Answers

Welcome to a wonderful profession filled with wonderful people on both sides of the desk (and one or two poo-poo heads but we won't discuss them :-). Choosing the best real estate company to work for is very subjective. Each agent will tell you that the office/company/brokerage they work for is the best. But what you really need to look for is what's best for you.

Are you a motivated self starter with lots of contacts, exceptionally organized and more of a don't tell me what to do mindset? Then a company where you pay a desk fee (an amount that varies from company to company for the use of desk space and in some cases, use of the company's name) every month but keep most of your commission might be right for you. These types of companies do not usually offer much training to their agent's as most of their agents are more seasoned and have systems in place. Remax is a great example of a company to explore if this sounds like you.

If you are someone who likes to be part of a group and who believes that the companies name recognition with the public will be instrumental to your success then you should seek out one of the many marquee companies. Century 21 and Tarbell both fall neatly within this catagory. Both have good training available and also have many happy folks working with them.

If you are more interested in increasing your knowledge about the industry, want some name recognition for the company you are with but also want to build your own brand so that when folks think Real Estate they think of you, Keller Williams might be your cup of tea.

There are as many different companies as there are people who work with them. When I was looking for my first company, I went to as many open houses as I could find in the areas I wanted to work in and spoke with the agents I met.

I met several different agents who all worked with the same office and all said basically the same thing, you need to meet our broker. I also met some other agents who worked for a different company (and several different offices) and found that they were all pretty rude to me so I wrote that entire company off my list.

Ultimately, the company I selected had more to do with the people within that particular office than it did with the name on the outside of the door or even the commission structure. In fact when the folks I decided to work with left the larger name company and opened an independent office I followed them.

Go out and meet the folks you will be working with. Go to your local Board of Realtor's and find out what caravans are available in your area and then go to those (believe me, the broker's can all smell a freshly minted license and will be looking for you as well :-), ask your friends who have recently bought or sold a home what company their Realtor worked with and what they thought of them as client's and then pick the place where you feel you fit.

Once again, congratulations on joining what really is a noble profession and good luck with your choice whatever that may be.

Take care and have a wonderful day!

Tisza Major-Posner, Realtor, IVPG Realty

11 votes Thank Flag Link Thu Jul 10, 2008