Dabble and die!

Good evening Wanda,

Now more than ever an agent needs to be full time with all the changes quickly approaching! Answering your phone is is going to be a necessity and no more letting it go to voicemail.

After August 17 with the New NAR changes,I am curious to find out how many real estate agents are still going to be in this business? 

Good morning Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - Wanda Can! .  I agree with you 1000%.  It has been a little while since I came across a Realtor who actually admitted this was her part time job.  It was very frustrating knowing that time is of the essence and I was trying to show one of her listings.  I can't remember the outcome, but my buyers must have moved on to a different property.  

On another note I had a friend who got her license last year.  She was working a full time job elsewhere.  She finally asked if I thought she should quit her full time job.  I let her know that this is a full time job - plus nights and weekends.  Anyway, she is a very successful Realtor now.  I knew she could make it, she just needed to have the confidence to take the plunge.  If it's not your full time job, I would find it hard to succeed.  I took some classes with an agent this year also and she kept saying, she can't leave her full time job - well then, there lies your answer!  Have a great day!

I so love this post and agree with you 100%, Wanda! The busier we are, the more we learn - not only industry information but, how to manage multiple transactions simultaneously, how to be organized, how to manage our processes and be better agents/brokers. It boggles the mind that some feel that they can do a few transactions a year and actually KNOW what is going on in this business.

I know 2 part-time agents who sell more real estate than many full-time agents. They make it a priority to stay up on standards/changes and I would let either of them represent my most discriminating clients. They are positively the exception to the rule though!

Wanda this is so very true in many of the markets I work within. I also have some clients who are attempting to see houses and the agents can't show them the properties because of their "other jobs". This is very disheartening for my clients considering most homes are going very quickly and they could lose a chance to present an offer. Thank you for your blog!

Thank you very much, Wanda, for sharing your observations and this perspective.

This is a business in which one must aways be looking ahead. Like a steam train on a route, they don't shut down the engine at each stop, but keep it stoked so that they can be on time to the next one. 

 To be successful one has to have that next closing in sight so as to pay the bills and be considered a real agent.

I dipped my toe in the water back in 1988; went part time for two months. Then I quit my day job and went full time. As the market dipped throughout the years, I took part time jobs, but it really was counter productive. I'm thankful for repeat and referral business at this phase of my career.

I like the title. Yes, this is a full time profession. Not sure how all these part timers are going to cope with the new changes coming in when their phones start ringing if they have a listing with inquiries about is the seller paying a buyer commission? It is hard enough now to get an agent on the phone most of the time.

Great post!  Agents who don't stay on top of market changes and stay IN THE GAME will suffer, especially now.  Agents who don't follow the directives coming from NAR and their associations will find themselves in hot water!   It's so critical to stay up to date on the industry in general, but also market trends.  If someone on a street corner asks "how's the market?" a decent agent should have a 30 second answer available immediately.