Your Successful Real Estate Career

273 Pages·2007·1.18 MB·English

by  Kenneth W. Edwards

7648 YourSuccessfulRealEstateCareer5 8/7/06 3:01 PM Page i
Praise for Your Successful Real Estate Career:
“At last, there is a quality book I can confidently recommend to people
considering careers in real estate.”
—Robert J. Bruss, syndicated real estate columnist
“Your Successful Real Estate Career is as good a take on our business as I’ve
ever seen...inspiring, clever, and factual, with a good sense of humor.
I’ve got it at the top of my recommendation list. That’s a great compliment,
since I’ve been in this business over 30 years.”
—Ed Willer, Realtor, York Simpson Underwood Realtors;
Past President, Raleigh, N.C., Regional Association of
Realtors; Realtor of the Year, Raleigh, N.C.,
Regional Association of Realtors
“This book should be required reading for anyone in the pre-license course.”
—John Reilly, DREI, attorney, author, educator
“Written by the master. If real estate is your career, this is your book.”
—Oliver Frascona, attorney, author,
educator, Boulder, Colorado
“Doctor Ken’s comprehensive guide for newcomers and refresher course
for old pros should be on every real estate bookshelf in the Free World. It
will always be on mine.”
—Joe Klock, real estate author; former Dean,
Coldwell Banker University
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7648 YourSuccessfulRealEstateCareer5 8/7/06 3:01 PM Page iii
YOUR
SUCCESSFUL
REAL ESTATE
CAREER
Fifth Edition
Kenneth W. Edwards
American Management Association
New York • Atlanta • Brussels • Chicago • Mexico City
San Francisco • Shanghai • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington, D.C.
7648 YourSuccessfulRealEstateCareer5 8/7/06 3:01 PM Page iv
Special discounts on bulk quantities of AMACOM books are available to corporations,
professional associations, and other organizations. For details, contact Special Sales
Department, AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway,
New York, NY 10019. Tel.: [phone]. Fax: [phone].
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.amacombooks.org/go/specialsales
To view all AMACOM titles go to: www.amacombooks.org
REALTOR®is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate profes-
sional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS®and subscribes to its
strict Code of Ethics. AMACOM uses these names throughout this book in initial capital
letters or ALLCAPITALletters for editorial purposes only, with no intention of trademark
violation.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard
to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not
engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or
other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should
be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Edwards, Kenneth W. 3
Your successful real estate career / Kenneth W. Edwards. — 5th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-10: 0-8144-7319-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-8144-7319-1
1. Real estate business—Vocational guidance—United States. 2. Real estate agents—
United States. I. Title.
HD1375.E33 2007
333.33023'73—dc22 2006019309
© 2007 Kenneth W. Edwards
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division of
American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
Printing number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Preface to the Fifth Edition vii
Acknowledgments xv
1. Is Real Estate for You? 1
It’s a Great Life...If It’s the Life For Which
You’re Suited
2. Getting Your License 13
Fun or Folly: Your Choice
3. Choosing a Company 22
For Better or Worse, for Richer or Poorer...
4. Getting Started on the Job 35
Getting Organized and Beating the Drums
5. In the Beginning There Was...Agency 52
The Real Estate Profession’s Identity Crises
6. Real Estate and the Technology Revolution 61
7. Listing Residential Property 70
Finding the Sellers and Moving the Merchandise
8. Selling Residential Property 88
Finding the Buyers, Listening to Them, and Satisfying
Their Needs
9. Listing and Selling Specialized Properties 106
Custom-Built Homes, Investment Properties, Rural
Properties, and More
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vi Contents
10. Avoiding Problems 114
Things to Watch Out For From Day One
11. Dealing With Difficult People and Difficult Situations 122
Challenges—Not Problems (Right)
12. Client Follow-Up and Referrals 133
Your Insurance Policy Against Lonely Days, Sleepless
Nights, and a Penniless Old Age
13. Surviving 141
Strategies for Staying Solvent and Staying Sane
14. Where to From Here? 153
Long-Term Options for Your Career
15. The Roads Less Traveled 162
Other Real Estate Career Possibilities
16. Special Messages for Special People 175
From Fast Trackers to Retirees
17. Change Happens 190
The Real Estate Profession’s Brave New World
18. AFinal Encouraging Word 200
How to Succeed in Real Estate by Really Trying
Appendix A 212
Survey Results
Appendix B 214
State Real Estate Commissions
Appendix C 218
Real Estate Resources
Appendix D 227
Real Estate Pre Test
Appendix E 238
Stefan Swanepoel Real Estate Trends Report
Appendix F 242
Targeting Hispanics of Mexican Heritage to Expand
Your Business
Index 245
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Preface to the Fifth
Edition
Over the life span of this book, the real estate market has changed dramati-
cally, and the only thing we can say for certain is that it will change dramati-
cally in the future. My challenge has been to provide the guidance needed for
the prospective real estate professional to best prepare to meet those chal-
lenges. Here are some the new or updated features you will find in this edi-
tion to help you accomplish that goal.
■ An emphasis on the importance of understanding that as a licensed
real estate professional you will be an entrepreneur, not an employee.
There’s a huge difference.
■ Guidance on how to transition from a newbie to a seasoned, highly
successful agent, including picking and working with a compatible
mentor.
■ Information to help you look down the road toward the time when
you may wish to employ an on site personal assistant or a virtual
assistant.
■ Introduction to a client prospecting plan labeled “Focused Fandango
Farming”, designed to produce so much business you’ll be dancing all
the way to the bank.
■ An overview of an ever expanding array of incredible educational op-
portunities, including the National Association of Realtors Graduate
Realtors Institute (GRI) and their technology based course which re-
