A buddy and I are currently entertaining the idea of getting into Real Estate. I have some friends in the business and have received a lot of information. However, I like to get as many sources of info as possible. Are there an CFers in Real Estate? What did you find was the best way to meet course requirements and prepare for testing? Also, our family is also looking to a potential move to Atlanta. I don't want to get licensed in Texas to have to turn around and get licensed in Georgia. Would it be worth having both or should I wait until we end up in Georgia? I just don't want to waste time, I'd like to start getting prepared and working towards licensure as quickly as possible.
Do you mean becoming a salesman? To me, 'getting into Real Estate' means investing. You don't have to be licensed to buy and sell your own real estate. You should wait to get licensed. No point in having a TX license in GA.
I meant becoming a licensed salesman. I eventually want to begin investing in real estate on my own, but want to be licensed first and work on that side. I know Keller Williams does a lot for training/hiring students.
I worked in real estate for a couple of years with Keller Williams but not as an agent. Keller Williams holds tons of training classes and lunch and learns but it seemed like a lot of people came in with a positive attitude and never saw them again after a couple of weeks. Behind the scenes they would just talk about trying to recruit as many people as possible which makes sense with their business model. When I was there I think they required you to split all commission 70-30 until you hit $16,000 paid and it would start over each year. If you are lucky, you can get a good mentor there though through their programs that will send you their overflow. If you can get up and going there, you can make quite a bit of money but just takes a while to get money coming in.
If you want to understand the realtor side, I actually think it'd be best to know how it works on the lending side (if you're going into home purchases). Though I'm out of the industry now after helping create a net branch for a mortgage bank, I think it's more worth it if you were to pursue your MLO. You'd understand the constant changes of TRID and if you go with a local lender, you can build a book of business with realtors and see how much they really know (which isn't much but I won't generalize). This will allow you to expand your knowledge and quickly adapt to a role as a licensed Realtor/Agent after knowing exactly what it takes from a lending standpoint.
I would certainly reconsider. At this point, you are asking the wrong questions. Getting a license is cheap and easy. Closing a sale will be the most difficult position. The internet has made the average real estate agent largely irrelevant. Personality plays a huge part. Thats not to say there is no way to make money being a Real agent. You will have to specialize. As others mentioned, there are other ways into real estate investing w/out starting in the pit.
Any suggestions on online programs? Preferably a continuing education program from a legit Texas university or community college. Looks like UT, A&M, and A&M Commerce have programs that fit the bill. Any experiences with one of these or any others?
Are you a smoking hot chick with a little bit of common sense? If yes, then go ahead and get licensed at any local school. You'll get recruited to work for a big agency and you'll do fine.
