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real estate career choice

beenbizzybeenbizzy member
in Working Moms

DH and I have an 18 months old son.  DH is self-employed, we own his business.  I currently work FT.  When I get pregnant and have 2nd child, we plan on my staying home with children.  I would help DH with bookkeeping at our business some and during those time periods, children will go to daycare.  I have my teaching license, so I?ve always thought about substitute teaching, too (I did this before we moved).  I?m excited at the thought of staying home, but I know I will miss the social interaction with adults. My income isn?t an issue.   

Last week, a friend (and realtor) mentioned that one of the guys in his office was starting to prepare for retirement, did we know anyone that might be interested in learning the real estate ropes?  So now this thought has been popping in and out of my head.  Would I like real estate?  How do I get licensed?  What kind of sales person would I be?  The biggest issue I keep stumbling over is the inflexibility.  If I have a client call me at 10am to see a house at 2 pm, how do I handle daycare?  Our center allows drop-ins IF they have staff to cover.  At least with sub teaching I could have some more time to prepare (for the days I schedule ahead, not the sick calls). 

This is at least a year out, so how long would it take to get up to speed?  How does a realtor schedule work with kids?  Mostly, I?m thinking I stick to the original plan and see if I feel the need/want to add more to my plate after we settle into the above scenario.  Any comments are welcome.  

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Re: real estate career choice

  • CTJune06CTJune06

    Hi,

    I don't have a ton of advice..but I can tell you that my mom started in real estate when I was young. In the beginning she worked many evenings and weekends meeting clients and luckily my dad had some flexibility with his job and we had family close by to help. I have to say, it wasn't super family friendly at first. But once she became established she was able to set more boundries and take on more or less what she wanted it worked well for all of us.

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  • azuremamaazuremama
    Read the post directly below this one about the SAHM wanting to convert to working.  She's been doing real estate and might have some thoughts to share.
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  • Bookworm75Bookworm75 member
    Yes, see my post below! I'm a Realtor and have been selling homes since 2001. It's been very hard to be available for my clients when they need me to b/c I can't just come up w/childcare at the drop of a hat. My DH works weekends and late evenings, so I've been pulling my hair out trying to do both; being good mom and a good Realtor. If my husband had a different job or schedule OR we had family in town to help w/the kids, it would work better for us. :(  I love what I do and enjoy my freedom, but I cannot commit to the demands of my clients. Maybe I can pick this up again in the future when the kids are older.
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  • JLSBWGJLSBWG member

    Hi,

    I am a licensed realtor, but not practicing.  I was in the field briefly in 2003 for a couple of months.  Real Estate is alot of work and requires alot of nights and weekends.  I think it would be hard to do with children because the hours can be almost too flexible.  It's not a Mon-Fri job, more like a seven days a week and you could have to show a house an hour or two notice.  It's also 100% commission, so if you're not working your butt off, you're not making any money.  I personally didn't like it and I am in Sales.  It's a very cut throat field.   One of my friends was an assistant to Real Estate Broker and she did alot of her paperwork and marketing presentations, etc.  She did this at night when her kids were sleeping.  She made some pretty decent part-time money.  She then also did some open houses for her, but she had to take the real estate course and take the license exam.   Once she got licensed, she then started showing houses, etc. 

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