REAL ESTATE AGENTS ON HIATUS. . . REAL ESTATE BROKERS CLOSING OFFICES. . . AGENTS "ON REFERRAL". . . AGENTS ON SABATICAL. THEY'LL BE BACK.
A SIGN OF THE TIMES and clearly A REFLECTION OF THE ECONOMY.
Laurie Mindnich writes an intriguing article today about agents dropping out. My question is "Dropping out of what?"
True, many are dropping out of their local, state and national Realtor associations or boards. The fees are outrageous and clearly discourage continued membership in times of economic slow downs.
HOWEVER, are they dropping out of "real estate"? I suspect not. In my view, agents dropping memberships is a cost saving measure dictated by their inability to make the necessary income from their real estate business to maintain their present living expenses and must, by necessity, go to other sources of income.
HOW TO WIN - WIN. . . . PUT YOUR LICENSE "ON REFERRAL". Many brokers will hold your license "on referral" without you being actively engaged in real estate practice on a day to day basis.
IT'S DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN. This isn't the first time I've witnessed this dynamic, agents forced into getting a job to make ends meet and reducing their efforts to generate real estate business. I saw the same thing back in the late 1980s through about 1995. Business was down dramatically due to . . . . . you're gonna love this. . . . . a housing/mortgage industry scandal resulting in the creation of the Resolution Trust Corporation, a government run asset management company with the mission of liquidating real estate assets of the Savings and Loan Associations that had become "insolvent" due to mortgage and appraisal fraud. .
SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO LOOK AT THE IRONY OF HOW MANY TIMES MAN CAN REPEAT THE SAME MISTAKES AND BELIEVE THEY WILL STILL WORK.
O.K.. . . . So the real estate market is in the tank. So it's difficult for many agents to maintain the same level of business they enjoyed during the mid 2000s real estate boom.
When times are tough, the tough get busy. Many agents and brokers have adjusted their business plans and procedures to continue to generate a sufficient level of business to . . stay in business. 
KEEP THE LICENSE. If an agent or broker cannot generate sufficient business to stay in business, they do not have to drop out. Once a person is licensed, keeping a license active is easy and not too costly. It's the cost of the NAR Association of Realtors that costs. I'm shelling out about $1,500 next week to adjust my memberships so that I have access to homes listed for sale though out my market area. That's a lot of money. Once paying the national, state and local dues, we still pay for Continuing Education classes to maintain our licenses. We still pay separately for MLS membership and access to listings. We pay and pay and pay.
PUT YOUR LICENSE ON REFERRAL. Keep your CE hours up to date. If you decide to engage in the real estate business in the future, you won't be faced with playing "catch-up" with credit hours. In fact, if you are licensed in good standing, in many areas you can still maintain MLS membership.
STAY UP TO DATE. Maintain your ActiveRain membership and stay on top of the real estate industry news, trends, alerts, and points of interest to you. Folks you meet that may be prospective home buyers or sellers will still be there. You can refer them to trusted experienced agents and you'll receive a referral fee. You are entitled to benifit from your business contacts just as when you were an active agent.
THERE IS A FUTURE. If real estate practice is in your blood, don't get rusty. Get a job if you must, but don't go backwards in your real estate career. PUT YOUR LICENSE "ON REFERRAL". Drop the NAR memberships and save some $$$$$, but keep your state license.
JUST TAKE A SABBATICAL.
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Hi Rob, This is a great article that Lenn wrote. So true. So few agents seem to be in it for the long haul...of course I know that half of them can't afford to.