Buying a real estate business

[sthomas]

Is buying a real estate business or starting one from scratch advantageous?



Thanks,

[BrandonSternfield]

Before anyone comments, I'd like to say that this forum has a 3 link per signature limit, I'd suggest you fix it


And buying any business can be advantageous. It depends on the business you buy though

Honestly, buying any company can either make you rich, or poor. You have to do research on the exact one you are thinking of.

[JimOlenbush]

If you are talking about buying a residential brokerage it can be tricky. Sometimes a lot of the agents will leave right after a new broker / owner takes over, or you may want to fire a lot of those people anyway and clean house. Is there a company you are looking at? If so does it have some brand image or market share that you cannot reproduce for less than the cost of the business purchase?

[avonreal]

buying an established business is always better than starting from scratch but it usually costs more.

[Saodavi]

I wouldn't pay much for a "service" business like an RE Brokerage. The agents are independent contractors and can leave at any time. Businesses are built on RELATIONSHIPS. You can't buy relationships. The customers and agents have relationships with certain people if those people (broker or agents) leave, their clients go with them.

That's not to say it's not worthwhile but I'd certainly make sure you got an awesome deal on it. It's too easy to over pay.

[Malok]

IMO, your question is too vague to be answered. Too many variables and what-ifs.

Whats the market like?
How long do you want to keep the business?
How much work do you want to put into the business?
How much money do you have to invest?
How many qualified persons do you have ready to fill positions for staffing?
etc
etc
etc
etc
etc

There are pros and cons of each - and it is very situational. Starting your own is generally more work, but you create your own reputation, which can be arguably easier to deal with, than fixing a BAD reputation that an existing company may have - that consumers just don't trust.

Provide more information if you actually want guidance.