What Are The Monthly Expenses Of A Real Estate Agent?

What does our “No Cost” – “No Fee” – “Free” really mean?

It means that we want you to make money. It is not our goal to take your money.

Not satisfied with FREE; we actually created our programs in a way that Real Estate Agents will make double their net per deal – or more!

We found this very informative financial obligation for Real Estate Agents overview HERE.

Our comparative “no cost” and “no fee” are in RED next to the ones from the post. Note that this does not take your time into account. There is a tremendous amount of time needed to be a Realtor. We love and appreciate the time of all our Realtor friends. Our goal is to add to their bottom line – not take away from it.

Q: Hi. I just wanted to know, what and how much are the financial obligations of a Realtor agent monthly regardless of whether or not he or she makes a sale.
–Tiki, Tampa

A: Here’s an example I use for prospective candidates looking forward to joining Keller Williams Realty. Keep in mind that these expenses can vary greatly from company to company and from office to office. Always FREE coffee and snacks at our office.

To start your real estate business, you will need to invest $1,500-2,000 in start-up costs and $1,500/year or slightly more on-going after the 1st year. This assumes that you do not have any listings and that you are not expending additional marketing funds to sell them. FREE – no startup costs or yearly costs required. Zero.

For start-up expect to spend (approximately): (note: expenses vary from location to location)

Required Expenses (approximate) (for all real estate brokerages) FREE N/A or Not required

$200-$500 to take courses required for license FREE N/A or Not required

$25 application for State Exam FREE N/A or Not required

$56 for fingerprinting FREE N/A or Not required

$125-$145 for your State License FREE N/A or Not required

$200-500/year for Local Board of Realtors membership FREE N/A or Not required

$150-350/year for Multiple Listing Service membership FREE N/A or Not required

$150/year Lockbox Key (to get you into homes) FREE N/A or Not required

$300-600/year E&O Insurance FREE N/A or Not required
___________

$1,500-2,000. Start-up $1,500/year on-going after 1st year. FREE N/A or Not required

Additional Keller Williams Expenses – To Join (approximate) N/A or Not required

$10 1st Months electronic agent consortium fee FREE N/A or Not required

$25. New agent application fee (one time fee) FREE N/A or Not required

$25/yearly KW International Accounting fee FREE N/A or Not required

$25 Orientation Binder (one-time) FREE N/A or Not required

$11 KW Badge FREE N/A or Not required
____

$96. Additional Business Expenses (approximate) FREE N/A or Not required

$50-$100/month – Office Cubicle Rental (Optional) FREE N/A or Not required

$100-$150 – Larger semi-private Office Cubicle (Optional) FREE N/A or Not required

$250-Up – Private Office (Optional) FREE N/A or Not required

$20/mo Consortium Tech fee (for your own Web Site & Email) FREE N/A or Not required

$50. Business cards (Optional) FREE N/A or Not required – We only use customized brochures or handouts. They are entirely more effective than business cards. We stopped using business cards about 2 years ago. You may purchase business cards if desired.

$100-$250 Letter Stationary & Envelopes (Optional) FREE N/A or Not required

$.05-$.10 – Black & White p/copy fee Note: You will print out your own brochures via .PDF emailed from headquarters.

$.15-$.30 – Color p/copy fee FREE N/A or Not required

All Long Distance Phone charges FREE N/A or Not required

Free to you are conference rooms, incoming and outgoing faxes, daily use of office work stations, WINFORMS, the MLS on computer workstations, and local telephone calls. FREE N/A or Not required = Grand total $0.00/year (Except for printing brochures.) and you get 5% after split.

Best of luck to you!

Lee Dworshak is a Realtor® with Keller Williams LA Harbor Realty in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.