I don’t think it is as easy to get into real estate as the critics suggest. I am writing to those who have been through the process so I need not spell out the number, length and study time needed for all the courses or the amount of time that is needed just to attend them.
Once a license is acquired, succeeding in the real estate business takes much more than showing up for work and sitting at a desk. Real estate is a lifestyle commitment to a purpose and to people. This business requires extraordinary flexibility. It demands a zenith combination of social and business skill to simply survive.
Beyond these skills, the cost to just get set up can be formidable. It is not a minor financial commitment. The cost of just the basics can be overwhelming to those who don’t have capital. A reasonably good car including the license, insurance and mechanics to operate it is a necessity. So is a computer. The Internet connections and the necessary software are not cheap even if you are rich but they are absolutely beyond reach if you are poor. Yet you must have these things and more, like a small office workspace, even the cheapest possible, such as a cubby in a rented apartment. It’s a huge amount of money for those who are poor. That just scratches the surface of what a good professional real estate agent needs to work. While all that might be reasonable to those who have money, for a working stiff making minimum wage, even if they are smart enough to be in the top 10 per cent of this business, it is almost impossible if they don’t have the money to start out.
Once a real estate agent has somehow found and spent all the money to get started, they must spend months trying to find their first transaction, which could take a year. I would like to know how anyone can feed themselves, let alone a family, and cover their rent and expenses for up to a year without any pay. Some manage it through the benevolence of friends and family. Some new agents have a benefactor to foot the entire bill for all their expenses as they begin their career. But what about those who are not that lucky?
It is a lot easier to begin any new challenge from a position of strength. If you can begin your real estate career without the worry of feeding your family and paying the rent and trying to get a loan for a car, not to mention all the other expenses that have to be paid without an income, then you are starting from a position of strength and a good base. You can do well in this business if you begin without constant worry.
The great shame is that there may be a lot of good people who could do really well but do not have the chance to work from that strength. I think many people with great ability fail in this business because they did not have a good chance when they were starting out. How can anyone concentrate on simply doing a good job, let alone build a career in anything when they constantly have the worries of bills that must be paid? A lot of folks starting out have to work other jobs, but since many of them are part-time they end up sacrificing their real estate jobs just because they couldn’t make ends meet.
I often hear about how 20 per cent of the people in any business get 80 per cent of the money. I don’t know how true that really is but I suspect if some of that were true of this business, there may be a lot of working poor in the ranks of real estate agents. I am always thrilled to hear success stories of folks who do well and get rich through hard work and perseverance. Those people should be congratulated and celebrated. I admire them very much.
But I often wonder, what if some real estate agents just don’t get the chance to work hard? What if circumstances of simply being poor prevent a potentially good agent from going out and doing their best? I worry that there are a lot of working poor who don’t get a fair shot in this business.
Heino Molls is publisher of REM. Email [email protected].
