Above photo was taken in early 2000 in front of our less than 1 year old home in Colorado Springs. I was a Re/Max agent for 13 years. I was the first agent in the Springs to put the lettering on a vehicle in this fashion. It wasn't always easy. M
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Dear Newbies, WannaBees, Wonderers, and Dreamers...
To all of you who think you want to be a real estate agent...and you wonder...can I do it?
Does it make sense? Can I survive while getting started? How do I get started?
The answer to all of the above should be:
YES, You Can Be Successful in Real Estate! The key here is "should be"!
However...only YOU can decide if you are going to be successful.
Not your spouse or significant other...or your friends...or your current employer...or your parents...or kids...OR ANYONE ELSE!
Only you can decide and determine if you are successful. And remember...many folks mentioned above just want you to bring in an income to help pay bills. That does not mean they want you to fail...they are scared that you will.
When I went into real estate in 1992...at the time I earned my license, I had NO other income. I was living in a brand new city in a new state in house with $750 mortgage with ZERO family or friends or Sphere of Influence. And I had no income...only my wife's and my savings.
Mistake #1. I had No Plan...Zero Idea where I was going to hang my license or even how to get it. But I knew I wanted to do it...despite my wife begging me not to. In fact...I signed up for Real Estate school and did not tell my wife until I started.
It was like I was diving into a pool in the dark not knowing if there was any water in it. I WAS STUPID! DO NOT DO WHAT I DID!
Mistake 1a: Yes, only you can decide if you are successful but make sure you do not lose your family in the process...I almost did.
Advice # 1 & 1a. Have a great plan in place to help guide you as you start your real estate journey. Include your spouse or significant other in the process.
Example: In the past 4 years I have hired 5 agents who either just received or were studying to get licensed. I made sure each one had a plan in place for additional income as most new agents do not have million dollar deals waiting for them. I also made sure they let others they loved know their plan.
To backtrack a bit:
My wife was working hard at her job and was offered a great promotion if we moved to Colorado Springs. The Springs is an awesome place. So we said yes! We were offered a great relo-package and it was almost a no-brainer. (For me it turns out it was pretty much No Brains!)
I had a great job in Nebraska that I had been very successful at but we were relocating to the Springs. I was offered a job with the same non-profit company I was at but the gal who was hiring said she was going to work another 17 years before she retires from the position I had in Nebraska.
So I turned down the job. (Maybe should have taken it and seen where it would lead to).
Mistake #2. No other income from me with a new house payment was extremely costly.
Advice #2. Make sure you can pay the bills for a minimum of two years.
Make sure the reason you are getting into real estate is a great reason. And that you can afford to do it and survive comfortably. Don't be like Mike.
Mistake #3. I did not ask any of the right questions about real estate and was shooting from the hip most of the time and here is why:
I went into real estate because we had a crappy agent trying to help us buy a home 450 miles from where we lived. She asked all the wrong questions and made assumptions that we understood the new market place and the real estate agents technical ways of listing and describing property.
Plus she was lost most of the time. We left our first house hunting trip without buying a home. Driving 450 miles home not talking to each other is a long, long trip. I am being very polite in only calling her crappy.
We went back to the Springs on our own nickle two weeks later and a fantastic agent helped us find a great home. She suggested I look at Real Estate for a job. Maria said I would be a great agent.
Advice #3 Just because someone suggests you can do it... does not mean you should. I mean...would you jump out of the plane without a parachute if someone said you could be successful at it?
Make sure you have done your due diligence and connected the dots and crossed the T's and all that rah rah stuff.
The true answer is...YES, I did become a great agent.
But it took almost 3 years...3 tough years on my family and my own ego and I was almost ready to say to hell with everything. .
I almost lost my family...almost went backrupt...almost lost our house...destroyed my credit rating...maxed out credit cards...and my wife begged me to go flip burgers at McD's or Burger King to bring in some money. We blew through ALL of our savings and even tapped into my wifes retirement.
For 3 years I was an embarrassment to my family and myself. Don't be like Mike.
All because I did not ask the right questions or hook up with the right broker and company.
Email me and I will walk you through what you need to know.
I was much better prepared the 2nd time 12 years later when we moved back to Nebraska but I still made some mistakes I will talk about at some other time.
I will follow up at a later blog on what you should look for in a Broker and real estate company...and you will probably be surprised at what I will mention when I do write it.
Until Next Time...if you have read this far...go to this blog and read the comments and links on Carol Williams page: https://activerain.com/blogsview/5849303/july-2024-challenge--share-your-legacy-in-a-letter--
Mike M ps. Yes, you can own nice vehicles free and clear!
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