Same here. I have also done the research but afraid I'm missing a bunch. Tonight I told my neighbor that I'm hoping to start the classes in August. She used to be a Realtor & she said if I could I'd talk you out of it....because of all the fees. Are they really that bad?

What fees is she referring to?

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We weren't able to continue our discussion so I'm not 100% sure. She did mention that when you work for the big companies they are part of the Real Estate Board & you have to pay those board fees which can add up. She then said if you go with a small company sometimes they aren't associated therefore that is one less expense.

Realtor Dues (Local, State and National) in addition to local MLS Service fees do not add up to a large annual expense.

Office fees and/or Commission splits are a different story.

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The fees can add up in this business but when compared to starting other types of businesses it is not that expensive. You have to remember that you are starting a business and like any other business there are start up and on-going expenses.

There are plenty of people who can talk you out of being a Realtor. Most of them never made any real money and that is why they may be jaded. Like many sales positions there is a high turnover rate.


Some of the negative aspects of being a Realtor are:

• Working weekends
  Spinning your wheels with lookers posing as buyers - very time consuming
  Income fluctuations
  Very competitive and getting worse
  Finding business can be tough and draining

Good luck.

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Marc Rasmussen is selling luxury Sarasota real estate. You can also use his Sarasota MLS search to view thousands of Sarasota homes for sale.

don't worry about a lot of competition....all we need is for the interest to get to 7% and we will see a lot of the "competition" leave the industry

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Jesse Smith

Need a Central Florida Realtor and Foreclosure Expert? Let me help you with Central Florida Real Estate.

Your board fees, association fees (NAR), and other misc fees (Supra ...) run around $2k+ for agents in Chicago area. We have 2 boards that we pay so our fees are higher here than is some areas. The biggest expenses will be your advertising costs to find clients. At the start you will be spending a very high percentage of your income on advertising, over time this will drop to about 10%.

The other big fees/expenses are your office split and taxes. You pay the self employment tax so you can double the SS and medicare that you are used to paying. Being able to write things off does help in this area, but once you hit a point there just isn't much you can do.

The hardest part of the business has nothing to do with the fees/expenses, it's about the fact that it is a business. Most agents that fail came into this thinking they would make some "easy" money...LOL. You have to work hard, be self motivated, and be able to be motivated by not knowing where the next paycheck is coming from (this kills most agents).

Have money set aside for all of your first 6 months expenses before starting including an advertising fund and you will be WAY ahead of most starting agents. With having an advertising fund you will be able to be consistant in your advertising and have a much stronger chance of picking up a few clients quickly. - Best of luck

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My thoughts on the Sarasota Association of REALTORS actions.