becoming a realtorTo steal a phrase from a famous book which rarely anyone reads any more, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Are there any stalwart Dickens literary buffs out there who remember what follows? How about “…it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” And what, pray tell, do wisdom and foolishness have to do with becoming a realtor? As a career choice, selling real estate could absolutely qualify as one of the wisest decisions you make in your life but only if you understand the broader picture of what is happening in the economy today.

Here are three factors to pay attention to.

1. One-off sales should not be your bread and butter. Traditionally, realtors spend their time constantly beating the bushes for the next prospective home buyer, rarely enjoying the easy pickings of repeat buyers – it simply doesn’t normally work that way in real estate when a family might purchase a home two or three times in a lifetime. Waiting around for the next commission on the customer you just serviced is a trip to the the food stamp line waiting to happen. Becoming a realtor today, especially a successful realtor, requires one to see the home buying market, in fact, NOT as a home buying market but rather as an investor’s market. Find an eager investor and there’s a chance he will turn into a repeat buyer.

2. Income producing properties are the new stock market. The very idea that we need a new stock market must mean the old one has acquired a tarnish on it’s shine. Not far from the truth. Wall Street offerings no longer enjoy the status of being an investment asset, at least not since transmuting into a haven for speculators. For investors seeking safety, security, and serenity (not to mention a nice little return on investment that lays waste to stock output), a portfolio of income properties, properly selected and financed, is impossible to beat.

3. Inflation is just getting started. While head-in-the-sand economists muck around with claims that deflation is rearing it’s ugly head, let’s not get distracted from the long term inflationary trend. The politician has yet to be born with the cojones to cease and desist the reckless printing of money to throw at the latest financial disaster created by other reckless behaviors, like selling houses to people who can’t afford to pay for them. Apparently our leaders got off the elevator before reaching the floor where brains are dispensed. The bottom line is that there is only one true inflation hedge – income property.

Becoming a realtor in today’s economic climate means having the nerve to face the reality that the way things used to be no longer exists. To learn how to become an indispensable source of real estate investment knowledge for eager buyers, call AIPIS at 714-820-4200 and ask how you can prepare yourself to navigate the real estate world of tomorrow.

The AIPIS Team

AIPIS.org

Flickr / DrBacchus