Real Estate Blog | ADHI Schools


AdhiSchools Blog

Tips For Real Estate Agents on Social Media

Man holding white iphone logging into instagram app

Tips For Real Estate Agents on Social Media Businesses can’t ignore social media if they want to remain relevant and competitive in today’s busy online marketplace and the real estate business is Read more...

Tips For Real Estate Agents on Social Media Businesses can’t ignore social media if they want to remain relevant and competitive in today’s busy online marketplace and the real estate business is no exception. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram can be powerful outlets that help real estate professionals position themselves as industry experts while connecting with their audience and building confidence in their experience and services. I practice what I preach. Our real estate school has had a Twitter account since early 2009 and a Facebook page for almost as long. Even our original YouTube channel has had content since 2009. That’s 10+ years of going hard on all these platforms. So how do you win considering that more and more content is being added each and every second to Twitter, Facebook/IG and YouTube? It is getting more and more difficult to get noticed. The key to getting the most out of your social media presence is utilizing tactics that help you build stronger connections with your audience and inspire them to work with you. Below, I’ve put together my top 4 social media tips for real estate agents, particularly in the residential space as I figure most of our real estate school students are going to start there. 1. Educate your buyers on the market. Buying or selling a home is a major life decision for most people, and they want to know that they are working with a Realtor that can guide them through the process and answer all their questions as they move through the process. The best way to build this confidence with your audience is by educating them about the real estate market. In addition to sharing educational articles from your own blog, curate some content from reputable, third-party sources to help your audience understand important parts of the buying and selling process. In addition, you can post your own honest tips and advice to your social media pages based on the questions that you are most often asked by new buyers or sellers. 2. Share information on a particular neighborhood. When promoting your listings (or those of your company) on social media, go beyond just sharing the features of the homes you are selling. Most homebuyers want to know more about the neighborhood or surrounding areas. Real estate professionals can use their social media channels to educate buyers on the benefits and unique characteristics of local neighborhoods to help them make a more informed decision about where they want to buy. In addition to sharing your own content about the neighborhoods you sell in, share content from local organization pages. For instance, you might link to an event calendar from the city’s Facebook page or share a tweet from a local restaurant. This is especially true in areas like Downtown Los Angeles or coastal Orange County where the nightlife and social aspects of the community are a lure for buyers. 3. Start a conversation. The social aspect of social media is often forgotten when professionals use social media channels for marketing. However, if you really want to get to know your audience and build trust, it’s vital that you chat with your fans and followers. Get active in the comments section of your social media posts and pay attention to what others are saying on your pages. With the instantaneous nature of social media, most users expect an instant response to their questions or concerns. In addition to being active in the comments section, you’ll need to be diligent about checking for and responding to direct messages across platforms. When someone reaches out with a question or concern, make sure that you are available to answer these questions and get them the help they need when they need it. 4. Don’t forget video! Many real estate professionals will skip video content when it comes to managing their social media pages. However, with the visual nature of home buying, it’s important that real estate agents utilize video to showcase their properties when possible. Most people reading this article have a television broadcasting system in their purse or pocket with their iPhone or Android device. It’s easy to quickly do a live on Instagram or post a quick story to your page. Just get out there and start. I posted a video of all of my equipment here, but I didn’t start with this much stuff. All I had back in 2009 was one camera with an internal microphone and just started recording videos on HD cassettes. I always knew video was going to be huge across the Internet and would be a valuable marketing tool. The faster you can start engaging with an audience the faster you can monetize. Video content also helps create an emotional connection with viewers in a way that images alone cannot. Providing a video tour of a property allows the real estate agent to give their audience a better idea of what it is like to experience this home instead of seeing the space out of context. If you are interested in taking real estate classes online or in one of our classrooms, please call us at 888 768 5285 or visit www.adhischools.com. Love, Kartik

Do Open Houses Work?

Open house sign on front lawn outside of house

Before the question of whether or not open houses actually “work” is answered we should probably define what the word “work” actually means. If you are a real estate agent and believe that a Read more...

