Every licensed real estate agent must legally be employed (usually as a contracted employee) by a brokerage. You've probably heard of Keller Williams, Re/max, or Coldwell Banker - these are all large, well-known brokerages. There are large nationwide brokerages, smaller state-wide brokerages, or sometimes you'll see an even smaller brokerage of just 1-2 agents.
There are TONS of brokerages and choosing one can be tricky. For me personally, I knew my first priority was that I wanted to be mentored by someone with solid experience in all things real estate! I also needed my mentoring and training to be in-person, not over Zoom; I just learn so much better in person! That means I needed an office within 30 minutes from me. I know as an agent you hardly ever go to the office once you're out of "training" (if it's even offered), but if I wanted to get down and dirty with my mentoring experience, then I needed to be IN person, IN the office FACE to FACE. Lastly, I didn't really care if the brokerage was big or small, but I always keep in mind that I don't do well when I'm feeling like some small, lost fish in a big pond; it's overwhelming. I love the comradery and big impact of being in a smaller organization.
I interviewed at one of the largest brokerages in the nation and I quickly realized that was not for me. They had a bomb CRM software and fancy tools to use to make my job easier, but the New Agent Mentor had only been in real estate for less than a year and frequently mentioned things like, "I still have no idea what I'm doing! But I've been successful thus far, so something must be working! Haha!" Props to this individual for totally rocking real estate in their first year - that's really hard to do! But, that was not the right mentor for me. I wanted to learn from the best of the best, someone who had been around the block and confidently knew it like the back of their hand.
I continued to interview at a few different places but put it on the back burner so I could focus on passing my dang test - and you all know from my last blog post, that was a heavy weight to carry and a phase I couldn't wait to be over with.
When I was driving home in 5 pm traffic after passing my real estate exam, I immediately focused my attention on the next step: signing on with a brokerage ASAP. One of the brokerages I had spoken with resurfaced from the back of my mind. They were very small and recently put a priority on growth. I had initially kind of brushed them off, but during that car ride home I could not get them out of my mind! So, I met up with the Designated Broker for Starbucks the next day and after a long chat and questions, I gave them the thumbs up! I was officially signed on with them by Monday.
What's a Real Estate Agent without a new headshot, am I right?! Haha. I'm official!
Let me tell you about Platinum Realty Group and why I joined them:
I get a 90% commission split with no mentor splits - which is incredibly high and rare to come by! WOOHOO!!!
My mentor is our Designated Broker/CEO of Platinum Realty Group, not just another agent assigned to babysit me. His number one focus right now is leading his own training program for new real estate agents and mentoring them all throughout their careers. I have been meeting with him 1-2 times a week for training, he is the one I call when I have questions, he shadows all my transactions and mentors me through them when I need help, he is an extra pair of eyes on all my official documents, and has so far answered all my calls and text no matter the time of day (or night, haha!). This kind of one-on-one with someone so experienced is hard to come by and I feel like I found a rare gem! Did I mention he is currently ranked in the top 7% of real estate agents in Arizona? He has been an agent for over 13 years and has never been employed by anyone other than himself and is an entrepreneur first and foremost (which I think is so cool!). He's highly experienced in commercial and residential real estate, property management, flipping homes, and working with investors. He also has a degree in architecture which has shown up throughout his real estate career. Talk about "all things real estate!" right?! Jackpot!!
You're going to love this one: THEY HAVE A HOUSE FLIPPING PROGRAM! Whaaaaat?! I know - I was sold! Haha. Any of my clients wanting to sell their homes now have access to our "Flip Our Home Program." If there is an opportunity to update the home before putting it on the market, Platinum Investments will fund the costs of renovations and manage the entire flip all at no cost to the client! We have a whole construction, design, AND staging team at our fingertips. It's incredible. This allows us to deliver a gorgeous move-in-ready home for buyers and sell the home significantly faster. I'm watching these sellers walk away with double and triple the profit they originally expected prior to the renovations. It's a win-win for everybody involved!
But wait, there's more! Haha. Our design team, Platinum Design Studio and Consulting, picks up some impressive design projects that I'm always stealing glances at every chance I get! This team can design and manage any renovation whether it's taking a blank slate piece of land and turning it into a beautiful custom estate, or remodeling a home by drastic or simple measures. They can really bring ideas to life! It's incredible to be in such close quarters to these professionals and have access to a wealth of knowledge in other areas of real estate that I'm equally as passionate about.
Needless to say, my experience with Platinum Realty has been nothing shy of what I hoped for! I have loved meeting new clients and reconnecting with old friends to help them with their real estate transactions! It's a LOT more driving than we expected, but this mama is finally getting out of the house and enjoying her alone time and time with adults! It's quite liberating. Tyson and I are learning our new groove and it's workout out pretty well! I watch the girls while he works, I'm able to get some work in during those morning hours, and I leave after they go down for their nap and he watches them in the late afternoon/evening while I'm out doing showings.
I'm living the dream, folks! I did it. I found my HOME.
To make it all formal and official, I have connected my two worlds: the-do-over-necks.com and do-over-necks-realty.com where you can search all active listings on the MLS, see what your home is worth, and view properties that have just recently been listed or reduced, etc. You can access this realty website from the Realty Services tab right here on the-do-over-necks.com. Make this your new Zillow, friends! Happy shopping!
Sincerely,
