So for the 2+ years that my husband has been self employed (realtor), I must say they’ve been the hardest in our journey together. We moved, we had to rent again, then we were able to buy (which was a blessing) but it’s definitely not our dream home. (1,200 Sq ft, 4 of us, 1 car garage) Life has been a struggle for sure. We have been able to buy things and go on amazing vacations, but when the market slows down or we have a few slow months, we have no income coming in. This is scary.
So I finished my degree and was telling my husband I can fall back on that if being a loan officer/realtor doesn’t work out. I convinced him to let me quit my 40hr work week great paying job to start a new career. It is tough. Working on commission is such a struggle. People think realtors make thousands of dollars for doing hardly Anything and that is BS. It is one of the hardest, most challenging jobs. You have to be available for texting/phone calls whenever your clients need you, go to showings sometimes an hour away from home, work with people that say they’ll work with you and then never sign an exclusive right to buy contract, pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket before you even see a paycheck. I’ll breakdown my costs briefly, since becoming a realtor in June:
Expenses for my real estate business:
- Real estate course & materials Kaplan $833.05
- Licenses and fees with Dora $150
- Extra study prep materials $45
- Exp realty registration $149
- Pikes Peak Association of Realtors $600
- Brokerage (desk) Fee $85/mo x 5 months = $425
- Suprabox membership $18/mo x 5 months = $90
- Marketing campaign $300
- Office supplies $113.00
- Mileage driving to meet clients so far….?? Estimated maybe 500 miles
Total costs paid out: $2,705 , + mileage ($.625/mile) = $312.50 = $3,017.50!!
So let’s put this into perspective… when I sell a house (I hope to this month!!) IF I sell a house that is $325,000, = $9,750 commission (WOW!!) BUT….. I will walk away with roughly $3,120.
Commission breakdown:
- Team split Zillow lead -50% $4,875
- EXP company -20% $975
- Taxes roughly 20% = $780
After I pay my business account the $3,120 this barely covers my expenses to date. And doesn’t even cover the fact that I didn’t get paid anything since June, July, August, September, and October. (We had to use money in savings to get by)
Ok that’s my rant about real estate commission. Now for the good part. I have been able to go on several amazing vacations because I have a flexible schedule and did not have to ask a “boss” if I could have time off, husband’s side of business was good (at the time) so we were able to pay cash, I have been able to take my kids to school and pick up, help them with their homework, spend breaks and summer with them, and just be free to do what we want to do. it’s been amazing.
I now have time to work on a business for me. I have time to have side hustles, at least until real estate takes off. If it never does, maybe the hustle will?? Haha 🤣
So I am recommitting myself to being a Close to My Heart Consultant. I know I have viewers (on YouTube) and readers that want to see crafting, card making, and scrapbooking!
So I plan to create a content calendar, post blog entries, YouTube content, and tutorials every week!!! I’m stating this here so everyone of my followers can hold me accountable! I would love for you to follow along with my journey. I promise I’ll be “real”, it will be fun, funny, entertaining, insightful, educational, and crafty! Shit is about to get REAL. 😃
Content Calendar Coming 🔜!!!
Thank you to my followers that are already willing to read my fluff pieces here and have been waiting patiently for me to actually blog about crafting! I have lots to say as I have been stamping/making cards for about 15 years! Let’s Gooooo!!! LFG!!!!
Sweet pieces by me 