Realtor Mom - The way to go?

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mssunshyn_IHB

mssunshyn_IHB

New member
So it finally happened to me, I had my working-mom melt down the other night. My son is a year old and I have your standard 7am-4pm job. To be honest, I?m not one of those women who must be in an office to feel better about myself. I?d much rather stay at home and care for my child. But the reality of the situation is that we can?t afford to not have my paycheck ? we were one of those starry-eyed first time home buyers who bought at the high of the high. And now here I am, envious of those moms that get to join mommy groups and meet up at the park while I?m sitting in my little office and my son is at daycare (and don?t get me wrong, I?m VERY thankful that I have such a stable, well paying job, but still?). I?ve recently got my Broker?s license and I would like to eventually transition to a full time career in real estate when the market is a bit more stable. I think a career in real estate would be much more conducive to the life that I would like where I can still work hard, earn a good salary, but set my own hours and be available for my family. Would the other Realtor moms agree that it?s a good career for someone with a family?
 
mssunshyn said:
So it finally happened to me, I had my working-mom melt down the other night. My son is a year old and I have your standard 7am-4pm job. To be honest, I?m not one of those women who must be in an office to feel better about myself. I?d much rather stay at home and care for my child. But the reality of the situation is that we can?t afford to not have my paycheck ? we were one of those starry-eyed first time home buyers who bought at the high of the high. And now here I am, envious of those moms that get to join mommy groups and meet up at the park while I?m sitting in my little office and my son is at daycare (and don?t get me wrong, I?m VERY thankful that I have such a stable, well paying job, but still?). I?ve recently got my Broker?s license and I would like to eventually transition to a full time career in real estate when the market is a bit more stable. I think a career in real estate would be much more conducive to the life that I would like where I can still work hard, earn a good salary, but set my own hours and be available for my family. Would the other Realtor moms agree that it?s a good career for someone with a family?
Click to expand...

Lets compare two jobs.

Architects make 8% of the construction cost of a project excluding land value and are liable for the life of the structure.

average duration on a project :2 years

requirement: 5 years of education and licensing

RE brokers make 3%-6% of the project inclusive of the land cost and have no liability regardless of how many times the property is turned over.

requirement: 0 year of education and licensing.

average duration on a property : 2 months

Of course realtor is a good career considering how little is required to make good $$$ and no liability.
 
bkshopr said:
mssunshyn said:
So it finally happened to me, I had my working-mom melt down the other night. My son is a year old and I have your standard 7am-4pm job. To be honest, I?m not one of those women who must be in an office to feel better about myself. I?d much rather stay at home and care for my child. But the reality of the situation is that we can?t afford to not have my paycheck ? we were one of those starry-eyed first time home buyers who bought at the high of the high. And now here I am, envious of those moms that get to join mommy groups and meet up at the park while I?m sitting in my little office and my son is at daycare (and don?t get me wrong, I?m VERY thankful that I have such a stable, well paying job, but still?). I?ve recently got my Broker?s license and I would like to eventually transition to a full time career in real estate when the market is a bit more stable. I think a career in real estate would be much more conducive to the life that I would like where I can still work hard, earn a good salary, but set my own hours and be available for my family. Would the other Realtor moms agree that it?s a good career for someone with a family?
Click to expand...

Lets compare two jobs.

Architects make 8% of the construction cost of a project excluding land value and are liable for the life of the structure.

average duration on a project :2 years

requirement: 5 years of education and licensing

RE brokers make 3%-6% of the project inclusive of the land cost and have no liability regardless of how many times the property is turned over.

requirement: 0 year of education and licensing.

average duration on a property : 2 months

Of course realtor is a good career considering how little is required to make good $$$ and no liability.
Click to expand...
I know, I know BK...I should have become a pharmacist.
 
All right boys, now that we got the financial aspects in order... I need a sympathetic shoulder from the mommies out there! ;-) I need a working-mom's group to vent to before I go crazy. LOL.
 
mssunshyn said:
So it finally happened to me, I had my working-mom melt down the other night. My son is a year old and I have your standard 7am-4pm job. To be honest, I?m not one of those women who must be in an office to feel better about myself. I?d much rather stay at home and care for my child. But the reality of the situation is that we can?t afford to not have my paycheck ? we were one of those starry-eyed first time home buyers who bought at the high of the high. And now here I am, envious of those moms that get to join mommy groups and meet up at the park while I?m sitting in my little office and my son is at daycare (and don?t get me wrong, I?m VERY thankful that I have such a stable, well paying job, but still?). I?ve recently got my Broker?s license and I would like to eventually transition to a full time career in real estate when the market is a bit more stable. I think a career in real estate would be much more conducive to the life that I would like where I can still work hard, earn a good salary, but set my own hours and be available for my family. Would the other Realtor moms agree that it?s a good career for someone with a family?
Click to expand...

mssun,

First of all, congratulations on passing your broker's exam.Though i am not a realtor mom, I'm sure what you are feeling is probably very common among the working moms in OC. I've always had a very traditional view that the man needed to make enough income so that my wife can have the option to work or not. These days I think it is very difficult for both the husband and wife to have an ambitious career and also have a great family life. I respect you for seeking a more flexible working situation to care for your child and family.

