Becoming a Realtor: how difficult is it?

What’s a realtor??

It took Ryan Serhant a while to close his first major deal. First year he was working as RE salesperson he made about $9k only.

Unless you are born into a real estate family, Serhant's way is how most go. Get a real estate salesperson license (short course of a few months, can be even taken at night), take and pass state exam, then once licensed go to work for a real estate brokerage or whatever firm. RE salespersons in nearly all states cannot work independently, but under a broker's license.

You will spend countless hours per day either chasing listings, showing homes/apartments, etc.. but as a salesperson normally making zero money salary. Pay for RE salespersons is usually commission only, or sometimes draw + commission. Either way if you don't sell or rent something, you don't eat. If compensation is draw/commission then your first sale/rent could see large part of commission eaten up by how much you took on draw before making any money.

There's a reason why real estate is heavy on middle-class to wealthy married women or gay men, and or those with independent wealth. It could be days, weeks, or months before you close on a sale or lease, in mean time what are you going to live upon?

Real money comes from being a real estate broker, not sales person. Ryan Serhant, Fredrick Eklund, etc... all are licensed RE brokers and thus by laws of each state there are certain transactions only they can perform. RE sales persons work under a broker, but the latter is free to work independently.

It may seem like a jumped up former gay porn star (Fredrick Eklund) simply landed a sweet gig as a top million dollar listing broker, but the guy did pay his dues. It also helps (IIRC) he comes from a rich family.

To get to Serhant level means quite a lot of work; it is just like law, you have to go out and get business.

Take a look at the haunted houses thread. Plenty of opportunities and places to sell every few years

99% of realtors are total assholes OP.

Are you? If not, it won't work out for you.

One can get a broker's license after working 2 years as an agent so its not as if its a PhD or something.

Are you good looking and charming with a penchant for back stabbing, OP?

As with most enterprises, you will rise faster is you are willing to present hole.

I know someone who has been a Realtor for four years, and he still has not sold anything, NADA.

I think you have to be very driven and assertive to be in real estate since it is a highly competitive profession, especially in larger cities.

I was a RE agent years ago. Getting the license wasn't too hard, but getting business going and making real money wasn't easy. Most of the successful agents did RE as a second job.

Becoming a "realtor" as in sales person or even broker isn't that difficult; making a living at it is another matter.

See below for average RE broker salaries for NYC. Keep in mind median household income is about $58k per year in NYC.

Keep in mind also compensation here reflect high COL and sale prices or rent average salary nationwide is only around $41k....

Also some places work on a commission sharing basis. Simply put it means RE broker splits his take with agents, salespersons, etc...

This is like people who go to cosmetology school but have no design talent or interest. They just want to get school over with in 6 months.

It explains why there are millions of people with a RE license that don’t ever practice.

And also explains all the bad haircuts running around.

You have to be really driven. I have a friend who is very successful now. Her reputation is stellar and she has earned every dime and five star review.

80% of it is the market you’re in, 10% is connections (why there are a lot of successful society lady realtors), and 10% is effort and willingness to work on weekends and at night. (It’s a terrible job if you like taking time away from your phone.)

Depends how good you fuck after we make a sale.

Based on the Realtors® I know, it can't be that difficult to become one. I think the hardest part would be keeping a straight face as you describe the "cozy" 6-foot by 8-foot "bonus space."

I hope there is a real upheaval in real estate agents/brokers in the next 10 years. With the opening of the MLS to sites like Zillow, etc., there isn't a great deal of need for residential realtors and their fees are certainly not justified.

Look at this list of what a realtor can do for you - none of it is special or even applies today. Writing up offers - I could see that, but surely there is some template somewhere.

It's a scam that is way past due for correction. There is really no need to give up 5-6% of the value of your house to sell it. Particularly at today's prices.

The newest scam going is “staging” the home. Spend enough time on Redfin and you’ll see the same hideous hotel room furniture pop up over and over in listings.

Like all other salespeople, it helps to be charismatic

I'm actually a successful escort. I've marketed myself well and enjoy business. Now I'm looking for ways to transition into more mainstream success.

So, yes, I can be very charming and I know how to make people feel comfortable. Mainly men... but still.

