Why Become a Real Estate Agent?

"I enjoy running my own company."

Nothing compares to having power over your own life. Some people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase a franchise, only to be confronted with ongoing challenges like dealing with difficult employees, rising rents, and paying franchise fees. You will be establishing your own business as a new real estate agent, usually for less than $3,000 in first-year expenses.

“I like the idea of unlimited income.”

When you work as an employee for somebody else, your income is at their discretion. You slave away doing a fantastic job and then get a 1% salary increase next year. In real estate, YOU set your income goals. If you want to earn enough to take the family to Walt Disney World next year, you can. But if you want to earn $100,000 in your first year and $250,000 a couple of years later—you can do that also. There is literally no limit to your earning potential—except the limitations you put on yourself.

“I have the freedom to set my own schedule”

“I would love to cheer on my son at his school track meets!”

“I wish I could devote more time to doing volunteer work.”

“We’re empty-nesters now and I’d like to spend some time during the week having “Us Time” with my partner.”

Most real estate agents are independent contractors. As such, they are in control of their own schedules. No employer can order them to be at work for certain meetings or other obligations.

Yes, to be successful, you may want to work some weekends and evenings, but that is your decision. And if several times each year you want to take a few of glorious days for a mini vacation or to visit friends—that is also your decision, not that of a boss who puts his own interests first. Few professions have better opportunities for a great work-life balance than real estate.

“I love helping people.”

People call real estate professionals during some of the most stressful and important milestones in their life: People getting married, people getting divorced, buying a first home, moving to a job in a new city, buying a vacation or investment property, needing a bigger or better business location. . . these are just a tiny example of the client calls a real estate agent gets on a typical day.

Being able to show empathy, providing over-the-top service when a seller asks for help in selling their home before it goes into foreclosure, or when a grieving family member calls to say they need to sell the home where they grew up now that mom has died. . . these are the times when you will feel like you really made a difference in somebody’s life today.

“I just like showing houses.”

Few genres of TV program have seen more growth than those that offer insights into helping people buy and sell homes. Everybody likes looking at other people’s homes—and now you can get paid for doing it! Rarely do you show two identical homes, and it is fun to show your clients some of the great new gadgets and features that many of them have.

“I can never be fired.”

When COVID-19 hit, more than 40 million people lost their jobs. Decent, honest, hardworking smart people were suddenly thrown into endless sleepless nights worrying how they could make their mortgage payments or provide for their families. And all through no fault of their own.

Most real estate agents work as independent contractors. That means they are their own boss. They can fire themselves. . . if they sit home all day waiting for business to come to them, but they are running their own business, in control of their own future.

In good times and bad, people still need the services of real estate agents. When interest rates are up or down; when the economy is in boom or bust mode; whether Republicans or Democrats are in power . . .

• People are getting married, and they need to buy houses.
• People are getting divorced, and they need to sell houses and buy new ones.
• People are having babies, and they need to buy bigger houses.
• People are becoming empty-nesters and retiring, and they need to sell their large homes and buy smaller houses.
• Whether for personal or employment reasons people move, and they need to sell and buy houses.
• And sadly, people die, and their heirs need to sell houses to settle their estate.

“No two days are ever the same.”

Tired of a dull job, always doing the same thing? You will love real estate!

According to 30-year real estate veteran Dave Forward, “I have real estate colleagues who sell a little bit of everything. Then there are others who have developed a unique and profitable niche that sets them apart as industry specialists.

“One has contracts with national franchises to locate sites for their new restaurants. Another specializes in selling multi-million-dollar homes to NFL and NBA stars must sell and buy quickly when traded to or from another team. Another only sells oceanfront homes in Florida while yet another ONLY sells condos in Center City Philadelphia. I know agents out West who primarily sell ranches and farms and one has developed a nationwide reputation for selling mobile home parks. Oh, and he made $325,000 doing so last year!

“Yes, it is a cliché, but in real estate, no two transactions are ever the same and neither are any two days.”

“It feels good to be considered an ‘expert.’”

People will respect you as a person who has the expertise, they need to solve their problems. A law firm needs 10,000 square feet of Class A office space; a job transferee from out of town has 7 days for you to find a home for her family near good schools and within 20 minutes of their new workplace; A relative calls from a faraway state saying grandma lived in your area and she just died; they need help selling her home. While commission checks in the thousands are obviously a good thing, nothing quite compares to the feeling you enjoy when a client says, “I NEVER could have done this without you!”