What Are the Pros and Cons of Being a Real Estate Agent?

Real estate can be an extremely rewarding career, providing you with an opportunity for a good work-life balance while still giving you the potential for a lucrative income. But before deciding whether to embark on your new career, it’s important to evaluate whether real estate is right for you. You need to understand the advantages and drawbacks of working as a real estate agent, since the way you value these items will play a major role in whether you’ll be happy in this job.

Advantages of Being a Real Estate Agent

While there are many benefits to a career in real estate, the flexibility it provides is by far the most attractive of them. In many ways, being a real estate agent offers greater flexibility than many other career paths:

• You can work from home, an office, a coffee shop, or any location that is ideally suited to maximizing your productivity
• You can work alone or be part of a team
• You can create a schedule that fits your lifestyle
• You can choose both your clients and your specific niche in the industry

Keep in mind that the ability to create a flexible schedule doesn’t necessarily mean working fewer hours than someone with a 9-5 job. As a real estate agent, you’re building a business and in order for it to be successful, you will often have to work more hours than people in other fields during the first few years. However, once you become established, the hours will decrease considerably. There are several reasons for this:

• If you build your business properly, you’ll have a steady stream of clients coming from referrals and repeat clients, eliminating the need to spend a lot of time on marketing
• You can choose how many deals you want to close each year and only work as hard as necessary to earn your desired income
• You can start building a team of associate agents and admin staff to help you run your business, allowing you to cut back on the hours you work

Due to the tremendous earning potential associated with being a real estate agent, the initial hard work is well worth the effort. Once you become established, you’ll be able to make a lot of money without putting in backbreaking hours. Plus, working hard and putting in long hours isn’t exactly specific to real estate – this is required in any field if your goal is to become established, master your trade and become financially successful.

The benefits of having a flexible schedule are significant, as it allows you to achieve the kind of work-life balance that makes your life more enjoyable and fulfilling. For example, you’ll be able to drop your kids off at school in the morning or take them to their activities after school. You’ll be able to plan an extended family vacation during your children’s school breaks or take a trip with your spouse during off-peak travel times.

You can also carve an hour or two out in the middle of the day to go work out, or you can go home for lunch to avoid eating out in restaurants all the time. The possibilities are virtually limitless when it comes to designing a creative schedule that aligns with your desired lifestyle.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that your flexibility with scheduling comes with a caveat. Real estate agents tend to work when their clients aren’t working. Therefore, you’ll need to be available to conduct showings during the hours your clients are available, which is typically during the late afternoon/evening and on weekends. But that doesn’t mean all your work time will be completed outside of traditional working hours. Day time hours are a great time to focus on building your business and focusing on prospecting/marketing initiatives.

When a seller sets a specific deadline for placing offers, it also means that you may be working in the evening to get a client’s offer written up and submitted on time. However, once you become established, it may be possible to set expectations with clients that allows you to free up your evening hours more. If you prefer a more traditional schedule, you can also pursue a career in commercial real estate. There is a niche for everyone.

Other benefits to being a real estate agent include:

• Your get to meet new and interesting people every day
• You’re your own boss and control your own success
• You don’t need a college degree to earn a good income
• There are very few limits on your earning capacity
• There’s no dress code (an appealing feature for many people who enjoy Colorado’s casual lifestyle)
• You earn a commission if you buy your own home and save on commission when you sell it

Drawbacks of Working in Real Estate

No career path is perfect. Just like all other fields, there are some potential drawbacks associated with real estate. While the benefits to working as a real estate agent are certainly appealing, it’s also important to balance these with some of the drawbacks to ensure you’re choosing a field that aligns with your priorities.

As stated above, the flexibility offered by real estate isn’t absolute. You’ll have to be willing to work unconventional hours. For many, this is fine. But if you value the consistency of a 9-5 routine, then real residential estate may not be the right choice for you (although commercial real estate may still be a good path to choose).

In addition, you have to be prepared to work long hours as you build your business during your first few years in real estate. Often, you’ll be putting in more hours than someone with a typical 9-5, 40-hour week job. There are several reasons for this:

• You’re running your own business, so you will need to perform a wide range of admin responsibilities associated with business ownership.
• You work on commission, so your earnings are dependent on the number of deals you close and the value of these deals. Therefore, the more you work, the more likely you are to increase your earnings.
• As with any occupation, there is a learning curve in real estate. While your real estate course work will help you gain an understanding of many real estate laws and concepts, you must also develop detailed knowledge of the neighborhoods in your market. This is typically accomplished during your first few years as a real estate agent.
• You must not only spend time working with your clients to help them buy and sell a home, but you must also spend time marketing your business in order to maintain a steady pipeline of clients. Most successful real estate agents find that they must devote a significant amount of time to marketing, especially early in their career.

You also sacrifice some income stability as a real estate agent. You can’t count on earning a consistent paycheck from month to month the way you would with a salaried position. Since your income is based on commissions, it will fluctuate from month to month

For this reason, it’s critical to be savvy with setting your monthly budget (both in your personal and professional life), and with saving money. This will ensure you have the cushion necessary to get through slow seasons.

Finally, it’s important to evaluate the emotional toll the job may take on you. Buying and selling a home can be a very stressful process. As a result, you may find that you’re often dealing with clients who are experiencing a great deal of anxiety and frustration. You must not only be able to help your clients navigate these challenges and minimize their stress, but you must not let their emotions get to you. Otherwise, you may find that you burn out quickly.

Colorado Real Estate School Can Set You Up for Success

If you think real estate may be right for you, Colorado Real Estate School can help you get started on your new career path. Our unique Experts on Demand Approach™ is focused on helping you pass your exam and build the foundation for a successful real estate career.

Our comprehensive online real estate courses provide all the information you’ll need to thrive as a new agent. With our online format, you can work through all course materials at your own pace, allowing you to fit your learning into your busy schedule. All courses are developed and taught by local, licensed real estate professionals, ensuring you receive the most up-to-date information focused on the latest trends impacting the Colorado real estate industry.

In addition, our VideoConnect Success Learning System™ contains the largest library of video content available. You’ll be able to watch engaging video lessons that recreate an authentic classroom experience in the comfort of your own home.

Our team will equip you with all the tools necessary to ace the Colorado real estate exam, including our industry leading real estate exam prep courses which provide additional coaching to ensure you know what to expect when you take the exam. Our courses are also backed up by our exclusive TruSupport Pass Guarantee™. If you don’t pass the exam on your first try, we’ll give you extended access to all course materials and our team will help you develop a customized study plan that addresses the areas where you scored poorly on the exam. This support will help position you for success when you retake the exam.

Contact us today to learn more about our online real estate courses.