R2 What do you mean by "chasing listings"? I want to keep turning tricks (on the low, to a select few clients) while I start my real estate career, obviously.

Rumour has it, the top female realtor in our city used to be a high class call girl.

I thought about trying to get some sort of license. I am not interested in the sales aspect but I think some certification or licensure is required to work for a real estate company in an administrative role - I know for banking/mortgage work it was similar.

R15 Yes, their worth is overstated.

Realtors CAN be good for finding listings before they hit the market.

They CAN be good if they have a very good network and work it actively to sell your place, or to find you a home. (I can't tell you how many realtors we tried to work with where all they did to send us "listings" was to send us pages of links we could damn well find ourselves.)

But our lawyer did more work than our realtors did, in my opinion, during our sale, and made far less.

Scam is right. I talked to a few agents and realtors before listing a property I owned that was in a very desirable area. The thing I learned is that these assholes want you to list at a basement price so they don't have to spend their time and money advertising the property. Fuck that. I sold the house for 20% over what they suggested I list it for, and within 24 hours. It's past time for these clowns to hang it up.

Forget this thread, we want you to start a thread about being an escort. An AMA, if you will.

Real estate agents are an essential part of the real estate transaction. Anyone who thinks they can do it on their own will find out the hard way, they have a fool for a client.

R23 = desperate real estate agent obviously.

Realtors are wholly dependent on the business walking in the door and that cannot be forced.

Drumming up business, especially when getting established, is next to impossible.

Most of your early success will be sheer dumb luck -- right place, right time.

It's a wicked, dirty and filthy business....

As R26 reveals, commissions are negotiable - - - down - - - and dirty tricks abound. Still, a good agent is invaluable.

We sold our home last year with a good one. She got us more for the house than the two competing agents we’d interviewed said we would.

She also brilliantly neutralized (looong story) a really unscrupulous buyer’s agent who had her client make a high offer, to get a contract, and then systematically attempted to destroy the property’s marketability when we refused to accept her demands that we shave nearly $100,000 off the final price.

If OP was a common paid whore, OP can be a Realtor. They’re the scum of the earth and make car salesmen look like men of God. Most of the successful ones are sociopaths.

Op I’m a real estate agent in Manhattan

I also have a full time business aside from real estate that pays the bills

I started out in 2008 and did great - mostly working apartment rentals. Open listings were my bread and butter

I’ll never forget one day in January -we were having a cold spell. Must have been 8 degrees out - I made14k in one day. Unexpectedly did 3 Open rentals in one day. Why? Because most other agents didn’t want to work in January - it was freezing and traditionally January is one of the slowest months. I would hang out in a pizza place in the west village to keep warm in between appointments. I advertised on Craigslist Back then.

Things have changed drastically since street easy/Zillow. Zillow charges agents thousands of dollars per Month just to advertise - cost is based on zip code. I could spend 9k a month just for advertising in the 10023 (UWS zip code)

Times are not like they were in 2008. It’s always been super competitive but now more than ever - and with Zillow basically extorting agents for money - it doesn’t help.

I miss working in real estate full time - I loved meeting new people and seeing great properties every day.

[quote]Realtors CAN be good for finding listings before they hit the market.

THERE'S the key. The best listings are sold before the general public ever knows about them. With online listings, etc. It's they only advantage they have left.

Realtor in Chicago from '88-'05. Some years were stellar, most were a struggle (no husband/savings/trust fund to fall back on) - I describe it as the Lobster or Ramen Principle - no money for months at a time, then huge windfall when it happened - had pretty high expenses, no health insurance, and worked lots of 60 hour weeks. I worked with a few smaller developers on mainly 6-20 unit condo conversions, and had a few repeat clients over the long haul, but.......competitive as fuck, and it ate my soul to watch people of questionable ethics succeed, over and over again.

My partner and I did the FSBO (For Sale By Owner) when we sold our last home. There are legal forms available (Terms of Sale, etc.) that are available pre-printed...just fill in the blanks. We had a photographer friend do photos (which turned out beautifully) and paid a nominal fee to get it listed on the MLS.