Before the question of whether or not open houses actually “work” is answered we should probably define what the word “work” actually means. If you are a real estate agent and believe that a successful open house is one where the agent found a buyer for that property on the day of that open house then very few open houses actually “work”. However, if you define a successful open house as a chance to network with neighbors in a particular farm area, an opportunity to show the owners that you are doing something that is almost expected, and a way to find buyer clients for other homes, then nearly every open house has the potential to be a success. Like many things in business, a substantial amount of time and effort is necessary to ensure that an open house will attract the right kind of traffic and result in at least a few interested and qualified potential buyers. Sometimes, sadly, even with a high traffic count, the net result might be less than satisfying. While it’s also true that on occasion, "the buyer" will walk into an open house and make it all seem easy, if not preordained - but this can sometimes be attributed to pure chance. Folks who are not quite ready to buy immediately frequently visit open houses as a way to solidify their preferences and explore the market. An open house can be the best way for an agent to meet people "up close and personal," demonstrate market knowledge, hand out cards, and take names. You never know when you're going to meet a buyer. It's best to always be prepared. How to Do a Successful Open House Use all the tools available to you to stand out from the crowd. You don't have to spend big bucks on advertising, or on refreshments. Use technology to your advantage. Here are some ideas: • Livestream the Open House on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube: Give quick snippets of information as you walk through the rooms. Talk about the neighborhood, the easy commute to downtown, the community pool, the schools or a nearby shopping mall. Show the house at the same time. • Invite the neighbors: Count them as your allies to "sell" the good points about the area, rather than as "tire-kickers." • Consider Unconventional Hours: If the home has spectacular sunset views, schedule the open house for late afternoon. Or, alternatively, be slightly ahead of the normal 1-3 or 2-4 schedule, and offer coffee or fresh-squeezed orange juice. If you are going to serve alcohol at an open house, other rules can apply. Proceed with caution. I did a video and an article on this as indicated by the prior link. • Creativity Counts: Employ an iPad as a digital sign-in sheet and encourage visitors to ask questions. Get back to them via email with specific answers. You'll boost your chances of developing new relationships. Perhaps most importantly, be there for everyone who walks through the front door. Meet and greet every visitor with a smile and a card. Never simply sit behind a desk or on a kitchen stool. But, be sure to give visitors a chance to walk through the house at their own speed and in their own way. View an open house as an opportunity to sell yourself as well as the property and then every open house is, indeed, totally worth it! If you are interested in online real estate school or even classroom oriented real estate courses, call us at 888 768 5285 or visit www.adhischools.com Love, Kartik

Interview Tips For Realtors

Real estate agent candidate shaking hands before interview

Once you complete our classroom real estate courses in California or real estate classes online, you’ll need to put your license with a broker if you want to go to work. At this early stage in your Read more...

Once you complete our classroom real estate courses in California or real estate classes online, you’ll need to put your license with a broker if you want to go to work. At this early stage in your career, you are probably full of enthusiasm and at the same time have some serious questions and perhaps some lingering fears about whether not you're making the right career decision. One of the most important steps you will take as a real estate salesperson is to choose a broker, the place where you will, in effect, hang your hat along with your license, and build your initial reputation in the field. Whether you're already licensed, or are shopping for a place to take your real estate classes, finding the right environment is all-important to your future. Even though it's not a lifetime commitment, your choice of initial affiliation will affect not only your earning ability, but also your learning curve, your growth potential as a real estate agent, and your long-term success and fulfillment as a professional. Brokers also want to ensure that new agents who join their firms will be compatible, hard-working, knowledgeable, committed, enthusiastic, and a good match for the company culture. How should you evaluate your opportunities? What are the steps to take to assure the best possible fit? To prepare for your interview, expect to be asked the following questions by a potential employing broker: 1. What drives your decision to become a licensed real estate agent? Do you have previous sales experience? Is money your primary goal? How do you intend to support yourself until the sales (and closings) start rolling in?   2. Do you have a monetary goal in mind? If you've given even a little thought to this, you will probably answer this question with a specific dollar figure; then you can go on to explain that you intend to grow your earnings over time to reach your ultimate goal. Also, you'd be wise to impress a potential broker with your knowledge of real estate facts and figures. It's not detrimental to disclose that, in the beginning, you view real estate as a part-time gig, until you can build a reputation and a clientele. This disclosure is important because it will help to understand whether or not the brokerage’s training calendar is going to be a fit.   3. How much time and energy can you devote to the business? Real estate, unlike a 9-5 job, requires evening and weekend work, coupled with high levels of client accessibility. A broker will want to know that you understand the time commitment, as well as the energy it takes to see a transaction from listing to closing, or from initial contact with prospective buyer to the accepted offer by the seller and the escrow ultimately closing. Real estate can be an extremely rewarding -- and profitable -- profession. But it requires knowledge, dedication and commitment. Show a broker those three qualities, and you'll be on your way to a mutually beneficial association. If you need help being placed with a broker or are considering the first steps to real estate licensing or passing the real estate exam, call us at 888 768 5285. Love, Kartik

How likable are you?

