As I browsed the eighty something groups in Active rain, I was hoping to find a groupabout Part timers and if one didn't exist, I would create one but I found this and I am glad. I know that my blog will inspire many agents, both fullpart time and I am certin, esepcially full timers especially in the current RE market.
My passion for RE has resulted in so many testimonies but I will limit this one to being part time in this industry. Doing RE part time is typically not a choice and for most in today's market has become a necessary reality. I manage an IT site as a full time job, managing medium to large scale projects and also working as a realtor. I am a mother of an infant and a very active 5 year old. I just published a childresn book "Making the right choices for me and my friends" which can be purchased on xlibris.com. I signed up properly with EXIT Realty Properties in November 2006 and by February, had my first sale which was just short of half a million. I have had a transaction every month in 2007, both in sales and rentals. Through referrals, I have landed 2 property management gigs through relocation companies. My second biggest transaction was for $1.3MM. My first listing came in August of 2007 through a lead at my office and I beat one of the Top Producers in Coral Springs and won the listing. Four weeks after I got the listing, I had a buyer.
How do I keep it all together? Guess what, I may be a part time agent but I work at it full time. I show properties when my customers are ready. I have two phones at all times business one and my RE one. I never mix both). I use my days off to do RE, I spend my nights on websites, online, just started blogging, and spend my evenings and weekends showing properties, attending network group meetings and just doing what I do best, network. I am not great at meeting people but when I get the opportunity, I take it. My day starts at 5.30am when I get on my treadmill for 30 minutes and it goes uphill not downhill) from there. My customers see that it is all about their needs. Interestingly enough, if you ever told any one of my past customers that I had an alternative full time job, they would denny i with their lives because I make sure my other job does not interfere with me giving them excellent service. One of my customers even made me a job offer to leave RE to come and work for his company. I didn't go for one reason only, I love RE first, my normal job second. But for the current market, I would probably do it full time but given the effort, time, networking, marketing that I put into it, I think I am doing fine.
Examples - For my first rental listing, I sent out ecards to over 375 recipientsshowe. I talked about it to my sphere of influence. I took excellent pictures (not that common for rentals). As a result, I found a renter(my own customer) within 2 weeks of getting a listing that had been with another realtor for 8 months.
My first Sales listing - I told the customer "WIIFH (What's in it for her). I had my customized "Home By Design "magazine with me, quality flyers, personalized websites etc. I won the listing against a Top Producer who had been in the industry for over 20 years.
It takes lots of focus, dedication, passion for what you do and the belief that yu can manage both. My typical saying in my broker's office is "My full time job pays for my RE business".
Thank you for this group. Watch out for more to come.
If you have been forced into RE as a part time agent because you can no longer sustain your lifestyle with few buyers around, it is not all lost. Just apply the same passion to your new job and dedicate a few hours a day on RE which could be divided throughout your day.
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