True story: Our property went live on-line at 3:00 PM. Within the first hour, we had about 10 calls, three of whom wanted to see it ASAP. By 6:00 PM that evening, we had 3 offers, one for cash. We took it and that was that.

Just goes to show, you do NOT need a realtor to see your home or condo.

A friend of mine became a broker 10 years ago. He isn't the smartest guy in the world, to be honest, but he's extremely social. He hasn't done well because he's terrible about follow-up and timeliness. So, he started out with a ton of initial buzz because he knows a million people from the various sports groups he plays in and community service organizations he's worked with, but has never turned it into a thriving business.

The best agents I've worked with to buy and sell have been assertive but not dickhead aggressive. No one likes a broker who acts like a typical car salesman.

When times are good (hot RE market) everyone and their mother rushes out to bet a RE license so they can live a "million dollar listing" sort of life. That is what they think....

Yes, if market is red hot (as it was in NYC before covid-19 hit) money seemed to be literally falling from skies. No one tells these newly licensed about the bad times, and they surely will come, when there isn't money to be made.

"Across the Atlantic in New York, the pandemic cost Salvador Dominguez his job selling Manhattan real estate. He eventually qualified for an emergency expansion of federal unemployment benefits, but not before 72 agonizing days of waiting. He borrowed from friends and family members to pay his rent, and he harvested food from the trash at a high-end grocery store.

“How can I describe it?” said Mr. Dominguez, 39, taking a breath. “It was very tough.” He added, “I didn’t feel alone, because I knew a lot of people like me were doing it.” "

"Normally, Mr. Dominguez, the Manhattan real estate agent, would not have been eligible for unemployment, because he was a contract worker. But the pandemic prompted Congress to make benefits available to freelancers and self-employed workers.

When he initially applied, he was told that he had to be rejected for state benefits before he could qualify for the federal benefits — a cumbersome, time-consuming requirement.

After New York petitioned the federal government to change the rules, Mr. Dominguez applied again through the website and was told he would hear back within 72 hours.

Days turned into weeks and then months as his bills mounted. He dialed every state number he could find to plead his case. He joined Facebook groups with other jobless workers awaiting relief. He contacted his political representatives.

He did receive a $1,200 stimulus check from the federal government, supplementing that money with borrowed funds to cover the $2,800-a-month rent on his one-bedroom apartment."

Eventually an Uber-esque disruptor will emerge to the forefront and the old days of commission will completely cease.

My partner and I know a straight couple who live next door to us who were both realtors up until about six years ago. They're both [italic]extremely [/italic] good looking, young and personable and always seem to know tons of people. They made a fortune selling houses for a long time but similar to someone upthread, got out of the business because of Zillow. They coasted on referrals for a while but told us candidly one evening at dinner that, after Zillow, "the days of making over a million dollars a year were gone." They both went to law school and immediately opened a boutique type family law practice in which they do nothing but divorce cases. The wife handles the men and the husband handles the women. I know divorce attorneys who've been practicing for forty years who aren't making half of what these guys are. They both just brought that realtor "hustle" mindset into their law practice and it's paid off in spades. Plus, the fact that they're both hot as hell doesn't hurt.

[quote]Real estate agents are an essential part of the real estate transaction. Anyone who thinks they can do it on their own will find out the hard way, they have a fool for a client.

Replace "essential" with "somewhat unavoidable."

In certain seller's markets I would absolutely go FSBO. If it puts off first-time and nervous buyers, fine; serious buyers will step forward and act quickly. There's no magic to to listing contracts or buyer's offers and counter-offers and sales contracts. Realtors pretend their negotiation expertise makes it all worthwhile, but the truth is that listing agents are all about listing a property. They will be right there beside you shaking your dick off after you have a piss...until the listing contract is signed. Most go scarce and a great many may as well go into a bunker until someone else's buyer's agent puts forth an offer. You listing agent and "new best friend" has made his 3% having done nothing more than chase after you like a.puppy for 3 days until you signed the.listing contract.

A realtor who knows his market inside out, who knows straight off when something is.over or underpriced, who knows everybody's business and knows that the seller wants it all done quickly more than he cares about.price, who knows who's going to be selling and who's going to be looking and for what, or knows that a house is a card in an ugly divorce where a slow hurt of an ex partner is more important than speed or price...these agents are worth every penny. They know to take their cues from you and to test with some wildcard properties to see what sort of latitudes you have in your want list and budget. They know to let the houses show themselves and listen more than "sell" it to you. Sadly, those agents are quite rare..

