Are you a licensed real estate agent or broker who wants to earn additional income? Have you left your real estate career, but still hold an inactive or active real estate license? Do you have an extra hour or two a month to make a substantial, recurring monthly income?
Even if you’ve left the real estate profession, you can still maintain your license and earn additional income from home with minimal costs and time commitment!
Read on to find out more about your options.
Statistics
According to the National Association of Realtors, 87% of all agents leave the profession within five years of obtaining their licensure. Licensed real estate brokers tend to have a higher success rate, but many still leave the business for one reason or another.
Consider this statistic as well: 64% of Realtors are women. Consider that many of those are juggling family and work obligations, in a career field that often requires long days, evening appointments, and weekend work hours. All that together often spells burnout for a real estate broker, and unfortunately, we see talented, dedicated female real estate brokers leave the profession.
Especially now, with COVID-19 disrupting our family lives, careers, and the housing market, many real estate agents are forced to choose between their jobs and the health and wellbeing of their families.
The Investment to Become a Broker
As you already know, becoming a licensed real estate broker requires a significant investment of your time and money. Initially, you spend thousands of dollars and many months studying before receiving your real estate agent or salesperson license.
Then, agents spend at least two more years paying for even more education courses, license fees, brokerage fees and other expenses before finally becoming a broker.
All said, by the time you get that “broker” title, you’ve spent countless hours and thousands upon thousands of dollars working toward that credential.
Why Real Estate Professionals Leave the Business Here are a few of the most common reasons licensed brokers and salespeople decide to call it quits:
Family obligations Some brokers must choose between their profession and their families. Long hours, weekend showings, and an unreliable schedule often conflict with childcare responsibilities, leaving many brokers with no choice but to leave the profession. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this hardship is even more pronounced. As children abruptly ended school and daycares closed, brokers left their offices and returned home to be with their children full-time.
Financial considerations Some brokers simply aren’t making enough money in the real estate industry. Because of the constant ebb and flow of real estate trends, some months are very lean. For some individuals, changes in real estate activity have negatively impacted monthly revenue. Brokers who need a more consistent source of income are often forced to find alternative work.
Seeking full-time work Some brokers prefer a part-time profession. But others need full-time earnings or benefits. In that case, many agents and brokers choose to leave real estate sales behind, choosing more reliable 9-5 work instead.
Real estate isn’t a good fit Let’s face it: sometimes, the career we choose initially ends up not being the best fit. Some real estate brokers work their way up the sales ladder, only to find themselves unfulfilled once they reach the top. Real estate brokerage has a high burnout rate, and therefore it’s entirely probable that agents leave simply because they aren’t enjoying the work.
Retirement Even the most successful agents decide to hang it up and retire.
The Cost to Keep Your License Active
Because you’ve spent so much time and money obtaining a real estate license, you want to keep your license active, even if you’re not closing deals. However, the cost to maintain a license is high, particularly if you’re not making enough income to offset the expense. Annual fees to maintain your real estate license include:
MLS fees
NAR association fees
Insurance
Broker fees
Insurance
Operating and administrative expenses
If you decided to change career fields because of financial hardship, paying to maintain your license doesn’t make economic sense. Therefore, many brokers choose to let their licenses go inactive, or allow it to lapse, rather than pay the cost to maintain their licensure.
Don’t Let Your License Lapse or Go Inactive!
You can earn income using your real estate license, even if you can’t do real estate full-time! Below, we’re laying out options both for Brokers and Salespeople. Both options allow you to make passive income, with minimal out-of-pocket cost, even if real estate is no longer your full-time career.
Even if you leave real estate for another field, why not use your hard-earned license to achieve multiple sources of income? Especially in these turbulent financial times – when employment is uncertain for so many – having another source of income can provide you and your family with a financial safety net.
In her book Your Career Survival Guide: How to Get and Keep a Job in Times of Crisis, author Christy Noel talks about the important of having a side gig: “If you are not solely reliant upon a single source of income to provide for yourself and your family, there is less risk for whatever may come.” – (Noel, p. 50)
It never hurts to have an additional income every month, which can help carry you through should you lose your job or face other hardships. Earning passive income using your real estate license is one way to protect your family’s financial stability. In addition to padding your financial safety net, bringing in passive income can help fund your child’s education, allow you to stay home with young children or aging parents, or take a vacation that you might not have been otherwise able to afford.
How to Earn Recurring, Passive Income - Even if your License is Currently Inactive or Recently Lapsed
Brokers: Join Designated Broker Solutions
Designated Broker Solutions partners with some of the largest commercial property management firms in the country, as their designated broker or broker of record. The company recruits both active and inactive brokers to serve as a designated broker or broker of record for reputable, reliable commercial real estate property management firms operating in multiple states across the country.
Earn monthly income from home as a designated broker or broker of record for a professional property management firm.
Become licensed in up to 16 additional states to multiply your income potential. You can be a designated broker even if you aren’t a resident of the state.
No fees to join the DBS team. Simply activate and maintain your license in good standing.
Designated Broker Solutions provides compliance materials and training to ensure our Brokers and Firms stay compliant with all licensing laws in each state.
You can still earn referral fees with your active license while being a designated broker.
You can use your license to co-broker transactions with brokers in other states, looking to complete transactions in your licensed state.
Designated Broker Solutions is actively hiring licensed brokers (Active or Inactive) in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming (please note: we are specifically seeking Brokers and Associate Brokers only. Sorry, no licensed salespersons).
Learn more about earning monthly income by becoming a designated broker here: https://www.designatedbrokers.com/join-our-team
Sales Agents: Keep Your License Active with Realty Connect
If you want to keep your license active while earning passive income, Realty Connect wants you to join their team. Realty Connect is an exclusive brokerage for “referral only” agents – both brokers and agents or salespeople. For just $100 per year, agents and brokers can maintain an active license, all while earning 25%-75% referral fees.
Referral only agents maintain an active license but don’t engage directly with clients or the buying and selling process. Instead, you help buyers and sellers connect directly with the top real estate professionals in your state. One active license allows you to refer to agents in all 50 states.
How it works:
Pay $100 per year to maintain your active license, plus a transaction fee at closing. No additional fees apply.
Both agents and brokers are eligible.
Hang your real estate license with Realty Connect (a licensed brokerage firm).
Earn 25%-75% referral commissions without doing sales, marketing, or other real estate work.
Realty Connect is the ideal solution for agents and brokers who want to maintain an active license while earning a passive income. It’s an excellent option for parents staying home with their kids, professionals working full-time in another field, or retirees looking for a little extra income each month.
Want to know more? Visit the Realty Connect website for additional information.
If you are a licensed real estate agent or broker – whether your license is active or inactive – you don’t have to walk away from the time and effort you’ve invested in your career.
Continue to earn money with your real estate license from the comfort of your home.
Contact Designated Broker Solutions to learn more about your options.
The information provided herein does not constitute legal advice and is for general informational purposes only. This website contains links that are only provided for the convenience of the reader. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this site are hereby expressly disclaimed. No representations are made that this content is error-free. Please consult your attorney to determine if the information contained herein is applicable to your situation.
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