Is a Full-Time Realtor Better Than a Part-Time Realtor?
Tempers can flare over this subject in the real estate world. Seasoned agents 
giggle and stick up their noses to the part-timers. Part-timers usually don’t have the financial means to quit their day or night jobs.
What difference does it make?
Especially in the San Diego real estate market nowadays, you had better be ready to go for months without a paycheck. Brand new agents may go for up to or more than one year without earning a dime. Here’s the thing, it’s a business. Your first year in business, you are not expected to make money or break even, you don’t need to take Business 101 to know this.
Having said that, a lot of people do not know this before setting out. They see the big bucks and the million dollar homes and think “wow, I’d like to make a lot of money!”
Let’s stop for a moment. 3% commission is a lot of money. But you should never join this industry because you want to make a lot of money. You’ll quit the first year.
Real estate is about running a business and it is about working with people who need you. They need you because their relative is in ill health and needs to sell the house. They need you because the drive from San Marcos to San Diego is driving them crazy and their spouse is ready to leave from the stress. They need you because they are retiring and riding off into the sunset and every last penny counts toward the quality of life that they can have for the remaining years.
Having said all this. If these people need you, how much service can you give them while you work your 9-5 day job? Escrow closes at 5 pm and you can’t get ahold of a loan officer too late in the evenings.
Let me repeat, 3% commission is a lot of money. Is this industry hard as a new agent? Yes, running your own business is hard. And for 3% commission, it darn well better be hard, and your agent better give outstanding service between the hours of 9-5, part-time or not.
Ultimately the study on part-time fail rates and full-time showed that 88% of part-time agents failed within or after their first year of business. It is a business, you have to plan fot it. Most people getting their license don’t know this, it is something real estate schools do not tell them.
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Trying to work a full-time job outside of real estate and expecting to be able to give your clients 100% isn’t fair to your employer or your real estate clients. As I sit for hours on the phone trying to work a failing deal or closing where hours could mean the difference between a deal closing on time and not, or when I have 3 hours to counter an offer, I often ponder how anyone working 9-5 could possibly feel they were able to give everything they had to get a deal together and meet the fiduciary responsibilities due to a client.
Yes 3% is a lot of money, but what comes out of that 3% including brokerage fees, retirement, taxes, social security, Medicare, marketing and business costs, doesn’t end up being “a lot of money.” Realtors need to educate the consumer about the misguided beliefs that agent are rolling in dough. I closed a deal on Thursday and I cringe at the thought of the hourly wage I earned after all is said and done. Probably not even $0.50/hour.
Exactly! The Department of Real Estate and all the Real Estate schools need to let these poor kids getting into the business know that this job is not about buying a Mercedes and collecting commission checks:(
A Good Read…
Very helpful info thanks…
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