Real Estate License

[FXCLM5]

Originally Posted by NB0tt

Aren't we about to hit another crash? Is this a good time to be getting into real estate?

I had a close friend completely lose everything as an agent during the last crash and she was doing well beforehand.

thats her bad, definitely not the norm especially being a "professional" of that sector

[bojangle]

Interested in this thread. I've been considering going into RE as a second career after retirement from LE.

[renxianqiclone]

Originally Posted by asdfghwy

Thank you all for the responses. Will look into hiring requirements. My little brother has good work ethic, and fortunately while he lives at home doesn't have any major expenses so he definitely has time to spare while he gets situated and launches a career in real estate. At minimum I'd like him to have a 'fall-back' into real estate -- although I believe he can succeed in the role and will be pro-active in getting a foot in the door. I just don't want to see him do nothing and have no options.

Salam Al Le Kum!

I went through this disillusioning route before so here's my insights:

Since my career in education wasn't making enough money, I ventured into real estate. A colleague at work was also teaching Real Estate courses and I audited a few of them. She gave me copies of the textbooks and lots of practice tests which I feel are the most important part for anyone passing the test. Before taking the licencing test, your brother will need to have completed a certain amount of courses and/or lectures. Having done that, he will then need to register online to take the dreaded test in Oakland.

I sampled a few of my fellow classmates in the real estate classes (sample size <20) and here's an unscientific correlation I found- If your brother was a straight A student back in high school, the licencing test is pretty easy to study for and pass on his first try. If he was an A-B student, he might have to try 2-3 times before passing because the trick questions will keep him second guessing, especially the ones asking about ethics. Memorizing specific dates for paying property taxes and specific laws about discrimarion is imperative. If he was a C average student, he'll probably eventually pass by the 5th or 6th attempt.

The test is still being held in Oakland and parking there is a PITA. Tell him to bring his own lunch because the food at the cafeteria sucks. Travel lightly because the test proctors won't let him take anything with him into the testing room. Personal lockers will be provided but they are tiny and don't put anything valuable in those lockers because thefts happen. It's Oakland after all.

Should he pass, his mail box is going to be inundated with dozens of solicitations from realtors all over California to join their team. But signing up with a firm is even more arduous than preparing for and taking the test! The initial sign up fees with them right away are cost prohibitive. Like hundreds to thousands of dollars prohibitive. Getting MLS access, buying the wardrobe to achieve the "professional look", Staples runs to print stationary and other forms, paying for shitty buggy software... those minor business expenses add up quickly all before he even makes his first successful deal. He's also going to start at the bottom of the totem pole, everyone in the firm will treat him like a peon and view him as a potential rival out to cut him/her out of their game. If he is lucky enough to find a mentor however, his chances of surviving will increase exponentially. Attractive Asian women seem to have an uncanny ability to easily get mentored in this industry while for guys, it's next to impossible.

This industry is merciless and isn't for the faint of heart. Even though I was taught in classes to have the highest of ethics and be an honest "agent" for my client... Even though 50% of the questions for the license is about ethics and ethic violations... in the real world of this business, everyone who is good at this game is a lying piece of shit. The management will do everything and anything in their power to make money, and will instruct their employees accordingly. They embezzle, lie, cheat, scam, misinform both buyers and sellers and the best ones do it in a way to finagle their way out of legal trouble even when they get caught.

Needless to say, I didn't have what it takes to survive in this industry and didn't last long. Nevertheless, I did learn a lot of valuable information and this certainly helps in the long run- especially when it comes to buying property and renting it. If I had to do it over again, I still would because the experience was certainly enlightening and taught me a lot about my personal character. I'd like to say I'm now wiser when dealing with realtors since I know their bullshiting tactics and tricks.

If your brother is really sociable with high charisma, I advise to encourage your brother to do it. But if he has very high ethical standards, he won't last very long.

Sorry for this long winded reply. :-P

[Reli]

Yep, being sociable, likeable, and attractive is the #1 predicter of success in that field. Consider that potential buyers and sellers are judging you by your looks on your marketing materials before they even meet you. And for whatever reason, people seem to correlate attractiveness with competence.

[renxianqiclone]

Originally Posted by Reli

Yep, being sociable, likeable, and attractive is the #1 predicter of success in that field. Consider that potential buyers and sellers are judging you by your looks on your marketing materials before they even meet you. And for whatever reason, people seem to correlate attractiveness with competence.

Originally Posted by Reli

Yep, being sociable, likeable, and attractive is the #1 predicter of success in that field. Consider that potential buyers and sellers are judging you by your looks on your marketing materials before they even meet you. And for whatever reason, people seem to correlate attractiveness with competence.

