Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bremner
Thinking about this as well.
How many months of working does it take to start earning a living?
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How long's a piece of string?
I got licensed it april 2009. I got my first listing & sold it within 2 weeks of starting, and within a couple montsh was doing around 2 "ends" (a house bought or sold) per month. I worked like an animal to get rolling though... I was doing around 80hrs/wk, and that was with a newborn baby, so getting up every 3 hrs for feedings. It was insane. I would door-knock 150-250 homes a week to get listings... if you do it right it works. My first 2 years were built on that.
I have a more sane schedule now, 60 hrs/wk in peak periods (spring/fall) and maybe 30-40 in summer-winter. I have a full-time admin which has made all the difference. I'm doing about 5 "ends" per month now, and really enjoying myself now.
It's a great business, but it is all consuming. In some aspects it's like the restaurant business. Everyone has a romantic notion about what it would be like... it seems so fun. Looks great on TV and in the movies... but it's an absolute LIFESTYLE business, and to build a business you have to sacrifice A LOT to make it work... and it's not easy, and it's not romantic, and frankly it doesn't pay enough to justify the effort. SO, the other consideration is that you need to be supported by your spouse, because if they're not onboard 100%, then they will have LOTS of good reasons for telling you to drop out.
HOWEVER, if you can fight your way up into the top 20% of the producers, past subsitence real estate where you are living deal to deal, it is GLORIOUS. I absolutely LOVE it.