Looking for the "perfect" brokerage

[Account Closed]

Hello All,

I recently passed my real estate exam and I am in the process of interviewing brokerages.  While Austin seems to be back in full swing, I am still trying to be relatively cautious when it comes to meeting face to face.  I have met with a few brokerages at this point - all with varying levels of mask wearing policies.  One thing that became abundantly clear to me is that I am seeking a unique brokerage that fits my needs, and will, in turn, allow me to help them at the same time.  

While I am newly licensed, I am not new to real estate in general.  I have owned a number of real estate properties (mainly in another state) and both rented and flipped those properties.  I am also a hawk when it comes to market analytics.  I come from a marketing background, and I am a nerd when it comes to the Austin real estate market.  While I haven't had access to the backend MLS data until now, I keep a very close eye on the market and understand how these analytics play into the bigger picture for buyers and sellers.  My marketing background also gives me a sense of wanting to build my own brand as an agent, while complimenting my brokerage.  I'm not looking to rely on leads generated from the brokerage.  While they would be appreciated, I am not looking to rely on them.  At the end of the day, I want to be in the drivers seat when it comes to marketing, lead generation, etc. That includes having the rights to the leads I generate if I ever leave the brokerage (I know some will hold the CRM hostage even if the majority of the leads were generated by the agent).  

While I am looking for training, I would much rather find a mentor of sorts and hit the ground running with that person.  Many brokerages promote a great training program, I have noticed that many really offer virtual, and or, programmed trainings that do not provide that real-world approach I am seeking.  

With all that said, I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on an outside-the-box brokerage who may be able to fit my needs?  I'd ideally like to find a more boutique brokerage, but one that isn't boutique for the wrong reasons if you know what I mean.  Sorry for the winded post, hoping someone can lead me in the right direction.  

Thanks,

[Kobe Xin]

@Michael Dickinson

From what you described it seems like eXp Realty might be a near perfect fit for you.

It isn’t a boutique brokerage like you had preferred. It’s actually quite the opposite. It’s a national brokerage that’s publicly traded on NASDAQ. But it does fit most of your criteria.

You can have your own branding and basically Captain your own ship as long as you are compliant with state disclosure laws when it comes to marketing. And since you will be generating your own leads you will have the rights to them if you ever do decide to leave the brokerage.

On top of life trainings online you will also be paired with a local mentor once you join that will take you through at least your first three transactions.

And if you’re worried about exposure and human contact, eXp is a cloud based brokerage which means everything can be done online!

Hope I could help. Good luck and stay safe!