Female real estate agent smiling while conducting meeting

With hundreds of thousands of real estate salespeople in California alone, clients have choices. The million dollar question is “On what basis will the client decide?” This can be a hard thing to predict, Read more...

With hundreds of thousands of real estate salespeople in California alone, clients have choices. The million dollar question is “On what basis will the client decide?” This can be a hard thing to predict, especially If there are two real estate salespeople that are equally competent, have similar experiences and both work for reputable companies - the client might make a decision on who to hire based on pure “likability”. If one agent is more “likable” than another who do you predict will get the business? It’s not hard to assume that the agent that can win the heart and mind (in that order) of the client is going to get the contract signed. Because clients are often concerned or nervous through the real estate process, the agent should strive to be the kind of salesperson that brings good energy and enthusiasm into every presentation they go on. It has long been said that sales is simply the "transfer of energy from the salesperson to the customer”.  The more energy and enthusiasm you exude, the more likely the client will sign. Still, there are some real estate salespeople that are the personification of negativity and create roadblocks through the sales process. We have all met people like this. You know the type - they walk into a room and all the plants begin to die and when they exit they spring back to life. I would urge all of our readers to examine which of these describe them. Are you the kind of person that brings vibrance and energy to every interaction or are you the exact opposite? When you walk into a room is there a big grey rain cloud over your head? If you aren’t sure how to answer this, have a look at people that you would characterize as being in each of the two groups. Positive and energetic or negative and draining? Consider the group of people that you know. Think of five or ten people that you know who are real energizers. You probably can think of a few right off the bat. Who do you know that when they show up, when they call the energy is better because of their presence? Who are the few people that you know when they walk into the room the energy shifts to the “dark side”? Believe me. People notice. This is important because your likability impacts how much business you're able to do. So what are some things that we can do to immediately increase likability? The first thing I would urge is to be interested in other people. If you have ever read the classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie a recurring theme is to try and make other people feel special by being interested in them and their story.  It’s pretty simple - be interested. Be interested in other people and who they are and what they are about. People that are interested in others are infinitely more likable than those that are not. In a nutshell:  Try harder to be interested than be interesting. Another thing to increase that “L” factor is to always leave people better than you found them. In the case of real estate, that could be a critical market update to a buyer or seller. It could be an escrow update to one of your current deals but always look to add value at each and every interaction. There’s plenty of pessimism in this environment - you don’t need to look hard to find it. Be the person that's optimistic and lights up a room each and every time they are in it. Not only will this be better for your physical health, it’ll be better for your wallet. If you are interested in real estate classes in Los Angeles or online real estate school call us at 888 768 5285. Love, Kartik
Uncategorized

The Benefits of Classroom Learning for Real Estate Licensing

Real estate textbooks and ipad on desk inside of classroom

In order to become a real estate agent in California, applicants must complete courses in Real Estate Principles, Real Estate Practice as well as one Elective course. Although there are a number of options Read more...

In order to become a real estate agent in California, applicants must complete courses in Real Estate Principles, Real Estate Practice as well as one Elective course. Although there are a number of options available for necessary pre-licensing coursework, there are specific benefits of a classroom scenario to advance your real estate career goals. The give and take of personalized education provided by a knowledgeable and experienced real estate practitioner can outweigh the flexibility and convenience of other choices. Here's why: Motivation Online courses allow learners to work when it best suits them, but they are also easier to skip. Pre-licensing coursework requires a minimum of 135 hours of coursework; if you're not sure of your ability to maintain an unwavering schedule without some structure, classroom time can help. By blocking out a specific time and place for class on a regular basis, many students find that the tendency to procrastinate or postpone is eliminated. Interaction with Others There is no substitute for the "up close and personal" attention that classroom real estate courses offer. Students have the ability to ask questions and receive immediate clarification often learn faster and retain information longer than those who simply listen to a presentation online or click through slides. An online classroom is, essentially, a one-way street; interaction is limited, even if visual aids are used and chat room communication is available. The dynamic in a physical classroom is different; interaction with other students is every bit as important as discussion with the instructor. People Skills Because real estate is, at its heart, a people-oriented business, association with individuals from varied backgrounds and with different skill sets is always instructive. The classroom can help you hone your people skills, assist you to address unique needs, and open your mind to the varied approaches that must be employed to work with different personalities. Even if role-playing is not a formal part of the curriculum, students in a classroom situation benefit from the mix, and learn to develop a personal style. Professional Networking A classroom provides an opportunity to form business associations with other career-minded individuals, and to develop a professional network of both mentors, "cheerleaders" and motivators. The requirements for real estate licensing and the need to pass state licensing exams can be daunting. Classroom participation with a group of like-minded people offers a "first step" platform into the world of real estate, helping to sustain your motivation, gain professional stature and grow your business. That's an ongoing career benefit. If you're serious about pursuing a real estate career, it's only natural to feel an eagerness to get started. It's also natural to want a "good deal" financially. Although classroom learning may be slightly more costly on the front end compared to an online option, the above benefits are likely to pay dividends by allowing you to pass the licensing exam with confidence and to start earning sooner. As in any other field, the old saying, "Time is money," holds true. Enrolling is a real estate class is an investment in your future. Choose wisely. For more information about real estate licensing or getting a real estate license in California call us at 888 768 5285.

