Becoming a real estate agent to move up housing ladder?

Leveraging, renting vs owning, making an investment or buying a home?
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petaling
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Becoming a real estate agent to move up housing ladder?

Post by petaling »

I will be taking early semi-retirement soon and thus will have a lot of spare time.I will still have substantial income from this arrangement.
I own a $1,000,000 house and want to move up to a $2.5m house .
I have been looking for houses on the MLS myself and advised my previous agent who was slower than me in finding prospective houses.It seems like I am doing his work for him and his job was just to type in the offer amounts.I have since given up on my agent.Anyway the hot market makes me want to wait a bit and not carried away in too many bidding wars lost.

I figure if I become an agent after taking the OREA 3 prerequisite online courses and another course in a few months,I can become an apprentice agent after spending 2.5k on courses and 1k on OREA memberships.Besides the course will exercise my grey cells which have become too accustomed to my old job.

The commission saved in selling the old house would be $ 10000(1% to the selling agent,ie myself)

The commission earned in buying my new house would be around 2.5mx2.5%=$62500

so the total money saved=$72500 ("after tax income")minus what is given to the brokerage training me.If the brokerage takes 10%,I willl still be left with more than $60000. I do not intend to continue my membership or continue the 2 year probation after the old house is sold and the new home is bought.

Any suggestions regarding my plan of action?

Thanks for any comments
Flaccidsteele
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Re: Becoming a real estate agent to move up housing ladder?

Post by Flaccidsteele »

Go for it. Have fun.
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kcowan
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Re: Becoming a real estate agent to move up housing ladder?

Post by kcowan »

My aunt was a realtor and when she retired, she just spent time investing her own book: Looking for screaming deals and flipping them.

She amassed another $2 million in 10 years doing that in the 80s. As you have discovered, the numerical competency of many agents is marginal. So it is easy to shine. Especially in a normal (non.bubble) market.
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Re: Becoming a real estate agent to move up housing ladder?

Post by SQRT »

I know people who have done this. As long as you can get a brokerage to "hire" you it should work. You might even find that you are good at it and enjoy it. Go for it.
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Re: Becoming a real estate agent to move up housing ladder?

Post by twa2w »

Not sure what province you are in, as commission rates vary by province, but I am not sure your commission numbers are realistic nor is your estimate of what you may have to share with the broker as a new agent. Also how much do you intend to spend on marketing your old house or do you hope that just putting it on MLS will sell it.


You will likely come out ahead but perhaps not nearly as much as you think
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YYZ_guy
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Re: Becoming a real estate agent to move up housing ladder?

Post by YYZ_guy »

I know of two people who became RV dealers for the sole purpose of buying one each for themselves at cost.
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Re: Becoming a real estate agent to move up housing ladder?

Post by max88 »

People who sell their home, without going through an RE agent, are equivalent to a part time RE agent who gets the RE license for the sole purpose of selling their own home. They incurred the expenses of marketing the home, save on the seller agent commission as tax free income.

Same for the buying side.

Given your current home and prospective home's prices, the savings is substantial. Go for it.
I am cautiously optimistic. When it goes up, I claim I have been optimistic; when it goes down, I claim I have been cautious.
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kcowan
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Re: Becoming a real estate agent to move up housing ladder?

Post by kcowan »

When I sold a home in Toronto in 2009, I used a realtor because I don't know the market. I shopped for realtors and picked what I considered the best. She had the whole process worked out and she earned her commission based on the premium she got for me over what the others suggested I would get. I was satisfied. But then I was not selling my own home in a market I knew.
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Michelle Barrows
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Re: Becoming a real estate agent to move up housing ladder?

Post by Michelle Barrows »

I know some of the popular and Top Real Estate Agents in USA who makes less commission from their clients as compared to other other estate agents. According to them, the total commission is always paid by the seller at the settlement table, where the fee is subtracted from the proceeds of the home sale. However, in a sense, the buyers are paying the commission because they’re paying to buy the house and the sellers have taken the agent's commission into account when determining a listing price. The exact percentage of the estate agent's commission should be spelled out in the listing agent’s contract with the seller so that the listing agent gets paid if the property sells, regardless of who buys it. Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, the professional support of a estate agent who represents your interests should be worth every dollar of the commission. The exact percentage of the estate agent's commission should be spelled out in the listing agent’s contract with the seller so that the listing agent gets paid if the property sells, regardless of who buys it. Listing agents and their brokers spend time and money marketing a home, advertising and preparing the home for sale, so they’re being paid for those services. Buyers’ agents typically have a contract with their clients so that they are paid when the buyer completes a purchase even if the buyers found that particular property on their own.
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