sults in the ePro professional designation.
■ Recommendations on how to market yourself to the Hispanic, Asian,
African-American and military communities, since these have tradi-
tionally been underserved demographics.
■ Specific directions on how to “find a niche and fill it”, since there are
an incredible array of exciting, and potentially profitable market seg-
ments. Farms, luxury homes, vacation properties, wineries and or-
chards are just a few examples.
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viii Your Successful Real Estate Career
Few things you can do to earn a living are as challenging and exciting as
a career in real estate. It is an activity with widely diverse opportunities and
exceptional income potential. There has been a continuing interest in it
among people searching for meaningful and well-paying work and among
educators who respond to those trends. Almost every community college in
the country, for example, offers courses in real estate licensing, as do an in-
creasing number of four-year colleges and universities. Several states sponsor
real estate education and research centers. In every part of the United States,
scores of private real estate schools present quality instruction both in the
class room and through distance education programs. Each year thousands of
individuals receive their licenses to sell real estate.
Many who enter the field enjoy long, satisfying careers. Unfortunately,
many others do not. Historically, the dropout rate has been extremely high,
primarily because all too often people enter the field with an inaccurate or
distorted perception of what the business is all about and what it takes to do
well in it on a long-term basis. My primary goal in this book is to provide you
with that information.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
If you are considering real estate as an occupation, I have written this
book for you. When I entered the profession a couple of decades ago I looked
for a source of information that would give me a straightforward and reliable
insight as to what the business was all about and what I would need to do to
succeed in it. Most of what I encountered was basically recruiting information
designed to reassure anyone who wished to become a real estate agent that
they could succeed and make big money. That convinced me there was a need
for a book of this nature. When I submitted my original manuscript to one
publisher, the reply was: “Sorry, I doubt there’s a market for an honest book
about selling real estate.” Fortunately, folks on the Editorial Staff of the Amer-
ican Management Association (AMACOM Books) believed there was a mar-
ket, reader response has been extremely positive, and we’re now in our fifth
edition.
If you have recently entered the field, the book should help get you
headed in the right direction and ensure that you stay on track. If you have
been in the profession for a while, it can provide a helpful “return to the ba-
sics” review. It is a comprehensive, candid, and practical career guide that
will assist you in deciding whether to enter the field and will help you to be
successful if you do. It deals with the opportunities and obstacles you are
likely to face, presented in the order you are likely to face them. I describe an
effective method of conducting your business affairs that emphasizes profes-
sionalism, hard work, long-term achievement, and personal satisfaction.
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Preface to the Fifth Edition ix
The overwhelming majority of people who work in real estate concen-
trate their efforts on listing and selling residential property, because that is
where most of the opportunities for employment exist. Therefore, I have or-
ganized this book to be of maximum assistance to people who are starting out
as residential sales agents in general real estate brokerage companies. That
will means that in all states and the District of Columbia, you will need to be
licensed, which entails passing a written examination and formal course
work. I provide detailed guidance on getting your license and starting your
career, and I discuss extensively the opportunities available for specializing
or broadening your career as you gain experience.
One thing that makes real estate such an interesting field in which to
work is the widely divergent backgrounds of those who enter the profession.
Real estate is truly a melting pot of practitioners. You will encounter every-
one from former plumbers to Ph.D.’s. At the outset, however, everyone needs
reliable career information. If you have extensive previous business experi-
ence, you may not require as much information as I present on some topics,
but my aim is to be as thorough and helpful as possible and take nothing for
granted.
I had three specific groups in mind as I wrote this book. One is composed
of those who are entering the general job market for the first time. I have tried
to be particularly sensitive to the needs of these individuals. Although they
represent a distinct minority of the total workforce in the profession, more
and more new workers are choosing careers in real estate, resulting in the
general upgrading of the profession and the expanding availability of quality
licensing programs.
The second group consists of women reentering the workforce after an
absence, often one of an extended duration. For these individuals, real estate
has traditionally been a very popular occupation. Licensing programs can be
rigorous, but otherwise the field of real estate is comparatively easy to enter,
offers true equality of opportunity, permits a flexible work schedule, and
promises good income potential. In writing for women readers, I drew heav-
ily on knowledge of my wife’s experience as a real estate professional and
those of several of my female associates and former students.
The final group for whom I wrote this book includes those who are in
some other occupation and are now considering real estate as a career change
or as a second career after retirement. Real estate was a second career for me,
so I have a good understanding of the attraction it holds for people looking
for a new field to enter.
In Chapter 16, “Special Messages for Special People,” I offer specific sug-
gestions to individuals from each of these groups to make their entry into real
estate as smooth and productive as possible.
While the book is written as a career guide for people considering real es-
tate as a profession or for those already in it, I’ve received positive feedback