Orientation and stuff!!!

I can't believe the amount of stuff a new agent has to do and learn and the money here and the money there that has to be spent. When all is said and done, I think I dropped about $3K during that first week. Thank goodness my wife is still working and we had a few dollars saved up before we started my new career.

It seems like everyone is trying to be a Realtor these days to cash in on the money in the market, but is there really the kind of money that one would expect vs. the amount of money that you put out? Don't get me wrong, because there is a lot of money to earn, but you first have to lose a lot to get there.

After I finally received notification from my broker that they had my license, I gleefully bounced to the market center for orientation. There were the usual forms that one fills out about how you want to pay this and pay that and oh...how you want to get paid!!! That was my favorite form to fill out, but what it meant did not really sink in until MUCH later. Now...this is how I get paid? But, don't I have to get a customer? Aren't you guys going to help me get my customers? Aren't you going to have someone hold my hand for the first few months? Seems like the answer was not the one that I wanted. Can you say, "You are on your own unless you get yourself a mentor"!!!

I had a hard time at first with this concept, but I felt pretty good knowing that I would be getting training that would help me get into the hang of being an agent.

Oh...and while I'm at it, I also need to join ABOR (Austin Board of Realtors) where I have my wallet lightened by a bit more to the tune of over a grand. Not a pretty picture to me. Thanks to my understanding wife, I was able to work through this.

After orientation and the wallet shrinking, I was scheduled for training. Training, which also cost would take place on Thursday and Friday each week and run for 6 weeks. I would be introduced to subjects and acronyms, like Open Houses, FSBO and Database.

Database? Yep...that would be friends, family, past co-workers and anyone else that I had an address and or phone number to. My problem with my database was that it was too large for one and the majority of them were out of state. Now...I was sitting on a database that was more or less useless. After 15+ years of developing relationships, none of them were going to do me one bit of good in this new career that I just chose. More about that later.

The training turned out to be very beneficial, but at times a bit overwhelming. There were day's that I just could not get one more thing in my mind. Plus, there were other training requirements that I had to do at ABOR.

All this on Thursday and Friday and then you throw in agency meetings, sales meetings, property tours and trying to have a sort of normal life at the same time.

Not so simple!!!!

Next up...being New in a Real Estate office!!!!!!

I'm a Realtor Now!!!

As I left the testing facility, I not only felt a sigh of relief, but I felt the pride in my chest as I walked tall. I not only wanted to tell my wife that I passed, but I really just wanted to shout it out to the world.

On my way home, the sense of calm sat in as I stopped for gas and something to drink. The only thing on my mind was..."what am I going to do now". I had just spent 5 months studying, stressing and living the study material.

When I finally returned home after a very peaceful drive, I e-mailed my team leader with the good news and was told that it would take a few days for them to get my license and to contact the new agent representative and set up a time for orientation.

During the next week, I did my best to get familiar with the Austin housing market. This seemed to be a lot easier than the previous five months of constant studying and memorizing.

The funny part is, even though I passed my test and was considered a Realtor now, I did not feel like I could do anything realty wise. I had learned the stuff in the books, now it was time to learn the stuff in real life.

Still, I was a realtor on paper, but not yet in my mind.

Coming next.....orientation and I can't believe the amount of money I'm spending!!!!!

Real Estate Agent 101

I set up this blog site about a month ago and have been trying to decide what the content would be. I have finally made a decision to talk about my first year as a Real Estate Agent. I feel this is important, because the first year is a make or break year. A little understanding that you are not the only one going through your cycle is what I hope to get across.

I wish I could say that it has been everything I had dreamed of and more, but that is not the case. As I look back at it, I was close to being one of the 70% that do not make it past the first year and end up going back to an hourly wage.

A little about myself....

I decided to get into Real Estate because I needed to have a more flexible job with flexible hours. After 20 years with the Federal Government, I had had enough of fighting for a budget that was constantly getting diverted elsewhere. We would eventually get what we needed, but the hoops kept getting smaller and smaller to jump through.

I could not retire because I was still to young, so I decided that I would resign and wait until I turned 58 and collect my retirement at that time.

So, off to a world that I had only briefly worked in during my life time. A world where instead of constantly trying to justify a budget, I was constantly trying to convince people to allow me to help them sell probably the highest priced item they have ever purchased and probably the highest they will EVER purchase in their lives.

After I completed my Real Estate Courses, I sort of felt confident about my ability to pass the state exam. If the exam was anything like the study books, then I should have no problem. The only problem I had were the stories about people not passing on the first try and having to try again and again. I was not going to be one of them if I could help it, so I scheduled my test date for the day after I would complete a two day review cram course.

While waiting for my test date, I let my Team Leader for the Broker I had chosen (Keller Williams) know of the date and asked if there would be anything I could do in the meantime. I was told to relax and just study for the test. What I was hoping she would say is, "Come on down and see how things operate and get a feel for what you will be experiencing when you get your license". But that did not happen! So, I relaxed and studied and studied and studied and even through in a stress every now and then just to keep my life balanced.

On my test date, I made sure that I was at the test facility early. I did not want any reason to have to reschedule. I just wanted this part to be over with. I sat in the parking lot and with a half hour to go and looked over my books. Did I forget anything? Did I get enough sleep? Is my stomach growling because it's hungry or nervous? Can't they just open the door and let me in so I can take this test and then go and either relax or drown in sorrow.

I finally looked in my mirror and noticed that there was an open sign in the window of the test facility. Was that there when I arrived? Did they just open up early? Either way, I was going to find out and if it really was not open, then I would just have to walk around the building and relax this tension that was building.

The turn of the knob was a beautiful sight as the door swung open and inside sat a gentleman just waiting for testers like me. He put me at ease as I showed him my ID's and I signed all the papers.

I was finally directed into the testing room with instructions on how to operate the computer. I sat down and can't even begin to tell you how loud the chair was, especially since I was the only one in there so far. And it even became louder as I squirmed with each question that I answered. I answered all the questions on the National Test and then moved on through the State test. My stomach starting to ache with each question answered as I did not know whether I was going to pass or not.

I finally completed the final question and was asked to review my choices and make changes now. I have always believed that my first answer is probably the one to keep. If I start to think about them, I would then start to question my answers and then myself. So, I left them all the same and pushed the complete button. The computer did it's thing with a whir left and a whir right and then the rinse mode was over. And!!!!! So, was my testing.

I HAD PASSED!!!!! Both the State and the National test were finally behind me. Turns out that I did not really have as much to worry about as I had thought before. My score of and 80 and a 90 proved that I had studied well and all the worrying was in vain.

I was NOW a REAL ESTATE Agent!!!!

So....I thought.....More to come on my first year!!!!!