Dollar for dollar, there is no better investment in terms of cost over potential than a real estate license. Everyone should have a real estate license. They should teach it in High School and let every graduate take the test. To “old schoolers” this would amount to hearsay and a “cheapening” of the trade. Yeah, well, too bad for them.
The fact of the matter is real estate has become a consumer sport. Everybody loves it. It has its own television network. Its own industry superstars and its own competitive contests that feature a dedicated following of millions of people. The kimono is open. Many of the inside tricks and advice agents have known for years are now openly shared to all on TV and social media. We are now ALL realtors.
The cost of getting a real estate license is $125.00. Making that license “active” with a Brokerage carries a small monthly fee. At Wynd Realty that fee is $12.95. This is all it takes to become a professional Real Estate Referral Specialist. You now have the power to insert yourself into any real estate transaction your friends will ever make.
Have a college friend living in Iowa moving to Arizona? Your GA real estate license allows you to butt-in and collect money off that transaction. When you have an active license and refer a friend, you can realize up to 35% of that commission. You do none of the work and still collect. All you need to do is interview local agents and introduce them to your friend. Cutting yourself a piece of the pie in the process.
The next logical step when you have a license is helping someone buy a house. This will require access to the Supra network that allows agents to enter vacant homes. The yearly fee for Supra Key is around $250.00. With an active license AND Supra key access, a cost of about $500 dollars a year, every licensee instantly becomes a professional real estate Buyer’s Agent. The upside potential on this small investment is tremendous. Many agents, particularly part-timers, stay at this level forever. And why not?
Unless you’re a hermit, the odds of you knowing or running into someone who will move in the next 12 months aren’t that bad. A simple rental referral will cover your yearly expense as a Buyers agent. A sale or two a year can really make a difference in someone’s quality of life for not that much effort.
As a single part-time agent there is no need to advertise or promote yourself as a Buyer’s Agent. At this level agents for the most part are working their, “spheres of influence”, as every sales book ever written tells them to do. A newer trend for many part-time agents is creating a sales “teams”.
A small group of part-timers can pool their marginal investments to create a Buyers Agency “brand”. A simple template-based website with search capability, a facebook page (meta), twitter account, etc, etc. It really doesn’t cost that much to create the “image” of a powerful Buyer’s Agency. If this seems like a “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” strategy, it’s because that’s what it is. Nothing fancy about it.
No one knows what will click with the public. From a branding perspective, there is strength in numbers. A pool of “teamed” agents, part-time or not, could hit on a theme or touch a nerve with the right messaging and approach. You never know until you try. Teams are a great next step. And teams are another way part-time agents can test of waters of the real estate trade without a life changing commitment.
How can part-time agents hook up? One word: SLACK. SLACK is the communications platform we have chosen for Wynd Realty that allows our agents to communicate with each other in public and in private forums. Ideal for team development, idea sharing and goal setting. More on SLACK in coming blogs.
Listing a home for sale is when things go a bit sideways. It requires a greater expense. Takes much more time. And carries with it far more responsibility. Are Listings deal killers for part-time agents? Do you need to be a full-time agent to List homes? No, on both counts.
In our next blog we will look at the specific steps an agent would need to List a home for sale. Fear not, its not as scary as you think.
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