Copyright 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc Click Here for Terms of Use in C#

Recognizer PDF 417 in C# Copyright 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc Click Here for Terms of Use

My father, who was a successful agent for more than 30 years, used to say, When I rst got my license, I thought I was ready to sell real estate It wasn t until 10 years later that I nally learned how to really be an agent To understand what he meant, it s important to realize just what s involved in being a real estate agent Once you see the selling of property from the agent s perspective, you may get a whole new view of how to pick the right one

According to the Hollywood stereotype, the typical real estate agent drives a big Mercedes or at worst a Caddy, Lexus, or BMW He or she (most agents are women) meets clients over cocktails, attends ashy parties with lenders, and makes oodles of money (often into seven gures, but certainly into six gures)

He or she always has enough time for you The agent is assertive enough to help you make decisions, but not so aggressive as to try to make decisions for you The agent knows the area like the back of his or her hand and specializes just in home sales The agent is experienced and up to speed (at least ve years actively in the business) The agent can provide referrals of recent satis ed home buyers

The truth is somewhat less exciting According to several surveys, the average agent in 2000 made under $50,000 a year In addition, out of that $50,000 the agent paid fora business automobile, gas and maintenance for that car, phone, dress clothes for work, and other expenses involved in operating a business In other words, after expenses, the average real estate agent was not a high roller, but pretty middle to low-end in terms of income from real estate! How can that be I m sure you re asking The agents you ve met always seemed so successful The truth Often it s mostly a front A lot of agents simply work hard at looking good

You also have to understand that real estate is actually a second or part-time career for many individuals It attracts an enormous number of people who are looking for less than full-time work Typically these are people who have retired from another profession (teaching, the military, government, or large corporations) and are now on a pension and looking to pick up a few extra bucks Often these people have dabbled a little in real estate and are in an of ce as much to look for bargains for themselves as to service you or other clients In the trade these people are called inactive agents The real trouble with inactive agents who have another steady source of income is that they aren t hungry enough to get out there, nd the really good houses, and negotiate the toughest deals (After all, whether they make a sale or not they know they ll survive because of their pension) How many inactive agents are out there A lot The easiest way to tell is to remember the 80/20 rule-of-thumb Every active real estate broker (and I was one for many years) knows that 20 percent of the agents sell 80 percent of the property The corollary is that 80 percent of the agents are only selling 20 percent of the property That big 80 percent includes many of the inactive group

Let s talk about that 20 percent that s making the vast majority of deals These are the active agents Typically they are aggressive, often relatively young individuals who have no means of support other than real estate To put it bluntly, if they don t make deals, they don t eat