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Old 07-08-2009, 04:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gillian-- View Post
Hi guys,

It's so sad to see that generally, in Sg, everyone who is employed is always so busy making a circus of other industries and how much other people make, and how much they can be cut in terms of payment etc etc.. It truly is sad to see this happening. I've been self employed for a long time now, 7 years in real estate to be exact, and I can tell you, what you read in the ST is not always accurate, if ever.

The reality of real estate, is that out of 10 new comers, 1 will succeed to last at least a year, out of the ten that succeed,3 will remain the industry, the rest will always be "part-timers'', these are generally the people who charge 1/2 commisions receivable, or discount agents as they are generally know as. I'm not even going to go into the debate of why their services may be inferior to that of a professional fulltime realtor.



Lets look at cost vs income of a realtor.
Income $10-$20k/monthly(before expenses) for eg:
Marketing- $800- $2000 on fliers and distribution
Advertising- $360- $8000
Travel- $400- $800 for Gas
Car- $500-1500
Phone bills- $250-$800
Work hours- Average 8-16 hours daily, includes weekends

At anyone time, we have to look at about or up to 30% of the commissions cut due to
-Seller decides not to sell/ goes missing after sale is complete
-Undercut by discount agents
-Buyers not being truthfull/ faithful to the realtor servicing them, ends up buying from other.
-Let your imganition work out other reasons.. I've seen too many:/

Now, figure out what's really left after everything has been deducted.

Lets also look at employment vs self emploment

Pros of employment that do not exist in being self employed:
-Fixed hours/ days
-Fixed Holidays
-Fixed salary
-Fixed bonuses
-Fixed medical & insurance
-Days off/ Leave entitlements
Amoungst other things..

What I'm trying to get at is that it is a good business to be in if you're prepared to be self employed, but as with anything else, it is not a sales job, it is a business that must be run accordingly in ordder to sustain oneself and the family he/she provides for. Yes, there are ways to cut cost but really, how much cost can be cut before the business starts to suffer.

Also, pls note that the only entity making any real money from recruitment itself is the brokerage, but then again, that has it's running cost as well.

Please dont be mislead that all realtors are poor, but pls also dont be mislead that all realtors are rich and deserve to suffer at all cost..lolz..


My heart goes out to the realtors struggling to survive during this down time.

downtime? do visit show flats this weekend of you are free.
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