You're a New Real Estate Agent: Minimizing Your Expenses

Becoming a real estate agent involves several upfront fees. These include the cost of real estate classes or schooling to prepare you for state licensing, Realtor association fees, MLS registration that allows you to list homes for sale and lock-box key code fees that allow you into locked homes for sale. Some times you have to pay for your own lock-boxes which can become expensive. These are one-time and annual costs you have no control over. Instead, try modifying the rest of your business expenses with the following tips.

Brokerage
Pick a real estate broker that offers you substantial floor time where you have the ability to answer the office phone in an effort to gain new customers. Some brokers will pay for your business cards and other advertising costs for your business. Other brokers have a policy where you share your listing information with the rest of the agents in an effort to boost networking to find a potential buyer. You won't share commission. This way, everyone in the office is on the look out for buyers for all the listings the brokerage is working on, leading to more overall agent profit. This automatically can reduce your overhead expenses.

Word of Mouth
Learn to let everyone you know about your new business in person or over the phone. It carries more of an impact than a random business card or an email. Learn to capitalize on the, "So what do you do?" question wherever you go. You could even strike up conversations with others and ask them what they do for a living. Usually the person will ask you back giving you the opportunity to speak with them about your vocation. Always ask everyone for potential referrals even when the person you're speaking with is not looking to buy or sell a home. The more you ask for referrals, the more comfortable you'll be and eventually this pays off. Remember, the worst someone can say is "No," and you're no worse off for leads than you currently are.

Play "I-Spy"
Get in the habit of looking for "For Sale By Owner" signs whenever you're out. Make this a passion. Contact these owners to see if they are ready to list the house with an agent and if not, then ask them if its OK to keep in touch with them. Sometimes this turns out good and sometimes you'll hear "No." Let it go and move on to the next sign.

Your individual situation will vary but by thinking out of the box and taking advantage of things you already have at your disposal can reduce your overall overhead expenses while you build your real estate business.