Berkeley Parents Network: Career in Real Estate

Berkeley Parents Network

Career in Real Estate

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Working & Careers > Career in Real Estate

Changing careers from law to real estate
Studying for Real Estate License Exam
Becoming a Mortgage Broker
Career as Real Estate Appraiser
Home-study for real estate certificate

Changing careers from law to real estate

April 2005

I'm currently working as an attorney (doing non-real estate related work), but I'm considering throwing in the towel for a career in real estate. I'm studying to take the broker exam and was wondering if anyone has any good suggestions for how I can get a career started either as a real estate or mortgage broker. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks in advance. -Looking for a change

I'm happy to advise in any way I can. Please feel free to contact me with more details on your situation. Real estate sales will differ from both the legal profession and mortgage brokerage in that you alone will be responsible for generating your business. Especially in the beginning, you're sure to spend as much time obtaining clients as all other business activities put together. You'd be going from a high-skill (presumably high salary) position to *relatively* less skill, entirely commission-based compensation.

The CA real estate license (which is WAY too easy to obtain, IMO) is the first step in a career in anything from real estate sales to mortgage brokerage to property management, & others.

So as you pursue a license, how do you choose a career? Talk to people in each profession. Most real estate brokerages have a weekly office meeting open to anyone. That's a great way to get a feel for how that office operates, which can actually vary quite a bit. I would imagine there are similar opportunities for the mortgage side.

Speaking for myself, moving from the consulting world to real estate was an easy transition. I was already self-employed, used to irregular hours & managing my time & priorities independently. A career in real estate affords me many more opportunities to spend time with my family due to flexible work hours (I didn't say short ;-)

Again, please feel free to contact me. I'm curious what draws you to real estate. Casey

A career switch is always difficult, and going from a job where you have a certain amount of status to a new sales position is a difficult one. Real Estate can be a really rewarding career, but it takes time to become established. Until then you'll be working with many first time home buyers, who generally (and understandably) need a great deal of hand holding. It can be time consuming and frustrating.

You may be well established in this community, but you'll be suprised how many of your contacts already have a RE agent they enjoy working with, and to get them to try you out (esp. when you're new and have less experience than their current agent) will be an uphill battle. Your law degree, however, will give you an added cachet for many buyers and sellers, which will help you out quite a bit.

I suggest strongly that you sign up with a reputable, well known brokerage that has a program in place for new agents. They can mentor you and it should be a smoother transition than if you try and strike out on your own. If you know any real estate agents, ask lots of questions -- or call one of the larger RE offices and ask to meet with a manager, who can let you know how they recruit and train new agents.

Good luck with your career change! Former Agent

Studying for Real Estate License Exam

Feb 2005

I have begun to study using a book of sample exam questions purchased from Anthony's schools. I am wondering whether anyone out there has used an online or CD-rom based version of these practice exams and whether they were helpful/worth the investment. I am finding it impractical to take the exams, and then go back over them to learn the correct answer. Would prefer to use some program that corrects as I go along.

I took the sales person and brokers exam in 2003. I bought a bunch of different books - some on line (amazon) and some from Cody's. I have to admit that I didn't find any one book to be particularly perfect. There are some real sample questions that the state provides in their DRE text - I highly recommend that you know those questions and answers - some of them most definitely appeared on the exam. Another book that I liked and I thought provided some good questions was a finance book written by Robert J. Bruss (he writes a weekly column that appears in the Chronicle and he also has a website). Good luck - and remember, there are 43,560 square feet in an acre! :-) Elizabeth

Becoming a Mortgage Broker

Sept 2003

I'm considering switching careers to become a mortgage broker and want to find some current or past brokers to talk to about their experience in the field - how did you become a broker, job requirements, hours, pay, flexibility of the job, job satisfaction, positives and negatives. If anyone is willing to share you could contact me directly or reply in the newsletter. Thanks in advance.

Hi, I became a mortgage broker about six months ago and it's been great as far as the flexibility of hours go. I am an indepedent contractor so I can set my own hours. I switched from another professional career path to this because I have two very young kids.

