All Forum Posts by: Kat Wyninger

@Irene Nash thank you!

@Christopher Sparacino thank you for your response!  It's good to hear from someone who is working at Keller Williams as well as knowing your expenses weren't as high as I feared.  My original plan was to join eXp, but since they aren't in my area I'm going to go with Keller Williams.

@Irene Nash I appreciate you taking the time to give so much valuable advice. This is just what I needed to hear.  I've tried to get on board with the idea of cold calling, but I have so much internal resistance to it.  Your advice is much in line with what Jennifer Allen teaches in "Sell With Soul."  I'm very happy to hear from someone who successfully works this way.  Thank you!

@Steve Bracero

Thank you for replying! I’m glad to hear buying leads isn’t necessary. Do you have a daily/weekly goal for cold calling? My plan was to do a combination of cold calling with social media marketing and then paying for advertising (like Facebook, Zillow, Home Light).

Do you feel the $6000/year estimate is pretty close?

Hi All - 

I just finished real estate classes and was starting to reach out to brokers when I was told by one broker that maybe I should consider doing something else because being a real estate agent is really expensive.  I’ve seen several people make that statement before without going too deep into the costs, and then others countering with something like, “one deal will cover your costs.” 

Most mention MLS fees, desk fees, continuing education, etc., but there are a lot more actual costs, like buying leads, marketing, signs, etc.

Real Estate Express gives an estimate of just over $6,000 a year to be a real estate agent, but I don’t know if that covers marketing, buying leads, buying a camera, etc.

There is also so much conflicting information about broker fees.  I’ve seen $1500 to $3000 up front just to join at Keller Williams?  After that, there are hundreds of KW reviews that say their monthly fees are too high, but no specifics.

I wanted to work as a real estate agent because my current job has a fixed, limited income.  It’s a decent income, but I hate that it’s fixed.  No matter how much or how hard I work, my pay isn’t going to increase.  I thought being an agent would give me the greatest chance to learn the real estate business inside and out, earn extra income to pay down debt and save money to invest in real estate, give me time to repair my credit, and give me the experience and credibility I need to convince investors to partner with me on deals.

My second concern - I’ve read Jennifer Allen’s book “Sell With Soul,” and I would love to believe that being a successful agent is possible without cold calling, however, I’ve been listening to hours of podcasts and webinars and reading books and coaching materials, and it seems like most if not all of the successful agents (with the exception of Allen) are saying the same thing - success in real estate depends on cold calling.  A lot of cold calling.  The recommendation seems to be that you need to be cold calling (FSBOs, Expireds, etc.) for around 2-3 hours/day, 5 days a week.  

Is this the reality of being a real estate agent?  That you need $6,000-10,000/year to get started, that constant cold calling is necessary, and that even if you do this you only have about a 3-10% chance of making it?

Sorry for the long post, and thank you for any feedback!

Congrats Ethan Lee ! Today was my first official day as a landlord :) - we closed yesterday on two sfh with seller financing. It will take me a little longer to get where you are- I have to repair my credit along the way, but very exciting nonetheless. Thank you for sharing the inspiration!

Thank you everyone! Kevin Siedlecki , checking out your post now.

Thank you Christopher Phillips and Jay Dewberry ! I appreciate it, I thought maybe I was missing something. It's hard starting out to get the math right so you don't fail :/

Jay Dewberry thank you for your response! And I think you're right, he's wanting his price and terms right now, but that's his first offer so I'm trying to figure out what I can counter offer that will make it possible. Thank you again!

Hi all - I'm just starting and I've found what could be my first property, but I can't figure out the math using online calculators. This is a 2bdrm/1ba sfh that is currently rented for $350/mo to a long-term tenant. The seller is asking 39,900 and is reluctantly willing to owner finance, but wants 5,000 down, 10% interest, and is only willing to finance for 24 months. I think fair rent for the area is closer to $500, but I tried to figure it out estimating a rent of 400 month. If I use the 50% rule then there is only $200/mo for the mtg payment and any cash flow. When I try to use online calculators, I'm coming up with a monthly payment that is higher than rent?? Does that sound right? Kat

Eric Pinter lol - that's fantastic! Matt Anderson that's what I've heard, so I'm going to try to figure it out!