The road to becoming a Real Estate Agent

The last point to my business model triangle is learning the forms.  Washington State has over 200 of them.  That's a form for every scenario that you can think of and yes...I have to learn what all those scenario could be.  This is why you hire a professional to buy or sell your home.   This last week I was given the assignment to write a purchase and sales agreement from start to finish. So I set out to pick my practice property and begin writing it up for my fictional buyer.  My dog, Cooper, was going to make an offer on a lovely 3 bedroom home in the neighborhood I grew up in.   After reviewing the manual, I thought, "I've got this".   HAHAHA, Man was I wrong! After sitting down with my managing broker, we went line by line through the purchase and sales agreement. I had the key components for making the offer, I named the parties involved, had a legal description of the property, had the purchase price but I was missing my fictional clients back story.  Meani

So, I've been at this gig for 2 and a half months now and the whole time I've been working hardcore on marketing myself.  Because without clients you wont make any money.  However, as it was gently pointed out to me by a colleague, "What do you do when you finally do get a client"?  That is a HUGE question. So I sat down with my managing broker like I do every week and we discussed the the triangle of real estate success.  A triangle because there are 3 points that need to be learned and mastered. Number 1, Marketing.  Number 2, Forms. And number 3, Inventory. My last post was about marketing which I feel I have a pretty good handle on.  I've got a good following on my Facebook page and I did decide to advertise on Zillow.com so I feel I have opened the conversation gap with those I know and some I'm meeting along the way.  I've also started going to Realtor Association events such as Fast Pitch, a networking coffee hour for brokers and affiliates like

When starting a career that solely depends on lead generation and referrals it can seem daunting.  One would ask, "how do you get leads"?  There are several ways, some are tried and true and others are more risky and require lots of attention.  For example, Facebook page, direct mailer, and personal letter introducing oneself.  I have chosen several different platforms for getting my name out there. They include: The first thing I did was set up a business page on Facebook.  Its FREE so why not.  In today's society its almost a requirement to have an online presence for any business.  When looking for a home today most people do months of research online prior to contacting a Realtor and you can bet that Realtor will be Googled by the potential client.  I know I did that when I was in the client position. Another platform that I took advantage of was my agent website.  This tool is included in my desk fee that I pay to Windermere.   Once the administrative assistant p

My last post left off with me comparing the two brokerage firms that I interviewed.  Thankfully I didn't have to deliberate for too long before I came to my decision.  Windermere came out on top.  My main reason for choosing Windermere is EDUCATION.  Some firms sign agents then say "have at it", they struggle to swim in the new environment and unfortunately this method is why the turn over rate is so high.  Did you know that real estate has an 83% drop out rate?  That's crazy high.  So I went with the firm that was going to provide me the tools to succeed in my new career. I scheduled an appointment with the managing broker at Windermere to discuss me coming aboard.  That morning I arrived thinking I would sign some paperwork then be on my way until I was "ready to start".  Well I was in for a huge surprise.  First we tackled the contract.  A 17 page document that covered everything under the sun that you could think of.  Commission rate (very important)

Many things about being a real estate agent are different compared to the regular J.O.B.  When you do a quick google search on becoming an agent, you'll learn that you have to find a firm to hang your license with, meaning lots of research on that company.  Find out what their annual sales numbers are, what kind of training they provide, marketing material available to agents and how much money is required of the agent to utilize the firms name.  Thats a lot of things to consider when starting a new career especially one that is COMMISSION ONLY.  When I starting searching for a firm to call home, I took a different approach.   I took a drive around the beautiful town I call home and searched for yard signs.  You know, the "For Sale" signs that show which firm is representing that seller.  I made mental notes of the company names I was seeing. Eventually I narrowed the list down to two names.  Windermere and Premier One Properties.   I took the first step by sending an

It took 7 months but I finally did it,  I completed my real estate course through Rockwell Institute.  To say I had doubts about completing the course would be a serious understatement.  I mean, it was REALLY hard.  Really, really, really hard.  Ok, maybe not that hard but still hard enough to make me concerned about passing the course.  Scheduling to take the state exam was easy, the week of prep work I put into it before hand was not.  I spent an entire week taking mock exams that covered every single possible scenario that could potentially be covered.  Thats a lot of info!  By the time test day came I thought my brain was going to explode.   For those who want to know, my brain did not explode.  I just had a massive headache that lasted for 3 days afterwards. Anyway,  I made it to the testing site which in our area is an H and R Block.  I was ushered into this tiny room with two other gals, both of whom were taking their tests for the second time.  Talk about pressure!  I was thi