Becoming Wealthy

Pumping Up Your Real Estate Career

If you're a real estate agent, you are well aware of the downsides that people outside the field know little or nothing about. Before you could begin working for a broker, you had to acquire a thorough knowledge of real estate law, terminology and math. Regardless of which state you live in, you had to pass a test for your license, and pay a hefty fee for the privilege of holding it.
While you may not have had much trouble finding an office to work through, you might not have expected to have to pay for advertisements for your listings and possibly for desk space at the agency. Health insurance? Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll have the opportunity to pay the full premium for a group policy. Of course, you've got to sell some stuff before you can afford to do that. You have to get lots of listings. You have to close sales and set aside an emergency fund for the tough months when few or no sales come your way. Otherwise, you won't be able to pay your own bills, much less the ones the broker keeps reminding you of.

Talk about an independent contractor! Not only that. You sometimes get the feeling you're surrounded by vultures. Maybe not in your own office-but in the ones down the street and around the block and everywhere else in town.

Yes, you're well aware that you're in a heavy-competition business. You've got someone really interested in a $450,000 home you showed them last week. They're practically ready to put the money down today-only when you check to make sure it's still on the market, you find out it sold yesterday. The disappointed couple doesn't want to see anything else, they say, edging their way to the door. You just know someone else showed them their second-choice, and they're on their way to that other office now.