How to Dispute Erroneous Information on a Credit Report

Mortgage lender reviewing a credit score for a new home loan

Errors can happen on a credit report. What causes these errors? Sometimes it can be something as simple as a father and a son who have the same name and the only difference is a “Sr.” or “Jr.” Read more...

Errors can happen on a credit report. What causes these errors? Sometimes it can be something as simple as a father and a son who have the same name and the only difference is a “Sr.” or “Jr.” What if son paid a few bills late and this incorrectly appears on Dad’s credit report? Worse than the above scenario is a customer who may have been the victim of identity theft. Perhaps their social security number and date of birth were compromised on a website and sold to criminals. Each year we read of many major corporations who have had their databases compromised. Equifax, eBay and JP Morgan Chase are just a few examples of large corporations that have been targeted by hackers. Where then does a customer turn? The Federal Trade Commission has several recommendations for those that genuinely believe that false and erroneous information appears on their credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act mandates that the credit bureau and creditor have a collective responsibility to correct and update any incorrect information in the customer’s credit report. The individual with erroneous information on their credit report should send correspondence to the credit bureau that has displayed this erroneous information. This could be either Experian, Transunion, or Equifax or could potentially be all three. Mail correspondence isn’t required, however, as the individual can file their dispute online. If the customer is sending their dispute via mail, the Federal Trade Commission has a sample dispute letter available on their website and this letter can act as a starting point for anyone seeking to eliminate inaccurate information from their credit profile. In order to increase the chances of incorrect and incomplete information being deleted from the credit report individuals are encouraged to support the claim with any proof that the data is incorrect. Examples of this proof could be cancelled checks or bank statements showing that the bills were paid on time or the fact that the debt is no longer even valid. In some cases, the customer might have paid off the debt and it is still reporting as open on the credit report. Combining the letter or online dispute with substantiation that the information is inaccurate will increase the chances of having incorrect information deleted from the credit report. The FTC recommends that this substantiating documentation not just be sent to the credit bureau but also to the creditor with whom the customer is disputing the incorrect information. This may increase the chances of incorrect information being deleted from the credit file. If this doesn’t work the customer is able to leave a note in their credit file next to the “incorrect” trade line stating that the customer disputes the accuracy of this information. Generally, the credit reporting agency must investigate the disputed items within 30 days of the dispute being filed. However, the law has an exception for the credit agencies wherein they don’t have to investigate a dispute that they deem to be frivolous. in the event that a credit bureau is going to investigate a disputed item, they are required to forward everything received from the customer over to the creditor. Once the investigation is complete, the bureaus are required to give the customer notification of the outcome of the dispute in writing. They are also required to provide a copy of the credit report to the customer in the event that the dispute resulted in a change to their credit report. Statute also requires that the credit bureau provide one copy of a credit report to everyone for free each and every year. A customer who is disputing information on their credit report that results in a copy of their credit file being sent to them will still be allowed their one free credit report per year. What this means is that a customer who is disputing credit information in their file may end up with multiple credit reports per year at no charge. Because credit scoring can affect so many aspects of a person’s life, the government has a system in place to ensure that incorrect information on a report can be disputed and ultimately deleted. Hope is not lost in the event of identity theft or an incorrectly reported late payment. There is a dispute process in place and will work if done properly. The Federal Trade Commission’s sample dispute letter can be a great place to start. As always, if you are considering getting into our great real estate business, you'll need to go to real estate school first.  Need help passing the real estate exam?  Check out our test prep site here.   Love,   Kartik

How to Improve Credit Scores

High score excellent credit report on desk

So you’ve finished up at our real estate school and passed the real estate exam. You're stoked because you have your first buyer client but their credit is less than perfect. The buyer badly wants a Read more...