Flirting and stroking the ego of the client is 100% crucial to closing the deal. Agents will use psychological manipulation and play on your biases and fears even though many of these tactics are illegal. If her/his playful banter and compliments goes into overdrive, it's because the agent is definitely hiding something really awful about the property and wants short circuit your critical thinking. Female Asians are pros at this which is why you see many of them so successful in this line of work.

[DTM74]

Originally Posted by Reli

Yep, being sociable, likeable, and attractive is the #1 predicter of success in that field. Consider that potential buyers and sellers are judging you by your looks on your marketing materials before they even meet you. And for whatever reason, people seem to correlate attractiveness with competence.

My wife always had her RE license and never really did anything with it. She finally jumped in and acted as her friend's realtor when her friend bought a new house/property. Subsequently, she was picked up by a local country property group. A couple from Berkeley tapped her shoulder (and not the hot shot realtor in the group) to act as their realtor because in her bio my wife said we have rescue animals. So you never know.

[renxianqiclone]

Originally Posted by bojangle

Interested in this thread. I've been considering going into RE as a second career after retirement from LE.

Given your background in LE, if you went undercover in RE, you could totally kick ass and take down a myriad of egregious brokers. Whether it's red lining, co-mingling, embezzling, lying under oath, forgery, bribery, and a bunch of other white-collar crime- you'll have no trouble getting evidence to put these wolves-in-sheep clothing behind bars. Why CalBRE doesn't do shit to stop the standard criminal practices of the people in this industry has always baffeled me.

[295566]

Originally Posted by renxianqiclone

Given your background in LE, if you went undercover in RE, you could totally kick ass and take down a myriad of egregious brokers. Whether it's red lining, co-mingling, embezzling, lying under oath, forgery, bribery, and a bunch of other white-collar crime- you'll have no trouble getting evidence to put these wolves-in-sheep clothing behind bars. Why CalBRE doesn't do shit to stop the standard criminal practices of the people in this industry has always baffeled me.

$$$

[renxianqiclone]

Originally Posted by DTM74

My wife always had her RE license and never really did anything with it. She finally jumped in and acted as her friend's realtor when her friend bought a new house/property. Subsequently, she was picked up by a local country property group. A couple from Berkeley tapped her shoulder (and not the hot shot realtor in the group) to act as their realtor because in her bio my wife said we have rescue animals. So you never know.

Your wife is a rare gem and an outlier. That firm was probably pissed that she took business in Berkeley away from them and wanted her to join instead of being their competition. They also get to bleed her $ for signup fees and get 1-2% of her commission for any sales she makes. This business isn't for compassionate people in the long run. I'm sure by now she's been pressured to compromise her morals by her superiors on various occasions.

[HappyHighwayman]

I really wonder why more people want to get into real estate. Like how can you compete with people with tons more experience in a field with too many people?

It's the same people who go to law school not realizing there are no law jobs.

[Reli]

Originally Posted by DTM74

My wife always had her RE license and never really did anything with it. She finally jumped in and acted as her friend's realtor when her friend bought a new house/property. Subsequently, she was picked up by a local country property group. A couple from Berkeley tapped her shoulder (and not the hot shot realtor in the group) to act as their realtor because in her bio my wife said we have rescue animals. So you never know.

That's another thing......Compassionate hobbies & volunteering help.

It also helps to portray yourself as a great family person with nice kids and "roots in the community", so that people feel obligated to choose you instead of some single guy who isn't as rooted in the community and doesn't need the money as much as a family allegedly does.

[renxianqiclone]

Originally Posted by NB0tt

Aren't we about to hit another crash? Is this a good time to be getting into real estate?

I had a close friend completely lose everything as an agent during the last crash and she was doing well beforehand.

Was your "friend" one of those irresponsible assholes that helped idiots get NINJA loans back in 2004-2008? A NINJA loan is the industry's jargon for a loan with "no income, no job and no assets. These bad sub-prime loans served as the foundation for the CDO pyramid scheme that came crashing down in 2008 that collectively fucked all of us.

[asdfghwy]

Originally Posted by renxianqiclone

Salam Al Le Kum!

I went through this disillusioning route before so here's my insights:

Since my career in education wasn't making enough money, I ventured into real estate. A colleague at work was also teaching Real Estate courses and I audited a few of them. She gave me copies of the textbooks and lots of practice tests which I feel are the most important part for anyone passing the test. Before taking the licencing test, your brother will need to have completed a certain amount of courses and/or lectures. Having done that, he will then need to register online to take the dreaded test in Oakland.

