Believe me people, you DO NOT want a bunch of idiot realtors running around without the oversight of a broker. I say this as an agent.

It will cost you roughly $2000 to get your license and get all the fees. You will take the 40 hour class which costs a few hundred dollars, pay to take the test, pay for the license, pay for the local realtor affiliation, pay for your access cards through sentrilock, pay for your MRIS fees....the list goes on and on. Unless you have a Million Dollar home, this is a total waste of time and money.

ech, I'd just do FSBO, discount broker, and use a real estate lawyer.

by the time you take the 40 hour course or whatever, and find a brokerage to operate with (and convince that you love being a long term realtor), time will pass.

plus you have 12 months to sign on with a licensed brokerage firm. that means when you list, sell or buy a hosue you pay the 'house' some marketing fees PLUS a cut of the fee. rookies often pay 50%+ of the commission to the house, the better you are at bringing in listings or closing the more you will keep

agree that the realtor fees are astronomical, try a discount broker or FSBO. in this flat market the 3 to 6% fee for questionable 'value' really hurts.

The entire selling and buying process is such a racquet, it really irks me to give someone tens of thousands of my hard earned dollars for not doing a heck of a lot of work for it.

The real estate industry is heavily regulated by government due to many scams in the past which have wrecked havoc with our economy. Think S&L crisis. So both the federal government and state governments have quite a number of laws concerning brokers, realtors, appraisers, lenders, etc. We can see that perhaps in some cases even more regulations are necessary. Real estate has a fairly low entry expense, but it is more diffucult to actually excel (legally) in it.

Anonymous wrote:

Why is this? Creative lobbying by brokers? Why shouldn't someone be able to serve and a wholly independent realtor with no managing broker?

This is right on...real estate interests have successfully lobbied to limit entrance to the industry with restrictions, thus enabling monopoly profits. Title companies and lawyers could (and do) handle all of the necessary paperwork that brokers claim they handle. Unless and until the general public cares that they are being charged an extra 5% (seems like 5 will forever be the new 6%), this won't change.

FWIW, I do believe most realtors provide a good service, and since most people will buy only a few homes in their lifetime, not everyone can be an "expert" in the process. It's the short-sighted brokers, those who cannot separate their client's interests from their own, that really give the industry a bad name.

Because brokers have much more stringent standards for licensing, continuing education, and accounting. The brokerage is the one who actually holds your earnest money deposit, for example, in an escrow account just for that purpose. Most realtors would just keep your check in their glove compartment and bring it to settlement.

Anonymous wrote:You have to park your salesperson license under a broker, so you basically have to work for a company. The reason to have a realtor is for the experience and knowledge that they bring to the table. If you are fresh out of the class, you still don't have any actual skills. And a realtor won't want to work with you if you are that set on taking their fee yourself that you are willing to take the classes and exam, etc. When you get your license, you don't automatically get a subscription to MRIS and a lockbox code.

Why is this? Creative lobbying by brokers? Why shouldn't someone be able to serve and a wholly independent realtor with no managing broker?

It doesn't make financial sense to do it for one or two sales...however, if you're considering doing some flipping, it might make sense. Typically you can find a friend who is an agent and work out a deal for a small $ amount to park your license.

You have to park your salesperson license under a broker, so you basically have to work for a company. The reason to have a realtor is for the experience and knowledge that they bring to the table. If you are fresh out of the class, you still don't have any actual skills. And a realtor won't want to work with you if you are that set on taking their fee yourself that you are willing to take the classes and exam, etc. When you get your license, you don't automatically get a subscription to MRIS and a lockbox code.

I took (and passed) the exam but did not affiliate with a company. As I recall, there were several thousand dollars of start-up costs (license fees, insurance, signs, etc.). Then, as the pp said, you aren't going to get 100% of the commission. You are going to have to give a portion to the broker. There are online services that will put your home on the MLS (for a fee but it will be smaller than what you'll pay to start-up as a realtor plus what you'd pay to the broker).

I meant bought one WITHOUT a realtor.

Anonymous wrote:yes but don't want to do the FSBO route.....

But that is essentially what you are doing if you become a realtor and sell your house. Why would you spend the time and $$$$ to become a realtor/take the exams, etc. to only sell your house? Plus, unless you are affiliated with an agency (who then takes a sizable cut), it isn't like you are selling through Long & Foster (or whoever) simply b/c you became a realtor.

FWIW, I have not sold a house by myself, without a realtor, but easily bought one with a realtor.

Now, if you want to become a realtor anyways as a career, that is one thing, but to sell your house? Why don't you just do some research on how to list/sell without an agent? There are online real estate shops to help I'm sure...

yes but don't want to do the FSBO route.....

You do realize that you can sell your own house / buy your own house without becoming a broker, right?

If yes, how long did it take and how did it go? Pros and Cons? Obviously a pro is saving a boatload of money on the transaction and that is the main driver for me to even consider it but was wondering how it works with aligning yourself with a broker etc.