I would think that becoming a real estate agent would allow you to set your own hours and have a more flexible schedule for your family and career. I think you expressed that your passion is in real estate. If this is true, everyday you should move closer to this goal of eventually having a full time career in real estate. Of course you should keep your stable government job and work some transactions on the side until you can make this full-time transition. Both IR2 and Trojan are very friendly so i am sure they wouldn't mind sharing with you how they first got started in their career as an agent. Right T-man??? Anyways, best of luck to you and I hope that other working moms here will post to sympathize with you.

Panda
 
I don't think we have any real estate moms on this forum (at least that I'm aware of), but I'll give you one thing to consider. What are your weekends going to look like? Is your husband willing to handle all activities during the daylight hours on the weekends? This is when you will be doing much of your work, or at least you will essentially be on call during those hours. Are you willing to miss weekends with your family? It's just something to think about, because unless you intend for this to be a very part time job (with part time pay), I think you'll be away from your family much of the weekend.
 
One of my best friends parents were both top producing realtors in the 1970's and 1980's. Other mutual friends tell stories of going to ****s house because his parents were 'never there nights and weekends' and how he had a couple of hundred dollars a week to blow because they made so much money. Later, I learned about all the infidelity issues. Remember, this is a comission job - zero stability.

If you saw the mess these people's adult children were, you might understand where I'm coming from when I say this isn't a great idea for somebody with young children unless your husband plans on being "Mr Mom".
 
no_vaseline said:
One of my best friends parents were both top producing realtors in the 1970's and 1980's. Other mutual friends tell stories of going to ****s house because his parents were 'never there nights and weekends' and how he had a couple of hundred dollars a week to blow because they made so much money. Later, I learned about all the infidelity issues. Remember, this is a comission job - zero stability.

If you saw the mess these people's adult children were, you might understand where I'm coming from when I say this isn't a great idea for somebody with young children unless your husband plans on being "Mr Mom".
Click to expand...

Maybe some of the male realtors with kids could chime in now.
 
PANDA said:
mssunshyn said:
So it finally happened to me, I had my working-mom melt down the other night. My son is a year old and I have your standard 7am-4pm job. To be honest, I?m not one of those women who must be in an office to feel better about myself. I?d much rather stay at home and care for my child. But the reality of the situation is that we can?t afford to not have my paycheck ? we were one of those starry-eyed first time home buyers who bought at the high of the high. And now here I am, envious of those moms that get to join mommy groups and meet up at the park while I?m sitting in my little office and my son is at daycare (and don?t get me wrong, I?m VERY thankful that I have such a stable, well paying job, but still?). I?ve recently got my Broker?s license and I would like to eventually transition to a full time career in real estate when the market is a bit more stable. I think a career in real estate would be much more conducive to the life that I would like where I can still work hard, earn a good salary, but set my own hours and be available for my family. Would the other Realtor moms agree that it?s a good career for someone with a family?
Click to expand...

mssun,

First of all, congratulations on passing your broker's exam.Though i am not a realtor mom, I'm sure what you are feeling is probably very common among the working moms in OC. I've always had a very traditional view that the man needed to make enough income so that my wife can have the option to work or not. These days I think it is very difficult for both the husband and wife to have an ambitious career and also have a great family life. I respect you for seeking a more flexible working situation to care for your child and family.

I would think that becoming a real estate agent would allow you to set your own hours and have a more flexible schedule for your family and career. I think you expressed that your passion is in real estate. If this is true, everyday you should move closer to this goal of eventually having a full time career in real estate. Of course you should keep your stable government job and work some transactions on the side until you can make this full-time transition. Both IR2 and Trojan are very friendly so i am sure they wouldn't mind sharing with you how they first got started in their career as an agent. Right T-man??? Anyways, best of luck to you and I hope that other working moms here will post to sympathize with you.

Panda
Click to expand...
I can't speak for IR2's hours, but I know that they vary a lot for me. Sometimes there will be something urgent that pops up like a new listing at a good price or a client will e-mail or call with questions so you kinda have to be available 24-7. I guess I'm fortunate that I don't have the demands of a wife and kids because there have been times where being a reatlor takes a good bit of your time. I would say that if you have good time management skills and can multi-task you'll find that it's easier to get everything done in a timely manner. Prepare to give up your weekend mornings/afternoons as that is when most buyers have the time to view properties.
 
Panda
Click to expand...
Prepare to give up your weekend mornings/afternoons as that is when most buyers have the time to view properties.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've thought about how very difficult this will be in the beginning as I get myself established. Working one job is hard and working two will be VERY hard. But I think that it's really the only option for me at this point since quitting the day job right now is not realistic. But I am good at managing my time (when I?m not obsessing over IHB. LOL!) so I do think I can do it. It?s funny though, I never thought real estate would be easy but I never realized just how much work it is just to get started. I suppose though that if I can survive through the beginning, I can make it happen. Or at least that?s the hope! BTW, you all are great. Thanks for the encouragement and honesty.
 
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