It is universally true that the business of buying and selling real estate can be quite high-income. The allurement of high commissions is certainly enticing, and leads aspiring real estate entrepreneurs to believe that it’s easy to make a lot of money in real estate. I should admit that the reality of selling real estate is very different.

Many believe that the the most difficult part about a career in real estate is passing the real estate exam. I would have to respectfully disagree. I personally have found out that the only way to truly succeed in real estate is to eat, sleep, breathe and live real estate. As far as I am concerned, sacrificing your family, friends and personal interests is by far the toughest part about a career in real estate. In the grand scheme of things, I spent a slight amount of time pursuing a career in real estate. I found, after little more than a year, that I simply did not want to devote my entire existence to real estate sales and promptly redirected my efforts elsewhere. So, if you are convinced that a career in real estate is your destiny, consider the following facts before you begin.

To begin, a real estate career requires a significant investment in money, as well as time. Regardless of your state of residence, the real estate commission will require you to pay fees to take the real estate exam. Yet, before you can even take the exam, you will be required to take a real estate course designed to prepare you for the exam and your career. After that assuming you pass the exam, you ought to pay a licensing fee for your state’s licensing authority to issue your license to you. Once you become licensed, you will usually be required by your hiring broker to join your local association of realtors. Depending on the agency you work for, you may have to pay licensee or agency fees. In order to get started marketing yourself as an agent, you must have business cards and other marketing devices. Remember, too, that this is the Internet age; therefore, a computer is a crucial thing to have .

In the second place, after all of the initial start-up costs, there are ongoing expenses like self-promotion marketing and fuel. Unlike other business enterprises, the amount of time, effort and money you pour into your business does not directly correlate to income earned. In fact, an agent can spend many weeks or months with a buyer showing property and working with lenders to qualify that buyer for a home loan. Sometimes the buyer will finally complete a transaction. Sometimes he will not. Likewise, agents regularly spend months showing their listed properties to prospective buyers and searching for other qualified and interested buyers. In the end, a sale may close or the seller may decide to terminate the listing and, perhaps, list again with another agent. Therefore, a new agent must learn the invaluable lesson to never count on any commission until the transaction has completely closed. Remember that often at the closing table things can and do go wrong.

Lastly, one word of caution for would-be real estate agents – real estate litigation is on the rise. I know of several very good agents who became numb defendants through no real fault of their own. Rather, dissatisfied or remorseful buyers elected to target their agents instead of admitting their own carelessness or haste in buying a questionable property. The sad fact is that lawsuits follow deep pockets. Real estate agents are generally considered to be well-off , though this is certainly not applicable to all agents. Yet, it implies that they are becoming more frequent targets for both legitimate and frivolous legal actions.

All in all, as with any career, there are rewards as well as drawbacks. Real estate agents are nearly always classified as independent contractors, which affords them greater autonomy and control over the direction of their business than ordinary employee-employer relationships. However, that single advantage is sufficient for many to offset the faults of a demanding real estate career.

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