However, as far as the pay... it is not steady at all. It's very hard at the beginning, especially if the company you are with does not provide leads. It's isn't something that you can do if you do not have another member of the family who is earning steady income. I am considering moving to a retail bank or lender and see if I can get a position that can at least provide a base salary, but I heard it's very hard to get in if you are new to the business. I wish you the best! Anon

Career as Real Estate Appraiser

May 2004

I'm a single mother of an 8 year old and I have discovered that I'm not able to spend as much time with her as I would like to because my career is very demanding. Consequently, I've been researching fields that might give me the flexibility that I desire. One such field is a real estate appraiser. I find it to be really interesting but I don't know anyone personally that can give me the proper insite. I've tried calling actual appraisers with no luck. Can anyone tell me if this area is a good choice in terms of time away from home and financial stability (we live very modestly). Thanks for the feedback.

I am not a real estate appraiser, but my dad and two uncles were all appraisers at one time or another. Here is my take on the field from observing them. Real estate appraising is an ebb and flow kind of business. When the market is hot, you are flooded with work, otherwise you are scraping by. It used to be that appraisers were mostly self employed, or worked in a little private office, but as the banks have consolidated that has changed. Now all the big mortgage companies have their own in house appraisers that handle their loans. This is good in the sense that the appraisers who work for the bank have pretty steady income (may be on salaries instead of paid by number of completed appraisal) but is bad if you want to have a lot of independence with your work hours/flow. Neither of my uncles (who both had their own businesses) is still self employed any longer. Additionally, the appraisal business is changing quite a bit because of on-line appraisal services. Some banks are switching to these appraisals because of the employee cost cutting involved even though the appraisal isn't as ''accurate'' as the kind done by someone who comes to actually view and measure your home.

This is not exactly a flattering picture; perhaps someone currently in the business would be more optimistic.
not the job for me

March 2002

I am the mother of two kids, both still under 2 years old. Both my partner and I work full-time at jobs with regular business hours. I am considering making a career switch and becoming a real estate agent first of all because I am interested in it, but also because I have this hope that I can keep more flexible hours and be available to pick my kids up from pre-school (eventually regular school) and spend the afternoons with them. I know I would need to give up some evenings and weekends, but am I totally insane to think that this is the type of job that adapts well to the needs of a young family? If you have some insight, I would love a reality check before I take the plunge.
Potential Career Switcher

In response to the person wanting the realty (reality) check... sorry, old joke...I am a broker who has counseled scores of people in the field of real estate as a career, and have written a handbook on Getting Started, free for the asking...and I am willing to chat also, with or without my wife/agent/business partner about what issues exist for families who choose real estate as a career. Tim AT berkeleyhome.com or 527-5500

Home-study for real estate certificate

Jan 2003

My wife would like to work as a part-time real estate sales agent but she'd like to study from home. Can anyone recommend a good distance-learning program to get her to the Real Estate Salesperson Career Certificate? Hans

If your wife already took real estate principles in the classroom, she can take all of the other classes required for the real estate salesperson's license at home. I took all of my real estate classes as ''distance learning'' classes. The courses taught through ''Anthony Schools'' are actually through Kaplan (the big test pre company that teaches everything from the SAT to the MCAT). I found them to be fine. You sign up for as many classes at a time as you want. They give you a discount if you sign up for multiple classes. They send you the books. You have to study for a minimum amount of time (I forgot the length of time) and then you can request an exam. You have to find someone to give you the exam - like a friend or a neighbor (you can't monitor the test for your wife since you're related!). The tests are totally open book and are multiple choice. You send your test and answers back to Anthony Schools - they send you a certificate giving you your grade for the class. Then you hold on to all of those documents and you send them into the DRE (department of real estate) to prove you took the classes. Good luck! elizabeth

I am a long time realtor in Berkeley and have often used an online resource for continuing education and license renewal. The URL is www.therealestateuniversity.net...it's pretty inexpensive and a good home study option. good luck. Tim Cannon

The opinions and statements expressed on this website are those of parents who subscribe to the Berkeley Parents Network. Please see Disclaimer & Usage for information about using content on this website.