So you’ve finished up at our real estate school and passed the real estate exam. You're stoked because you have your first buyer client but their credit is less than perfect. The buyer badly wants a home and you’re asking yourself: What advice can I give them to improve their credit score? The reality is that credit scores today have a profound impact on quality of life. It determines the rates you pay on all sorts of things from mortgage interest rates to whether or not you can rent a car. The difference between good credit and bad credit can also determine where and how you live. Make sure that only accurate information appears on the credit report It makes sense that a borrower would want to be sure that their credit report contains accurate information. Any inaccurate data can be disputed with the credit bureaus. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three bureaus and can be contacted to dispute erroneous information. If your borrower isn’t sure how to start the dispute process there are third party providers that can help quarterback this with the credit agencies. I would recommend checking online or with other folks in the business that can give you a good referral to a vendor that can help. Pay down revolving debt Assuming that all the data on the credit report is accurate, the next question is “What else can we do to bump up the score?” One thing that can quickly impact the FICO is to advise the borrower to pay down as much revolving debt as possible. This is known as the “credit utilization” ratio. This ratio is a big deal as it accounts for about a third of the FICO algorithm. The less credit you have available the worse your score will generally be. In other words if all your credit cards are maxed out, your score is probably going to be low. Do your best to get credit card debt paid down quickly to improve the credit utilization ratio and get that score up. Try to get added as an authorized user Another thing that can help bump the credit score is if the borrower can convince a family member or a loved one to add them to one of their credit cards. If mom or dad has a credit card that has a solid payment history and they are willing to add the borrower as an authorized user, this can help piggyback their on-time payments to boost the score. Make sure bills are paid on-time A central aspect of good credit is ensuring that the borrower pay their bills on-time. An easy way to do this is to calendar all required payments on a cell phone or Google calendar. Better yet - back up the calendaring with autopay. Autopay eliminates the aspect of human error and also eliminates wasted money spent on a bunch of late fees. Better still - auto pay eliminates the worst case scenario of an altogether missed payment. One missed payment means a catch-up scenario for the borrower and forces them to make two or more payments at once. Letting bills pile up can make it really hard to dig out of a deep hole. Think long-term with your buyers Remember that selling real estate inherently involves a very long sales cycle. Even if your prospect can’t buy a property immediately, they may be able to with some future planning. A year is going to go by quicker than you might think. Do you plan on being in the business in 12 months? I would think so. Sticking with a prospect even when it looks like they might not be able to buy immediately will create loyalty and your deal will eventually come to fruition. As a real estate professional, it’s important to be a valued resource for your clients. Giving great advice can help foster loyalty among your customer base. This can be priceless and irreplaceable. As always, if you are interested in online real estate courses or even live classroom courses, call us at 888 768 5285 or visit www.adhischools.com. Love, Kartik

Can a Realtor Serve Liquor at an Open House?

Alcoholic cocktai s served in backyard of open house

OK – So you took our real estate classes in Los Angeles or maybe you took our real estate classes online. Now you have your license and it’s time to do your first open house! You’re hoping to make Read more...

OK – So you took our real estate classes in Los Angeles or maybe you took our real estate classes online. Now you have your license and it’s time to do your first open house! You’re hoping to make some great connections with potential clients and you want visitors to roam through the home a little longer. What do you do? Bribe them with ice cream? Booze? Both? If you decide to serve alcohol at your open house and you don’t have a liquor license (no agent is going to have one) it’s important to ensure that the open house is not open to the public. If you are serving alcohol and your open house is open to the public you need to have a liquor license to do it. Want to serve liquor at an open house? There are other rules too: There can’t be any sale of alcohol It’s important to make sure that there’s no actual sale of alcohol happening at the open house. Agents typically don’t charge for liquor at an open house so this isn’t something that most real estate agents have to worry about. The premises cannot be maintained for the purpose of keeping, serving, consuming, or disposing alcoholic beverages. If you’re doing an open house at a residential property, it’s pretty unlikely that the premises are going to be maintained for the purpose of serving liquor. It’s a residential property, it’s not zoned commercial, it’s not zoned retail restaurant or bar. So this second rule isn’t going to be a problem for most real estate agents. The event should not be open to the “general public” at the time alcoholic beverages are served. In the hospitality world, this is known as a “private party exception”. For the private party exception to be invoked, the person doing the open house has to have a list of guests prior to the event. Only people on the list are permitted to be admitted to the event and it would become a “private party”. This means that if somebody does show up at your open house and they’re not on the list, you have to turn them away. If you’re serving alcohol and you let them in the event could be interpreted as being “open to the public” which could trigger a licensing requirement. The list of attendees is important to maintain and should be respected. Finally, it’s hard to overstate the amount of liability that the agent can incur in the event the agent allows alcohol to be served to someone that is underage. Agents can also be liable in the event that they continue to serve alcohol to someone who is obviously intoxicated or is “habitual drunkard”. So be smart about it. Make sure that if you are serving wine you need to have proper protocol that’s being followed to make sure we limit our liability at these open house events. As always, if you are interested in taking real estate classes in Los Angeles or in Orange County please visit www.adhischools.com. Feel free to call the office at 888 768 5285.Love, Kartik

