I like to eat

So I could join Active Rain!  Not really.  Got sick of working in the corporate world.

Opportunity knocked and I answered.  

FOR THE MONEY.... I was a teacher in Massachusetts.... they are grossly underpaid... I loved teaching (biology, chemistry, geometry, physical education and health education) ....who can live on it?? the sky's the limit in the real estate business....

soar with eagles and rake it in while you can...

Because I got really tired of helping small companies improve their bottom line through my hard work.  The last straw was when my boss told me the other "appraiser in training" was making more than me because "Bob's a guy".  That was almost 30 years ago.  I was determined to use my hard work and knowledge to improve MY life and not someone elses. 

Ryan Huggins - Thousand Oaks, CA nailed this one!

I once looked for houses with an agent that was SO incompetant I couldn't believe it. My husband & I said we wanted to look only at ranches & he showed us 2-stories all of which had foundation issues.

I said to myself that I could do a better job than this guy did. Took the course a couple of years later.

I was a single mom and needed a job! I knew if I applied myself there was no limit on my earnings. I had been a teacher years before that and they pay was horrible!

I enjoy the deals and projects.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

As a career and for business opportunities.

Each day brings something new. New people, new properties, new obstacles to get past… it’s interesting. 

The things in real estate industry are changing so fast. So you need to learn every day in order to be really a good professional. And I love learning.

Meanwhile,  sometimes the job is too stressful.

I was a born realtor!  Seriously I loved it ever since I was a kid.

To keep a roof over my head and to feed my family.

Seana Johnson - Not all real estate professionals are Realtors.  I love you guys and we are all needed for an active and mature real estate market (even the attorneys!).

For the freedom of setting my own schedule and the big $

freedom.

Seana Johnson My Wife was a REALTOR®.

That was a long time ago.

The memory of the 'first love' has long faded from awareness that attracted me to become a real estate professional.

Today, why I stay in real estate, would be responded to in a manner that a beginner would have no awareness.

My beginning why was most likely that mortgage payment. Then I figured a few things out, and things change as need, urgency and purpose evolve.

 Real Estate Practice Text, Preface

I became a REALTOR® because I wanted to join the local board.  I became a real estate agent because I wanted a career change.

I wanted to sell condos while sitting at the beach - I'm still waiting for that to happen

I thought it will give me an access to easy money with little work and flaxible schedule. 

I think, a lot of people do the same big mistake believing this profession is an easy one. It is easy to get a RE license, but to make money consistently takes work and dedication to your goals. 

Seana Johnson - I wanted to help people buy or sell real estate! (And yes, feed my family, too....lol!)

I couldn't find a real job.

Given this question was asked and answered (I like to sell and negotiate and be a catalyst in the growth of people's lives.

I like helping them achieve the dream of home-ownership & investing; as I have done.

Building good relationships is my #1 success tool.)

3 weeks ago, I'll give you my #2 reason this week;

"because I love people and houses"  LOL (well I used to).

I spent years working hard for other people and making them money. I decided it was time to put my hard work to work for me. 

I wanted to run my own business and be in control of my income and work hours. It took more time than I thought.

Had a car accident and took a real estate course to 'tide me over' til I could go back to my ceramic art career. That was 26 years ago!

Pretty simple, Liz needed help with the business and after dodging numerous restructurings at my engineering job, I knew there needed to be a Plan B.  So here I am 12 years later still working both jobs and applying what I know in engineering to real estate, and vice versa.  Bill

better finances

Lifestyle of the rich and famous ... NOT. 

Corporate America Burn Out ... never looked back.

     I was buying rental properties, and I wanted access to those MLS books that the Realtors had.

I like pain. Kidding.
It's a great profession. Never dull, pays well, interesting. And to a certain degree you're in complete control.

To take control of my own destiny and not leave it on someone else's desk.

Without reading any of the other answers I bet I am not alone...independence, be my own boss!

My husband is a spec builder. It made sense for me to list his homes.

I did not want to return to the corporate world and wanted to do something more entrepreneurial. I had been the victim of such bad service by real estate agents, I figured I could run rings around 95% of them if I just listened to people.

opportunity

I was a stay-at-home mom and could only spend so much time volunteering at the schools when my boys were little!  I had been renovating corporate houses as a pastime and decided that it would be more profitable to buy and sell myself.  I haven't flipped a house on my own since!

It was required to join my brokerage and our MLS at the time...

It was part of the deal at the time!