All Forum Posts by: Nick Popolizio

@Jennifer Stutland it really depends (I hate saying that). In, my opinion, I would look for a team that is run by someone who you feel would be a good mentor to you. I would look for someone you can connect with, that wants to help you learn and grow, and who understands your long term goals. Don't worry about whether or not they give you leads, or what the split is. The only reason for you to join a team is to learn and grow as a Realtor. If you can't find a team that can provide that to you, what's the point of being on one?

Just my two cents.

In CA you don't need a signed form to have procuring cause. I just had a client working with me that called a listing from a sign just to get information and that Realtor showed my client the house (it was out of town and a first time home buyer so they were trying to save me time). The agent showed him the house and was offering to write an offer for him. My client called me and told me what was going on so I told him to come back to the office and we would figure it out. I wrote the offer for him, didn't say anything to the Realtor, and we closed with no problems. It's only an issue IF the other Realtor were to act on it (if they even knew they could). Also, here in CA, from what I've seen and heard, the REALTOR who closed the deal, me in this example, would be obligated to give the compensation to the Realtor with the procuring cause, so it wouldn't ever come out of the buyer's pocket. Might just be my area though. But that's a risk I'm willing to take as a Realtor, get paid and MAYBE have to give it back, or don't get paid at all.

I don't think it's a bad idea to start with a team. In my opinion that's a better learning option because you surround yourself with people who are there to help you learn and grow. At some point though, if you're serious about becoming really successful, you would more than likely want to branch out on your own, to build your brand. Not to say you can't be really successful as a team, but I find there's a much higher ceiling building your own team vs working on someone else's.

Congrats! It's a great business to be in if you work at it (just like any other business). It's great that you are going into it with contractor experience, there's a lot of times I wish I could better advise clients on accurate costs to many repairs. Have fun with it!

Oh wow, what are the odds? I wouldn't say there are any cons to being a realtor. I am just thinking if I'm going to spend as much time as I plan building a career as a realtor, and then starting over trying to do the same thing as an investor, why not just start with investing and skip the time spent building a career as a realtor. Sure I would have more money to invest after building a career in real estate, but if I start investing now, I feel like I will be able to snowball my investments much bigger than if I started investing 5-10yrs from now. 

Hey all. My name is Nick Popolizio, I'm a Realtor here in the central valley CA. I've been an agent for a little over two years now and over the last year or so I have really started to learn about the incredible opportunities available through investing in real estate. 

I originally wanted to build my "empire" in real estate sales, but I've never really fully enjoyed being a Realtor. I love the business, but I've always wanted to flip homes, and buy & hold. Since I started in real estate, I've had the thought of getting into real estate investing after I've created enough income in sales to step away from my business and have passive income. 

After watching some BiggerPockets podcasts and reading the newsletters, I've learned a lot about all of the investment vehicles I've never considered (I only ever thought about buy and hold, and flipping). Now I understand this can be a career, and doesn't need to be something I start doing when I retire from sales. 

I'm looking to start learning about the ways I can start investing now, or in the very near future, to start transitioning from sales into full time real estate investing. 

Can't wait to get started!