A confident buyer knows to watch new listings online like a hawk, knows that he is his best judge of what he wants, he knows to act decisively and not to piss off the seller in the process. He's knows the limits of how much to fuck around with offers and counter offers and small negotiations. Unless he gets one of those golden exception agents, he gets almost no value out of a agent except to set up appointments to view properties; but of course that's the sellers problem to pay up.

Some agents succeed by listing properties and then making themselves scarce until closing day. Some succeed by hustling properties that other agents listed. A few had a network of contacts and experience enough that they do it all: listing agent, buyer's agent, upfront listing work, showing the hell out of a.property, pricing things right, being transparent to all sides. But too many agents are lazy fucks who make themselves scarce in the few instances you want them to be helpful, who just want you to buy and step the fuck out of the way--until it's time for you to sell.

Any moron can be a realtor.

Again, it's a filthy dirty business.....

R38

True, but it takes a special breed of moron (or total AH) to make serious coin at RE.

[quote]Eventually an Uber-esque disruptor will emerge to the forefront and the old days of commission will completely cease.

Hopefully they will do that to car dealerships as well.

My friend got her license 2 years ago, but she had been a hair stylist for 25 years in her town. She knows everyone. And she had a child, which is good way to meet other people. You have to have a good network

She sold 3 houses last month (in Florida)

Try it, if you like it, get a broker's license. Then you can have salesman work for you and take a piece of their action.

Not as difficult as taking a 10in cock up your ass.

Deep in escrow.

God damn!

More:

Looks much better with his hair trimmed short.

Stop overtaking my thread about real estate with all these photos of some buff guy! Make your own!

IMO, being a successful Realtor (without a bunch of side gigs) seems like something you have to have a passion for. You have to be willing to take phone calls, answer texts / emails, jump in your car, etc., at varied hours. At least at the beginning. You have to be a people person.

I have a friend who is a Realtor. As we got to know each other, I realized that he was kind of dumb. I also realized that a lot of his income comes from being a rental agent (property manager). However, he has no side gigs and does seem to make a living from being a Realtor.

Little known fact of the day: US realtors typically make a 6% commission. In Australia it's 2%.

Tip: The commission rate when selling (in the U.S.) is open to negotiation when a client lists with an agent. A small decrease of 1% or even .5% can mean you saving a significant amount of money. For example, If the seller has a premium property in a sought-after neighborhood that doesn't get much turnover.

Even Ryan Serhant can't win them all....

But when you look at the numbers both seller's broker and RS did very well for themselves. This is how you make your money in RE, at least at level brokers like RS move.

Seller's broker will get another cut when (or if) she manages to lease out that place.

Licensed RE broker is in a way like being admitted to the bar and able to practice law; there are plenty of ways to make money. Not all attorneys spend their days in court arguing cases, and still make good to excellent livings.

RE brokers can branch into property management, which is a large and growing area for many parts of the country.

Here in NYC with so many from outside NYS or even USA buying properties (as in personal residences, not multifamily properties), they need someone to keep an eye on things and otherwise manage property in their absence. Things like ensuring sidewalks are shoved after snow, or kept swept/clean, maintaining both inside and outside of property etc....

Services offered vary by if property is a condo or townhouse/mansion but never the less there is money to be made. A few hot shot RE brokers here in NYC have turned around after doing the sale deal, offered their services to new owners as property manager. Some have even set up their own companies and doing well enough.

What ever happened to Idaliz Camino, I mean Dolly Lenz? Didn't she start out as a check-out girl in a supermarket in Queens?

I love what brokers answer when you ask them if the apartment is quiet, and they "say it's pin-drop quiet cause I've been here all times of the day or night and I've never heard anything". You rent or buy and move in and then WWIII breaks out over your head. Fuck them. All lying assholes.

R18

Exactly what I said; you have to go out and get business (chase listings).

