A few family members are planning on buying houses this year. Want to help them close...anybody know how to get started?
I think these guys are supposed to be pretty good about helping people start careers in real estate. Had a few people I know go through them... http://www.championsschool.com/
1. find a broker. broker will end up taking a commission split from every sale/lease you work on. ie- your client buys a $100,000 house. your commission is 3% ($3,000). your broker will take around 30-45% of it. typically their commission cut will decrease as you complete more deals. 2. visit TREC website. this will go into specifics about how you apply for your real estate license. depending on if you have a bachelor's degree, your required course load will vary. the courses you need to take can be taken online (and are VERY simple). took me about 2 weeks to get it done online. i suggest capital real estate training center if you are in the austin area. their courses go through texas tech - the exams were literally from the back of the book. also it isn't necessary to pass the quizzes (bubble in anything for all the answers and move on to the next chapter). 3. get your fingerprints done and the application in, after passing the state exams (one is a state-based exam and one is national-based). from here, the wait time for me was roughly 45 days. this past year, they've made it a completely online application process so it may be faster now. i think the total cost of the courses, exams, and application was roughly $650-800.
Awesome info, thanks! Does anyone have an alternative to Capital Real Estate Training Center in Houston?
for sure man. honestly, cretc can help you even if you are in houston. they do everything via internet and fax. the front desk receptionist is very very helpful. its definitely worth calling them.
I've used them a while back over at the spring location. From what I recall it cost about a grand for the courses/tests/fingerprints etc...The process took about 2-3 weeks. I took the courses in person but you can just take them online as well. I got out a lot by the instructors I would reccomend them.... If your in Houston a broker will probably require you to join HAR which is another $500 or so. I think there are exceptions but not 100% on that.... Also you will need a supra key to get into most homes runs about $125 or so... If you're looking to just do a few transactions I'd definitely just look for the broker with the highest split and not consider too many other factors. I know these guys advertise 100% if that actually comes out to be true I really don't know... http://www.realtyassociatestex.com/ In terms of paydays the standard is 3% though if they look at foreclosures/shortsales its pretty common to see them as low as 2%New homes are usually the highest 3% and they usually have a bonus....(minus brokers fees)
I guess I don't get it. As a novice, you won't be helping them much at all, only helping yourself to a 3% commission, which they will pay in the form of an inflated sales price. Seriously, in this real estate market, unless you are (i) good-looking, (ii) really smart, and (iii) have some kind of hook-up, there's no point in spending the time and money to become a real estate agent.
If you plan on owning and/or flipping property it makes perfect sense. Also, depending on the value of the house you are buying and/or selling, the 3% commission could be much higher than the cost and hassle of getting your license.
We bought a house last year...the broker we used is pretty famous, but overall was pretty useless. I would do my own research on HAR and tell the broker which houses I want to look at. She would just line up the appointments. At the end she got a really nice paycheck when we closed. Basically for doing nothing! Figured I could provide better service to my family members then her. And can split the commission with them as well. All for basically a few weeks of studying doesn't seem so bad. Also, as Sypernaut mentioned, I would also like to get into flipping/renting out properties.
If that is the case, then you can work for my business. It's not our main enterprise, but we have a broker, so you just need a real estate license. Not hurting for money here, so this is essential a CF hookup. Well, it won't be 100% hookup, but we'll hash it out in writing so it'll be a better cut for you than anyone outside of family would ever give you. As I stated, it's not our main thing, but we are closing two homes this week...legit secondary business here. Email me through the board if you want to talk.
I went to Champions, pretty quick and easy. Takes classes, get finger prints and go to PTI for test. Dealing with TREC will take some time during the mailing process. Also HAR is going to cost a little more than $500 and that is not including a supra key and lockbox. After that it cost about $60 every qtr. Make sure your commission will cover this and your office dues. Keep all receipts and get a good CPA.