I sampled a few of my fellow classmates in the real estate classes (sample size <20) and here's an unscientific correlation I found- If your brother was a straight A student back in high school, the licencing test is pretty easy to study for and pass on his first try. If he was an A-B student, he might have to try 2-3 times before passing because the trick questions will keep him second guessing, especially the ones asking about ethics. Memorizing specific dates for paying property taxes and specific laws about discrimarion is imperative. If he was a C average student, he'll probably eventually pass by the 5th or 6th attempt.

The test is still being held in Oakland and parking there is a PITA. Tell him to bring his own lunch because the food at the cafeteria sucks. Travel lightly because the test proctors won't let him take anything with him into the testing room. Personal lockers will be provided but they are tiny and don't put anything valuable in those lockers because thefts happen. It's Oakland after all.

Should he pass, his mail box is going to be inundated with dozens of solicitations from realtors all over California to join their team. But signing up with a firm is even more arduous than preparing for and taking the test! The initial sign up fees with them right away are cost prohibitive. Like hundreds to thousands of dollars prohibitive. Getting MLS access, buying the wardrobe to achieve the "professional look", Staples runs to print stationary and other forms, paying for shitty buggy software... those minor business expenses add up quickly all before he even makes his first successful deal. He's also going to start at the bottom of the totem pole, everyone in the firm will treat him like a peon and view him as a potential rival out to cut him/her out of their game. If he is lucky enough to find a mentor however, his chances of surviving will increase exponentially. Attractive Asian women seem to have an uncanny ability to easily get mentored in this industry while for guys, it's next to impossible.

This industry is merciless and isn't for the faint of heart. Even though I was taught in classes to have the highest of ethics and be an honest "agent" for my client... Even though 50% of the questions for the license is about ethics and ethic violations... in the real world of this business, everyone who is good at this game is a lying piece of shit. The management will do everything and anything in their power to make money, and will instruct their employees accordingly. They embezzle, lie, cheat, scam, misinform both buyers and sellers and the best ones do it in a way to finagle their way out of legal trouble even when they get caught.

Needless to say, I didn't have what it takes to survive in this industry and didn't last long. Nevertheless, I did learn a lot of valuable information and this certainly helps in the long run- especially when it comes to buying property and renting it. If I had to do it over again, I still would because the experience was certainly enlightening and taught me a lot about my personal character. I'd like to say I'm now wiser when dealing with realtors since I know their bullshiting tactics and tricks.

If your brother is really sociable with high charisma, I advise to encourage your brother to do it. But if he has very high ethical standards, he won't last very long.

Sorry for this long winded reply. :-P

I appreciate the long-winded response. He was a good student when he tried, and I'm willing to help him study and test him. He's a busybody and can't sit in one place for more than 30 seconds. He enjoys running around all the time so I think hes got the personality and mindset of grinding/showing homes. I didn't think about all the other fees and stuff once he's ready--but I'm more than willing to pay for everything. He can pay me back when he sells his first home -- kidding -- if he gets to the point where he's actually selling homes than my my job is done and my investment paid off. There's a bunch of stupid shit I can spend my money on, but helping my little brother start a career isn't one one of them. If he pursues another form of income then that's fine, at least I can relax a bit knowing he has a potential avenue of income regardless.

[295566]

Originally Posted by HappyHighwayman

I really wonder why more people want to get into real estate. Like how can you compete with people with tons more experience in a field with too many people?

It's the same people who go to law school not realizing there are no law jobs.

I (partially) blame all the stupid house flipping and real estate shows on "reality" TV showing how "easy" it is to make $60k in a few weeks with minimal effort. Oblivious and/or gullible people think it's easy money. Hey, Trump University monopolized on that very group of people, promising huge returns, and using predatory methods to squeeze every cent they could out of them.

[renxianqiclone]

Originally Posted by FXCLM5

i did it online, i think it was a 60% fail rate when I took the test

not hard, i would say 50% common sense, 25% applicable real estate 25% admin stuff and weird real estate rules/loops like a african american with a real estate license cannot be a "Realtor" he can join the Realtor organization but he would be called a "Realtist"

Alot of weird racial things that expose their heads.

Also this is what you put in is what you will get out, less then 5% will succeed @ this. Lots of times you will have 0 income for a few months to handling multiple escrows in 1 month. Its not for the faint of heart. You will try so hard show 50 homes and the client wifes girlfriend will say something and ruin all the hard work you put in for last 2 months.

So much of this! Makes you want to pull hair out, yours and theirs!
Not to mention all those times when the wife/girlfriend/mistress suddenly has a change of heart and sees a new attractive listing on her cellphone right when he's about to sign or hand in the escrow check. You have to mask your negative emotions really well and stay smiling through the whole ordeal.