All Forum Posts by: Ian Meyer

Hey, Everyone!

For anyone who's followed my journey, the timeline has been a bit spread but I'm closing in on my goal. I own a business in Boston, MA but now live in Bar Harbor, ME. It's a seasonal business, so over the winter I took the course, I passed the course on April 1st right before I had to devote some time to getting my seasonal business up and running for the new season. 

At this point, I have a staff in place and the business is set up to run itself for the most part. I have someone who's committed to stay with us year round and for the foreseeable future, who can run the show. So I think all bases are covered.

With that said, yesterday I finally scheduled my state exam for July 21st. I plan to get past the potential distractions that come with 4th of July (business, family) and plan to give myself 2 solid weeks to study starting July 7th. At this point the question of what brokerage to work for is on the horizon... I have a question though, for anyone who'd like to chime in.

Based on your experience, what would you suggest - A nationwide type brokerage like Swan, or a local brokerage (small, mom and pop kind of brokerage)?

Hopefully that's not a dumb question.. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!

@Joia B. Thank you! I will keep your offer in mind, I really appreciate it!

@Bruce Lynn Thank you!

So I just finished the Sales Agent course, I am going to schedule my test on Monday. But let me get this straight - to be a Real Estate Sales Agent you basically have to be part Attorney, part Accountant, part Loan Officer, part Contractor, have sales skills, admin skills, marketing skills, know history / modern day information on the state your selling in... Did I miss anything?

It's all good. I figure if someone else can master this then I can too. But wow, I was surprised to learn how much is involved in selling real estate! One thing I will say is being someone who's been in small business most of my life, it is pretty amazing how every last thing is done with so much transparency. From relationships between Agent and client to relationships between brokerages. Every last detail is gone over and explained thoroughly and signed off on. It's a lot different from the world I come from. So much protection for everyone on all sides.

Maybe I am a newbie and being naive but it feels safer and less risky compared to other businesses. But also very tedious and labor intensive at times. There's no corners to cut or short cuts here!

Well, it's a done deal! I took the first step and signed up for online courses at the Real Estate Institute of New England! Thank you @Jen Whitehead for pointing me in the right direction for where to find an online resource for Maine. I'm crazy excited to get started...

Thank you for the info in your last message @Jen Whitehead! That is extremely helpful and I would love to chat more. I do think I am just going to go ahead for the sales agent license just to get myself more familiar with the industry, how it works in Maine, and hopefully to meet some people along the way. 

@David Menapace, what you just explained sounds a lot like what I would be interested in doing. I would love to hear more and learn about how you got to this point. I have lived in a few different places (which all happened to be tourist destinations as well) over my lifetime and have always thought it would be amazing to invest into the places I've lived in and know as I grow over the years. 

I have to say, to everyone who has responded to me in the last day. THANK YOU! Just a few simple messages from a forum has given me so much insight and so much to think about. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your taking the time to respond to my posts. I know everyone is busy and I sincerely appreciate it.

Which by the way, I could probably go on and on lol but I have to go for now because my cousin is flying in from California for the holiday and I have to rush over to Bangor Airport in the next few hours but again thank you everyone and I hope to be able to chat more with you all as I keep pushing forward in this new venture. 

Dawn, you are awesome! Thank you. I was just checking out your website, I love your bio it is pretty inspiring. 

I wouldn't say my dream has always been to be a Real Estate Agent. But I've had it in my plans for some time because of the exact reasons you mentioned. I will agree with the sentiment in your bio that I really like to help people. But If there's anything I've learned about business it is that having the right connections can mean everything. I do want access to homes ASAP, and to have larger access to off market / pre-market listings and more. 

If I'm not mistaken, you only need to take a 55 hour course to get licensed in Maine. So I figure the time invested would be worth those kind of benefits. Plus I can meet others in the industry. See how things are done. Get a lay of the land.

On the flip side, if I ever did have a dream? It would be flipping houses. It's probably cliche I know. But I spent 8 years of my life mainly doing wood framing (carpentry) among many other things. I have experience doing everything it takes to build / renovate a house other than electrical and plumbing. Theres something to be said about the simplicity of starting from scratch and the ease that comes with doing new construction. But honestly one of my strengths is problem solving, and I love taking houses that are a total mess and making them beautiful. I can really envision the end product and am full of ideas.

I used to religiously watch all of the house-flipping shows, but over the years I've heard a lot of negative things about flipping houses so I don't know what to think of it anymore. But I strongly feel I would be really good at it.

I started this tourism business in Boston years ago and it has sort of taken over my life. This past year I've really had this strong urge to break out of this cycle I am in so I have been working hard at developing a team for next season who can take over most of the work and free me up to do what I really want to do. 

I don't plan to sell my current business, I've worked really hard and made many sacrifices to turn it into something worthwhile. Honestly I don't enjoy what I do anymore. My plan going into 2022 is to have people run my business in Boston, and finally stop talking about real estate investing and just do it already! This was the plan a long time ago but somewhere along the way I was side tracked by being in the weeds with the current business I am in. I just closed up shop for the season on November 1st and am excited to get started on, something. But trying to figure out the best way to move forward I guess.

Jen, thank you for replying to my post and offering to chat about being a real estate agent in Maine! It's pretty exciting to hear about what you've done this year and is something I would love to learn more about. I could definitely use some help with the process. For one, just taking the course itself. I see a few different places on the web offering online courses, but not sure who to go with. Who which one would you recommend? Are taking online courses any less credible than in-person courses? 

I live in Bar Harbor and the closest courses I could find were in Bangor on Saturday mornings. I have a wife and kids. My wife is busy all week working, kids go to school. So obviously weekends are family time. If I can help it I'd rather do online courses, but am willing to do in-person if it is a better way to go.

Thank you Dawn, I truly appreciate your help. 

As someone just starting out, do you think it's a good move to get into real estate first or am I over-thinking it and if my end goal is investing, just jump towards investing? I have rushed into so many things over my lifetime as an entrepreneur so I feel like this would be the cautious way to go. At the same time I'd hate to be wasting my time doing something I don't need to.

Also I see how many real estate agents have their own entity (LLC) and their own website, identity sort of outside of the agency they work for. Can you briefly explain what this is all about?

I also see a lot of people creating their own agency, what are your feelings on working for others vs starting your own? It seems a lot of people start their own. 

Would you advise one starting out to get an entity started right away and buy a domain name, website, social media...? 

Sorry if any of these are dumb questions. Thank you for your time.

Thank you for the prompt reply! I already have follow-up questions popping up in my head but wouldn't want to bother you (unless you don't mind!). Thanks again...