Buying a house?! Be warned - Wire fraud is on the rise!

Internet security link

Hi all: I wanted to give my readers a bit of a public service announcement with this article. Recently, 74 people were indicted on wire fraud related to real estate purchases. How does this scheme Read more...

Hi all: I wanted to give my readers a bit of a public service announcement with this article. Recently, 74 people were indicted on wire fraud related to real estate purchases. How does this scheme work? Hackers are locating people who are in the process of buying a home or other real estate. The hacker then spoofs an email from the escrow company that you are using for your particular home or building purchase. Wiring instructions are sent saying something like, “Your down payment’s should be sent to our escrow company. Here are our routing number and account numbers.” As it turns out, that’s not the routing number nor is it the account number of the escrow company, and hardworking Americans send their money to these scammers. If you’re in the process of buying a piece of real estate my hope is that your escrow company is shares this information with you. It is absolutely mission critical that you call the escrow company, speak with the escrow officer, and verbally verify the account number and routing number. Don’t just rely on things that have come via email. You could find yourself the victim of wire fraud. I’m so happy that almost 100 people have been indicted and taken off the streets so that they can’t harm future purchasers. The tip here involves ensuring that you call the escrow company directly. Another pro-tip is not to call the phone number on the wiring form that comes via email as that could also be fake. Call the number that you find for them on Google or on Yelp, and verify that you’re talking to the right person before you wire that money in. Better yet – stop by and talk to someone face to face if possible. Here is a link to the news article about the 74 people that have allegedly committed this crime. If I haven’t gotten to know you on Instagram, I would love to. I’m @kartikspics. Also, we have a YouTube channel linked here – make sure you subscribe to the channel! As always if you are interested in taking real estate classes online or even live real estate classes let us know. If you need state examination prep, we also have you covered! Love, Kartik

Understanding off-the-top fees as a Realtor

Rolled up dollar bills

Recently, I’ve been getting many questions regarding “off-the-top” fees that real estate companies charge their agents. If you are working at a real estate company, you are probably subject to Read more...

Recently, I’ve been getting many questions regarding “off-the-top” fees that real estate companies charge their agents. If you are working at a real estate company, you are probably subject to some kind of commission split between you and the company. Imagine it's 60/40, 70/30, 80/20 - whatever it is you'll have some split with your broker. This means that you will get a portion of the real estate commission and your brokerage gets a portion of the commission. Generally if you go work for a massive franchise like Century 21, Coldwell Banker, RE/MAX or Keller Williams, they are also going to have an “off-the-top” fee. Remember, this is in addition to your commission split. Typically, this is anywhere between three and eight percent of the total commission. This represents a royalty to the franchisor. So Keller Williams corporate in Austin, or Coldwell Banker corporate in New Jersey gets a portion of your commission before you do. . As an example, let’s say you earn a $10,000 commission and your company charges a 6% off-the-top fee. Before your commission split is calculated the company will take $600 out of the $10,000 and send that to Coldwell Banker in New Jersey. Now you have $9,400 left. Your commission split will be calculated on that $9,400. Once you finish taking real estate classes, you are naturally going to interview with various real estate brokers and an important question to ask is “What’s my commission split?” However, you’ll also want to ask if there are there any other fees that are deducted before the commission split is calculated. Some brokers will charge an errors and omissions insurance fee for professional liability insurance. Some brokers will charge you a document scanning fee, or some other “desk fees” to work there. As a newer agent these are questions that you need to ask of the broker and be as educated as possible so you are fully aware of what you're getting into. If you are interested in taking real estate classes in Los Angeles or Orange County, please visit our website. If we haven’t yet connected on Instagram I would love to get to know you - I’m @kartikspics. Love, Kartik