I just got my real estate license, and I am going to interviews at real estate offices today.?

Question

I am not really sure what some important questions to ask are. Can anyone give me some pointers?

Answer 1

i may be mistaken, but i think you are talking about doing residential, and not commercial sales, yes: if residential:

you must always realize that real estate sales is a people-oriented SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE business and nothing else.

just like people buy for location, location, location, you too should be in an office that is easy for potential real estate sellers and buyers to get into and to leave from (small shopping mall with easy parking, reserved parking, or a street with a lot of walking traffic and office visibility--corners usually are best). the office really should have a lot of signs in it, advertising the listings it has for sale as well as the company name, logo, and of course, a large sign for fair housing! you want to be in an office that "invites" business. if the office is on the second floor of a building, how will the public know it is there?

since you are just starting, you need a broker-manager that is going to teach you the ropes. a license to sell real estate is entirely different from marketing real estate: working with buyers and sellers. you have to learn what all the wording means in the paperwork used to work with the public. you must apply all applicable real estate laws that you learned while getting your license to your dealings with the public, but that is really not at all like the things you must know when you work directly with them.

BE SURE TO DO THIS: i don't give a damn what a broker-owner-manager says about selling and listing property. never, ever tell a lie. ask your prospective broker what you will do if you do not know something. what sources does she offer to you to find the answers? always, when you do not know something, tell your client that you that you do not know it, but that you will find it out and get back to them. then do that promptly.

make sure that you do not have to "earn" your "floor time" by the dollars you make, or by the number of listings, or the number of sales you make for any given period. walk-ins to offices are very valuable leads, and usually are buyers. occasionally you will get a seller.

do not work for a company that lets you keep the highest portion of the commission unless you are prepared to pay for signs, ads, franchise fees (if any), supplies, personal assistant, phone calls, desk fee, etc. find out what you must pay in order to keep a given percentage of a commission (for example, to retain 80% of it instead of retaining only 50% of it). you get what you pay for.

find out what expenses your broker-manager will pay for you. if they pay for printing your business cards, that is unusual these days, but very nice. what part of advertising expense must you yourself pay. remember that advertising is VERY expensive.

i could go on and on (write me if you have a distinct question, my email is listed here), but you have to do this too: make sure that your company issues you a signed Independent Contractor's Agreement unless for some strange reason your pay will be salary or by the hour instead of by commission. if they will not give you such an agreement, do not expect that you will be paid what they tell you verbally. it's stupid for you to accept any job that has no definition other than verbal, and i mean any job.

Answer 2

Find out what you will be responsible for cost wise and what htey will pay. Will you have to buy your own business cards, signs, do they chip in with advertising costs? Are there desk fees? Find out what the commission split is. Find out what the E&O insurance will cost. Find out if they are a memeber of the board of realtors, in which case you will need to know how much that costs to join, because if they are a member you must join.
If the company is a franchise, find out what the franchise fee's will be.
Ask about floor time - floor time is very important for people just starting up without many contacts yet. What determines how much floor time you will get per week.

Answer 3

What training materials are available?

What marketing materials and assitance do they provide?

What is your commission split?

Do they do residential and commercial?

Do they have an "In House" or "Preferred" lender?

I write a blog on the subject of credit management, mortgages, real estate trends, etc. Check it out for more information that may be helpful.

Answer 4

The interview is a two-way event. They will want to know if you will fit in to their office and you want to know if their office is right for you. Compariing commission splits is important, but more important for a new agent is what resources they will provide to help you succeed. Do they provide in-the-field training? Who will you be responsible to? What opportunities do they create for you that will generate leads? Find out what their top producer is generating in the way of sales to find out the potential within that company. Remember you are in business for yourself. Ultimately what you earn is up to you.

Answer 5

MONTHLY EXPENSES. #1. If one place charges $50 and another $150, that's a big difference. Some charge you for long distance (even if you never ever use their phones), copy machine, etc.

COMMISSION SPLIT #2: Do you split it with your broker 50/50? 60/40? That's important.