What to do...What to do?

I got a call yesterday from a gentleman who is a friend of mine.  He is the manager for the sales staff for one of the larger home building companies in our area.

He offered me a job.

I don't know all the particulars yet, but I have to admit that it is attractive to consider.  In my current position I am an independent real estate agent just like many of you.  It didn't take me very long to discover that many agents around here have hooked up with builders although usually smaller ones.  This provides a great constant source of income because we have a construction boom here.  New houses sell and sell well.  The big builders hire their own staffs to sell their houses.  These staff people usually are trained but they are NOT real estate agents.  If a real estate agent goes to work for one of the big guys it is with the condition of going inactive on your real estate license.  For that reason, many - in fact, most agents don't sign on with the big builders.

When you work with a smaller builder you stay an agent and sell his houses and service your own clients as well.  This is the ideal.  And, of course, you know the story right?  All the good builders are taken.  And when you're relatively new in real estate they pretty much don't want to talk to you anyway because you haven't proven that you can sell houses yet...even though you're selling houses.

Anyway, in the brief conversation I had with my friend he mentioned something that made me think I might be able to stay active in real estate and perhaps pick up houses from his company.  I would love that, but I don' t know how much of a reality that is.  I could have been hearing things.

The part that is really attractive here is that I could be making a six figure income pretty quickly.  In fairness I think I'll get to the six figures in traditional real estate, but it is going to take longer - probably two years.  So if I go with the offer AND have to hang up my license I get to the money quicker.  But if that is the case then they own me, I don't set my own hours, don't get to work with clients in the way I do right now and on and on and on.  Lest you think I'm greedy, I'm not.  I'm really trying to get to the point where my wife doesn't have to work in order for to make ends meet.  She has Fibromyalgia and while she can work, it is very hard on her.

So that's my dilemma. 

Any ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Oh and let me add this to the mix.  I fear that the discount real estate folks are possibly going to really make an impact in our business to the point where we're all going to have to go with lower commissions or menu style services thus earning less money than we do now.  If you hook up with the big builder you don't have to worry about that.

Hmmm...