4 Hour Work Week For Realtors®

Four Hour Workweek in Real Estate?

I know what you are thinking. I have definitely lost my mind. 

 

If you are a new agent looking for advice, then you may have had an opportunity to pick up the book The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris.

 

In it, he outlines a plan where any person could create a "life by design", and live life on your terms.

 

It seems quite a distant and unnatural for the typical Realtor® to have a lifestyle designed for only Four Hours worth of work per week.  

 

Besides, if you could, would you want to?

That is the answer you have to ask yourself.  Is it really POSSIBLE to do the work you need to do to get the resuls you want, or are you "working for works sake?"  

 

I mean, with the listings, the sales, the closings, the showings... How on earth can you fit it all in a day? 

 

The Problem With Modern Real Estate.

If you were anything like me; when you went to Real Estate school and got your license, you had dreams of big cars, nice houses, polite people, lots of money, and happy clients.

 

Usually, that gets beat out of you within 3 months. 

 

In it's place comes unrealistic Sellers who have ideations of what their home is worth, regardless of comparables.

 

To accompany them, are the Buyers, with their fears, their resistance to your counsel, and of course the family... "making sure you aren't taking advantage of them."

 

To make matters worse, there are extra parties that accompany the transaction that can affect your paycheck, all the while, you must maintain a smile.  What's that?  Underwriter needs an FHA Verification form you asked for 3 weeks ago, and now the closing is delayed?  Sure.. no problem.  Just another day in the life of a Realtor®... or is it?

 

What 18 years of "Trench Warfare" has taught me..

 

If you came into the Real Estate Industry for "Freedom", you may now be learning that you have simply traded one set of chains for another.  Here's what you are told:

1. "Market Yourself."
2. "Hold Open Houses"
3. "Prospect"
4. "Take Listings"
5. "Show Houses"

 

While ALL of these are excellent things for the practicing Realtor® to do, what I am suggesting that the better you get at items 1-4, the closer you are to the "Job" (Just Over Broke) you were trying to avoid in the first place.

 

A New Realtor® is Needed. The Investing/Realtor®

Now, before my Realtor® bretheren become enraged, I am simply saying that as a specialty, much like CRS, GRI, ABR or CCIM, the Investing Realtor® should become a specialty of it's own.  No corny designation required, no icon or label for your card is what I suggest. 

 

Rather, a mindset change. 

 

A dramatic change.

 

It is possible.  I've lived it. 

 

Am I perfect at it?  No.  Not at all.  However, I am making progress to reduce my expenses, and outsource as much of my business as possible.  

 

By using Virtual Assistants in faraway places like the Phillippines and India, I've prospected, marketed, and closed transactions.  

 

Using intuitive websites like InvestorCarrot, I've identified potential Sellers, as well as cash buyers.

 

By implementing a basic plan, I have begun to build a business that is nearly 100% virtual. 

 

But for the new agent, is that even feasible?  To implement a four hour workweek? 

 

4 Hours? Does it really take THAT long? 

 

Is it possible for you to make a KILLING in real estate in Four Hours or less?  Could Real Estate be "The Muse" that Tim Ferriss spoke of?   Traditionally speaking, probably not.

 

If you are an agent in the "traditional" sense, making $10,000- $20,000 or even $40,000 a month for simply four hours work is impossible.

 

For the Investing Agent however, this is not only possible, but entirely probable.

 

What I am proposing is that as Realtors®, we begin to open our eyes to the possiblities that are all around us.  I shudder to think of the deals that I could have made as a younger agent but missed because I did not know they were potential deals.  

 

Thankfully, in the age of podcasts, blogs and other methods of communication like Facebook and ActiveRain, we are able to find specific  information to whatever topic we need.

 

So If It's Possible, And Legal, How do I do It?

 

As a Realtor®, you are in the ebb and flow of real estate every day. As you do your five core competencies every day (Prospecting, Lead Followup, Pre-Qualify, Present, Close) you will come across property and situations, you can wholesale (Assignment of Contract) if necessary 

(See related post "Yes Realtors® Can Wholesale Property!")

The skillsets you need to be successful as a listing agent are the very same qualities you will need to be successful as an Investing Realtor®.

 

Why are Investing Realtors® Better than Unlicensed Wholesalers?

All respect to the unlicensed wholesalers out there. However, I personally believe that a Realtor® who has been properly trained makes a far better "wholesaling investor"  than the unlicensed.  Here's why.

1. As a licensed Realtor®, they are subject to the Code of Ethics, Commissioners Rules, State and Federal laws.   As such, the homeowner has recourse, which hopefully leads to a more transparent transaction. 
2. Realtors® sell over 85% of all the inventory in most major metropolitan areas.  As such, many of the "great deals" are found amongst the group that controls them.  The Listing Agents.  
3. It goes without saying the power of the Multiple Listing Service with it's Sold data, statistics, automatic searches, reverse prospecting capabilities, and Cash Buyer Searches makes it a force worth reckoning with when held in the hands of the trained.
4. When it is clear to the prospect that the agent is not intending to list the property; the homeowners are generally more trusting of agents.
5. Investing Realtors® have more contacts generally than the unlicensed.  When it comes down to it, Realtors® are in the business of selling homes. If they are any good at it, then they know others who like to buy! 

Simple Solution for Realtors®; Represent Yourself First.

So what is the solution then?  Take more listings?  Represent more buyers?  If you are looking for the freedom that Real Estate once represented to you, then this radical change must occur.

It is obvious that most of our customers and clients may not need the emergency services of an Investing Realtor®, but some will.  When they do, then you are perfectly capable of helping them in that moment as well. 

If you devoted a portion of your regular real estate day  towards generating investment real estate business for yourself, imagine the return on investent you would have!  Speaking as one who has 18 years experience in the business, it is far easier to identify "the truly motivated" now than it was in the beginning.

 

Building the Four Hour Business 

So what do you need to build a Four Hour Workweek Real Estate business?  First, let's be honest.  You will want to work more than four hours.  However, let's find a few ways to make the most of the four hours you want to devote.

 

First you need to work on the Five Core competencies.  Continually working on your skills.

 

Second, you need to work on having 24 hour lead generation.

 

Third, you would want a way to manage your leads.  Zoho, TopProducer, Podio, and more.

 

What makes the key difference? Recognizing that a Wholesale deal will typically pay better than the typical listing or buyer sale, and yet will allow you the control you desire in your business.   It is certainly possible when you are the one who is the principal!

 

Follow along on my personal blog as I outline how I build this business model so you can follow along and build it as well!