Unless employed by a firm (and sometimes not even then) in order to sell or rent something you have to get the listing. Partners or not attorneys at law firms are expected to bring in business; that means everything from schmoozing at drinks parties to working professional and or social connections.

When a developer is putting up a new building or home he is going to need someone to sell or rent property unless they do it themselves. That is where you "chase" listings. The other is again just as with lawyers; at a party or whatever you offer your services as a RE broker to various persons who are interested in selling or renting a property. Heck, even if they aren't currently you hand out your card anyway...

About your extracurricular activities; work as a hoe if you wan't, but just one encounter with LE and your budding RE career will be over. A criminal conviction will prevent or could mean loss of a RE salesperson or brokers license. Depending upon how infamous the accusation may be even if actual charges never happen you won't get a foot past some doors.

R55

Ms. Lentz is still around, and is still one of NYC's top "super brokers". She stared a firm with daughter Jenny Lentz and seems to be doing fine.

Dolly Lentz likely will work until she either cannot physically and or dies; firm will continue with the daughter and likely (if history is any guide) grandchildren.....

Don't know about the supermarket thing, but Dolly Lentz grew up lower class in the Bronx (her father was a building superintendent), and worked her way up from there to "Queen of New York Real Estate".

In world of Jewish real estate nearly everyone started out the same if you go back far enough; poor, just out of the shtetl (or still there for that matter), but took advantage of what this city and nation had to offer.

Dolly Lentz worked as an accountant for United Artists, and some how met/became friends with Barbara Streisand and rest is history as they say.

D. Lentz website.

Sorry for multiple threads, but as DL only allows single link per.......

Forgot link, sorry.

If you can pass the exam (ater studying) and get an agency to hold your paper, make an occasional sale. It is a Hampton gay-boy dream.

There are many people who don't need a realtor to sell. I, personally, would be very leery of buying without one, however, for the simple reason that I don't have the time.

A friend of mine is one of NYC's top realtors, focusing on multi-million dollar properties, and she does a lot more than show the property - she will stage it, restore it, oversee repairs, serve as a liaison to the owner's staff as well as the owner, show it night or day depending on the circumstances of the prospective buyer; screen buyers, present offers, devise comparables and market rates, create promotional materials, work with translators for foreign buyers as necessary, liaise with legal teams, etc., etc, etc. She also comes with a book of clients that hedge fund managers would kill for and keeps her lips zipped about the peccadilloes of same. I'm going to hazard a guess that 99% of her work is keeping the buyer and the seller from killing each other. I'd say she earns her keep.

Fron watching Million dollar listing, looks like a good way to make some fat commissions.

Again you have to get that million dollar listing....and as seen from several links provided in this thread top realtors protect their turf fiercely.

If you think some random Joe Blow real estate broker no one has seen or heard of before is going to get say a listing for Michael Bloomberg's home out in the Hamptons, or sell Jon Bon Jovi that new Palm Beach estate he just landed, think again.....

Yeah, the person I mentioned has nearly 25 years in the business as this point, and built herself her career after a long-term stint in the art world.

Right, R64. Realtors tend to dwell in the same or similar economic stratum as their clients.

Neither of the name partners in the prestigious brokerage is likely to being driving around town with a the first-time buyer who wants to get a first step on the property ladder with an entry level one-bedroom apartment and worried is about getting a down payment together. And the seller of a $3M property isn't likely to list it with the kid who was cleaning for two summers and now has a freshly printed real estate license.

Sometimes people will favor younger or relatively agents who they know from some personal connection. They do this as a favor, but also because they think the agent will be fully devoted to the task, not split among multiple listings and deals. The agent doesn't have to be in the same economic situation—but should fit in comfortably with the prospective buyers.

Realtors fresh to the business without a long list of personal friends looking to buy or sell usually start rock bottom with the worst properties, not only low in value but difficult sales: the owner who won't budge on his asking price even though it's 33% more than it should be; the estate sale where the heirs refuse to spend any money toward making the property presentable for listing, etc.

I'd rather stage homes for sale than sell them.

Being is realtor is a very demanding job, which requires a lot of of hard work. A 6% commission is fair compensation.

Very funny, R68.

Ryan Serhant of Nest Seekers International is setting his sights on New Zealand!