment houses for myself without paying a buyer-side agent (or paying much to my broker's company).

3. Possibly get some leads from the firm.

I'll need minimal support from the company I hang my license with. I don't want to pay a ton in desk fees.  I've been considering Redfin or something similar. Does anyone have experience with this in Atlanta? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Russell Brazil · Answer

Redfin isnt a license hanging firm. They are salaried employees. They dont receive commissions.

No one is going to generate leads for you if you are a small fry.

You are 1000% wrong when you say you will need minimum support. If you are a new agent, you will have no idea what you are doing and will need to be walked through probably your first 10 transactions. To give you just a slight idea why, Id suggest reading thris thread on a part time agent with minimal support who wired $25k to a scammer instead of the title company. Im not pointing that out to shame the guy, but just to illustrate that just because you have a license, doesnt mean you know what you are doing. There are a 1,000 missteps you can make if you dont know what you are doing. In his case, at least it was only his own money and not his clients money.

Jim Young · Answer

Hi John Miller, I'm an investor in Roswell who recently got my real estate license.  I'm building a business that integrates flipping, buy-and-hold investing and "investor agenting".  By "investor agenting" I mean helping other investors buy and sell investment properties.  The idea is that investors think differently than retail clients, and are looking for different knowledge and assistance from an agent.

For me getting my license has been a good thing, and I think it may be for you too.  I'm happy to chat more!

Jordan Deeney · Answer

Hi @David Holcombe. Let me preface this by saying I know nothing about brokerages in the area or brokerages in general.

But I did meet someone with "exp" realty and he was thriving with them. They are cloud based and seem to provide you flexibility with what you want to do. I just don't know much about them as far as if you can do part time or not. But just throwing it out there for you to have an option to look at.

Nick Fitzpatrick · Answer

Hi @David Holcombe - I like my brokerage. I've been here 5 years and we have both commercial and residential agents. We're up to about 135 total agents and $500m in yearly sales. Plenty of part-time agents (or non producing...) It's small enough you know most people but large enough to have name recognition around town. I'm not sure where in Atlanta you are but we have offices in Decatur, Midtown, East Atlanta and Tucker.

Happy to discuss further.

Matthew Nicklin · Answer

@David Holcombe and @Nicholas L.    I do not want to self promote here but I am a Broker and I own my Brokerage. I would be happy to discuss more with you. We have several part-time agents and we are very flexible. We do residential sales and property management.

I would encourage anyone who is looking for a Broker to talk to multiple Brokerages and see what they offer and what the fees are going to be. Remember when you as a agent are talking to a Brokerage it is not a job interview, it is a partnership meeting and you have to make sure both parties are going to bring value.

John Miller · Answer

I am a GC in Atlanta actively and recently looking for good investment properties mainly to rent out for cash flow. I was researching if it was smart to get my real estate license to help reduce costs. I also would like to slowly build up and become a realtor. I stumbled upon this thread and I was thinking the same thing as far as is it smart to become a realtor part time - sell around 5 houses a year and use the license for investing.

Will Barnard · Answer

I don't believe your comment on Redfin is accurate as I just closed my second transaction with the very same Redfin agent who was paid via commission for bringing the buyer and she personally told me she gets leads from Redfin but only because she is a top producer in the company and they have employee "assistants" who take buyers to open houses and other small task items.

I do agree 2000% on your second comment, a new agent needs a ton of guidance through the murky waters of agency!

Kevin Polite · Answer

@David Holcombe I've been with Solid Source Realty for a number of years because they were started by Michele Velcheck, who was an agent with 100+ doors but had problems finding a broker that was okay with her investing, so she started her own. They have no problem with part-time agents. They have a low per transaction fee instead of a split after 1 year. They offer free CE courses that you can take at any of their offices via satellite. They have two options, one for those that want to be affiliated with a Board of Realtors. The other option is cheaper, but you have to pay for all your own contracts. Being a member of a local Board of Realtors allows you free use of the standard Georgia Board of Realtors contracts, which are used by the majority of agents. The option w/o you have to pay for your contracts or use your own. Most other agents don't like the other forms.

I doubt you'll find anybody giving you leads that will also be okay with being part-time and without taking 40-60% of your commission.

David Bell · Answer

Most of the time you will need to generate your own leads.

Nicholas LaGatta · Answer

Bumping this thread.  I've been interested in possibly getting my license for the reasons you mentioned above and to potentially branch out into property management, but I don't want to get bogged down in a bunch of fees and bureaucracy.

Where to hang license for part-time agent

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