Also use Google for your own research.... you can usually answer most of your own questions via Google.

24/7 job

To be successful as a real estate agent takes a lot of work and a certain personality. On the one hand you are representing the vendor. On the other hand your interests do not correspond with the vendor's interest.

The vendor wants the best price possible for the sale.

You want to do the deal.

For example the vendor may want $500,000 for their property. A potential purchaser offers $450,000. The agent will try to get the vendor to accept the offer. The difference in commission between $500K and $450K is very little. The agent wants to make the sale and get the commission sooner than waiting for a $500K sale that may never happen.

The hard work comes in as the most successful agents are always out there looking for vendors. They go to sporting clubs, community events, wherever potential vendors could be. They do this as vendors are their livelihood.

So the personality comes in when you become the vendor's professional advisor and you want to remain on the vendor's good side while at the same time you are trying to make the deal by reducing the price of the property to a point it will easily sell. Reducing the price is usually not what the vendor wants.

If you have a good poker face,
are great at telling lies,
and are dishonest,
you will be good at realestate,banking or selling used cars.

To be good at "Working in Real Estate" you have to get the "Real Estate working in You".

Some people decide to "give Real Estate a try" and what happens is that "Real Estate gives them a try".

You will make much more money buying Real Estate than you ever will selling Real Estate but before you can know how to buy Real Estate, you have to be able to sell Real Estate.

A Real Estate Course will only result in you gaining a "statutory sales person's registration or licence". It will not make you a Realtor. To become one of those you need to have:- Dedication, determination, discipline and the right attitude.

Despite legislated salaries for Real Estate sales people etc, in the end Real Estate is a commission only game. To get paid, you have to close sales.

The A.B.C. of salesmanship is "Always Be Closing".

Think Real Estate, like sex, you should get as much of it as you possibly can while you are still young.

Phil27 said...


Im looking to change career (due to injury) into something that wont take forever to re-train in, and I can get started in straight away on a fair wage. There is a 9 day course that enables you to become both a sales agent and property manager once completed which sounds great.

Phil, not WA, but I wouldn't rate RE as a "fair wage" (especially if your background is in mining or similar). Generally an Agent's Rep (which is the qualification that course will probably give you), will be on a base salary (say $20-$30k?) with commissions on top. Luckily WA prices are still high and yes, good money can be made if you're good at your job, but I assume that you wouldn't be selling a house for a while whilst you're getting trained up within the company, so it could be several months before you start to see daylight. But that shouldn't matter if that's your career of choice?

I closed my own business & went back to school for 2 years full-time, then chased my dream job, starting at trainees rate - $17p/h (at 36yo, 2 kids & wife working part-time). Tough thing to do with mortgages, cars etc, but battled through it, and now, 2yrs later and making some tough lifestyle decisions, I enjoy my work, can pay our bills and work doesn't interfere with family time.

Good luck with it.

[edit] I don't, and have never worked in RE, but my family and a few mates do - and from what I know of it I doubt I'll ever work in RE.

Real Estate - hmm - have had 2 good experiences with selling agents (as a buyer) and 1 bad one

here in WA REIWA have alot of ability via nefarious means to artificially influence the market via media ...





On the rental side (property management) - the industry is an absolute joke - i have too many stories to tell

property managers trying to get other property managers clients by telling them they can $50 more per week - they get the job then the property sits idle for months becasue it is overpriced - meanwhile renters are moving every 6 to 12 months because of all the silly games that the property agents are playing.

It costs around $1500 to move house after all utility connection fees, truck hire etc etc etc

Have a look on a saturday in your suburb - and count all the unfortunate souls driving around with trailers and mattresses on the roof.

The industry does not give a fig about keeping good tenants or even the clients propeties they represent - untimely or no follow up on maintenance issues.

www.domain.com.au/news/


Property management is simply a way to get a foot in the door for the eventual sale of the property. And i dont know of any industry where the client (the renter) is treated with such rudeness or downright derision



And if you think someone that is making the most important decision of their life is going to be swayed by cheap sales tactics - well think again.

Always be closing - what a load of bull - and an insult to buyers intellligence- how about always be serving - or is that just too much of a stretch for the industry?

Consumer affairs hates reiwa - they deal with tons of complaints every year and off the record will tell you that the industry is a disgrace / needs to be regulated

give them a call ask a few questions and see what info you get "off the record" ..

So ask yourself -Do you really want to be associated with such bad energy ? And if you are a good honest agent - they do exist -

(as i mentioned at the start -i have had some good dealings in the real estate industry

- but unfortunately it is a rare event)

the" ship of fools"

will have you tarred and feathered with the same brush.

Better luck with "Auction bank reposessers" here in W.A mate.

I've been thinking about the economy and good future career choices. Real Estate is in decline. What about Tattoo removal? Have you thought of that?

It would have to be a growth industry. I see so many people on the street with really bad tattoos. They are getting more and more unfashionable every day.

Find yourself a cheap chemist - make up some chems in a lab, mix it up in a bucket, and those bad tatts will be no more. Sure it will hurt a bit, but that would have to be better than a 1990's suit of tribal tatts from a remote culture that doesn't mean anything or is irrelevant in the Australian suburb where you live.

