Pros of A Career in Real Estate
/1 - H E L P I N G P E O P L E
Fire up the fondue because here’s a little cheese. This is truly the part that my most altruistic, hippie side of me has enjoyed. Whether it’s helping someone buy their first place (usually their first big purchase and forced savings/tax shelter) or getting to work w/ investors on a 1031 exchange, the most rewarding part is teaching/sharing some industry insight that helps set themselves up for a solid buy/sell. I’ve been lucky to sell a bunch of places and getting a genuine THANK YOU from a client is as rewarding on a $200k buy as the $2 million sale.
2 - Low Barrier to Entry
Perhaps this goes in the cons column as well because it allows a whole lot of competition flow in when the market is good, but when I started out it was a huge pro. Free cash was not something I had an abundance of 10 yrs ago. So when I found out a few hundred bucks, a few start up fees/costs and passing a test a 7th grader could pass was all I needed to get rolling; I jumped. After all I knew I could work/hustle. After my time in the industry, I regularly advocate for higher barrier to entry as most hair stylists/barbers spend 4-5x the amount of time getting licensed. No offense to those fine folks, but I can live w/ a bad haircut for a few weeks… screw up my home purchase and it’s thousands/millions.
3 - You (usually) get Out What You Put In
If you’re a hustler. You’ll find some form of success. There’s many an avenue to pursue in the Real Estate game. Whether you’re a warrior cold caller, a fantastic networker or (in some cases) simply likable… if you put in the work, you’ll likely last. The amount you can make is usually only dependent on what your aspirations are and ever fluctuating market conditions
4 - C O M M I S S I O N S
If we’re being frank, this is why most get attracted to this line of work. Watch a couple HGTV shows or (god forbid) Selling Sunset and it’s easy to hear the sirens call of big fat commission checks. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been lucky to be part of a few lay up deals and when they happen this feels like the best career in the world. I always remind aspiring or newer agents, I’ve also been part of more that by the time the check is cut the hours in roughly equal minimum wage. All that to say, if you keep developing your skills you’ll operate w/ efficiency over time and get plenty of the upside
5- Skill Set Development
This is one of the most underrated parts of this career. Over the course of my career I feel like I’ve become a human Swiss-army knife. At any given moment my job is Sales, Marketing, Appraiser, Graphic Designer, Video Editor, Landscaper, Stager, Project Manager, Uber Driver, Travel Agent, Investor, Baby Sitter, Therapist and plenty more. Any day of the week I might be in a golf polo showing house, hiking boats scouting vacant land, a jacket in a board room presenting or mop in hand prepping a listing last minute. There’s truly no job I feel I cant do or a future job I couldn’t apply for.
6 - Understanding Our System
America runs on Real Estate. The industry benefits professional services, contractors and whole municipalities through property taxes. If you’ve owned it you likely have discovered tax benefits, tax deference, capital gains, cash flow, appreciation, leverage and/or a beautiful hedge against inflation. The old cliche statistic is 90% of millionaires are made through Real Estate. While that’s true in part, I truly believe it’s because if you understand real estate you understand our system and how to leverage it to get ahead
In conclusion this was the ideal fit for my particular skill set, goals and desires. Will I always do general brokerage? Probably not, but I don’t know where I would be if I had not found my way into this career.
Up Next… The Cons of the same career…
