Hi, my name is Logan Patterson, I am a Realtor in the City of Edmonton. When I am working with clients, I often get inquiries about my job. The flexibility seems attractive and realtor work is never talked about in school so it’s a bit of a mystery! I plan to go over some of my favorite and least favorite parts of being a Realtor. Hopefully this comes in handy for your own career search. Much of this advice may only apply to the realtor job within Alberta, I don’t know how other provinces or countries operate!
The Pros of Being a Realtor
Work Schedule Flexibility
I will include flexibility in both the pro’s and con’s list. The pros are simple, you have complete control over your schedule. You control where you work from (I work from home) and how long you work. I rarely miss special occasions or fun social events due to work as I can plan work around these events! This also means you can have meeting heavy days and days with less meetings and more paperwork. Personally, I like to start the week out with a lot of meetings and slowly taper off by Friday. Then I can enter the weekend with no pending paperwork. I also write a Real Estate Advice articles at the end of every week. Unfortunately though, my weekends are usually just as busy as my weeks – but we’ll get into that in the Cons!
Being a Realtor Suits Workaholics
Do you only feel like you’ve had a productive week if you’re mentally and physically exhausted by Friday? Do your friends side eye you when you tell them how much you work? Tired of putting in the extra effort at work without any benefit? I’d consider real estate! Being a Realtor is one of the few jobs I’ve had where your input drastically determines your earnings. The more you work the more money you make! However, not everyone is equal, you have to have the right stuff. If you have never liked client facing work, or you know you’re not the customer service type, you will not feel the same positive results.
Meeting New People is Actually Good For Your Business
Have you ever felt bad for being too social? If you’re a Realtor, that’s probably the last thing you need to worry about! A lot of social interactions I have, result in additional business. Whether it’s your friends referring you to other people, or just random chance meetings, everyone has homes to buy or sell eventually! If you dread social interaction, parties, or meeting new people, you may not want to be a realtor. That being said, there are a lot of ways to go about being a realtor.
Flexible Approach
For me, being a realtor is all about being social, educated, and diligent. However, there are other ways to gain business. If your true passion lays in a certain art form or intellectual endeavor, you could work as a realtor serving your niche social group of friends or acquaintances, leaving plenty of time to pursue your passions. Although, with this approach, it may not be the most profitable career choice.
The Cons of Being a Realtor
Flexible Work Schedule
That’s right! It goes both ways. You get a flexible schedule which means you can go at your own pace, but it also means you can’t ever really stop. Yea sure, you can go to more social events, but your phone is on the whole time. If an important client calls, any good realtor will know that you better pick up! Yes, this does include weekends and holidays too. This is probably the worst con in my opinion, especially as it becomes more of an onus the more successful you become.
Client Problems Become Your Problem
Seller clients may sometimes demand more from you than you can give them. They may have tight deadlines for getting their house sold that you cannot meet. Or you may tell them a price you can sell their home for that does not come to be. Like any customer service job, you need to occasionally deal with disgruntled clients, which can become stressful.
Chasing Commissions
Being a realtor can sometimes lead to let down. You may be chasing a big deal, and it may fall apart. Or your buyer client you’ve been working with for a few weeks may decide to rent. A deal may even fall apart last minute due to financing! You must learn to live within your means, no pay check is ever guaranteed. For some people that idea of waking up everyday ready to make some money is exhilarating. For others, the thought of waking up essentially unemployed every day is terrifying! You have to be a risk tolerant individual.
Conclusion
This felt good to write! With these pros and cons you should be able to honestly make a solid decision. Becoming a realtor is not a career choice to make lightly, the first few years are difficult, you won’t make much money, but you will learn a lot. Before long, you will be making more money than you know what to do with! Or you may have switched careers.. That honestly seems to be how it works, at least in Edmonton! If you have any questions, please contact me!