"Stick your arm in the bucket son, it won't hurt much"

Well a lot of interesting comments and experiences there...Its always good to get some feedback from people, most of it is pretty negative which maybe telling me something. A bit more considering to do before I fill out my RE enrollment form.

WA is starting another mining boom at the moment, but the prospect of working away with a first born expected soon doesnt appeal to me..time you cant buy back and all that. My injury wont let me carry out physical work forever either, I have to start saving my legs for time on the water!
Also, starting a new career path (RE)that doesnt guarantee an adequate wage week in week out doesnt exactly excite me either but it is a quick route into a new career.My partner will be on maternity leave for 19 weeks then looking after baby so full time learning isnt possible.

Many people have been in this situation and made a go of it, so Its just finding something that you are interested in and you feel you are capable of doing.
Im going to a Careers Adviser this week to research all of my options before making a choice as I dont want to waste time and money changing careers all the time. A part time night class kicking on with the qualifications I have at the moment would be ideal (aircraft maintenence engineer) but they are not always available. Time is ticking!

p.s sorry if I sounded like a d**k Simondo, I thought you were being a smartarse and now I feel ashamed and dirty inside..Thanks for the replies

Sorry you little bit disappointed, but the most of them are very true some not even close. I have Real. Rep. / full blown 2 months / and would not dare to start.
Not 30k and commission on top of it. You get a fraction of comm. / agency must exist from something and Rentroll is not covering all agency exp. / and to cover 30k first and after you making your living. How about that. But don't worry you wound be in
listing/ sales unless it is small agency, most likely you start in renting/ leasing
and there is a fix salary.
problem is what you see as a outsider is not more than 20-30% of your job.
Do not worry about boom, there are sharks ready.

Charriot said...

Sorry you little bit disappointed, but the most of them are very true some not even close. I have Real. Rep. / full blown 2 months / and would not dare to start.
Not 30k and commission on top of it. You get a fraction of comm. / agency must exist from something and Rentroll is not covering all agency exp. / and to cover 30k first and after you making your living. How about that. But don't worry you wound be in
listing/ sales unless it is small agency, most likely you start in renting/ leasing
and there is a fix salary.
problem is what you see as a outsider is not more than 20-30% of your job.
Do not worry about boom, there are sharks ready.

you got into real estate with those literacy skills ? says alot about the industry...

stringer said...

What i don't understand is why these companies charge a % of the sale price. seems to me to be completely overvalued and for mine its money for jam!

It's a sliding scale, the more the property is worth, the lower the % - and you can negotiate that with the agents if you really want to, keeping in mind that they do that every day and even if you creep it back, they'll find some fees to add on later! The norm is generally between 2-3%...I remember when it was 5-7%, but houses were also selling for $50k.

Phil27 said...

p.s sorry if I sounded like a d**k Simondo, I thought you were being a smartarse and now I feel ashamed and dirty inside..Thanks for the replies

Nah, I felt like a d!ck too when I re-read my work! Easy to take that the wrong way.

Google has failed me in the last few days though.... A "facility" requires a decent sized AvGas fuel pump, 66L/Sec, and I can't find a supplier for love nor money at the moment. The boys are going into the field tomorrow to check the "makers mark" on some current ones....

stringer said...

What i don't understand is why these companies charge a % of the sale price. seems to me to be completely overvalued and for mine its money for jam!

but if you are wanting to get into a new career with no experience, you want to earn a lot for doing very little, then real estate agent is the way to go. you wouldn't be the first to go for that easy answer which is why a lot of people go down that path, so be prepared for a competitive employment marketplace as opposed to a competitive "service" marketplace.

even a cash-grab of 2-3% of someones lifelong mortgage battle is way too high compared with the actual value they contribute to soceity.

I hope you do not take offence to what I say and what I say is that you have absolutely no idea of what you are talking about on this subject.

From what you are saying it seems you believe that sales people get "money for jam" and contribute no "value to society".

Let me remind you brother that, even though our prime minister is an unelected "Welsh ranga closet communist", most of the rest of the people in Australia are not.

Our society LIVES in what is known as "the free enterprise system" and within that system people will be as rich or as poor as they CHOOSE to be.

Enterprise consists of resources, be they products or services, to which value is added and then on-sold at a PROFIT.

The generating of PROFIT is what creates EMPLOYMENT for people in the value adding department. You know! Blokes like you and me.

However before any PROFIT can be generated, something HAS to be SOLD!! Pardon me for stating the obvious.

Therefore, within the "free enterprise system", until something gets SOLD by a SALES PROFESSIONAL............NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS!!!

No ship leaves a port. No train leaves a station. No truck leaves a depot and no lights get switched on.

If nobody sells any houses, do the brickie, chippie, sparkie and plumber have a job?? I think not.

SALES is the NOBLEST profession in the world. There is only one thing wrong with it.

IT HASN'T GOT ENOUGH PROFESSIONALS IN IT!!

So Phil27, if you want to get into Real Estate, be a Professional. Otherwise you are just wasting your own and other people's time.

I thought this was a wind sport related forum/website. WTF?????