Going for the Realtor’s License

After long debate with my husband and myself, I have decided to pursue getting my real estate license.  The goal is to put my skills as a real estate professional and financial planner wanna-be into use as a commercial real estate agent.  I feel that from this vantage point, I will be well positioned to help other people close deals (and net out some cash when I do!) in between working deals in which I am an investor.

The big advantages of becoming a commercial real estate agent are:

1. More cash flow for me… this is the biggest one.  I have lots of great "INVESTMENT" real estate, but not a lot of cash flow from my current properties.  One of our goals is to let my husband, Ben, be a stay-at-home dad and writer, and that means I need to bring home more bacon, more often.
2. The potential to "passively" invest in some of my clients deals – thus diversifying my real estate portfolio and letting someone else do the heavy lifting when it comes to putting the deal in place and managing it.  (The question is – will I feel comfortable that they are going to make the deal profitable?)
3. Access to more research and data about the different marketplaces across the country.
4. Better contacts with real estate professionals working at a higher level.
5. The ability to get on the MLS if I want to do more deals for my own account.

The disadvantage is that this will be a lot of work! 

To be successful in the commercial brokering world, my understanding is that you have to work hard and be diligent day in and day out, even when you’re not earning much up front.  I’ve been told to expect a 2-3 year ramp-up to get the business running on its feet, and get my income up to six figures. 

Also, since the financing markets are a little dicey now, it could be harder to get deals closed after finding a ready and willing buyer.  Fewer people might consider this a good time to sell, thus I will be entering the field at a competitive time.

We will see what happens, though! I’m excited.  I’ve been interviewing with a lot of different firms to find out where I might like to work most.  I will keep you posted on this venture to become a commercial real estate agent! 

If anyone has tips on what firm to join (or not join!) or how to be successful in this field, I would love to hear it.  My google searches have not yielded many answers to these questions! 

Emily

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