a real estate student's blog
Now I’m attempting to get a job with Century 21 in Macomb next semester, I e-mailed them and offered to make my schedule compatible with their training schedule. That e-mail was sent out last Wednesday and they’ve yet to get back to me, so I may end up calling the owner this Wednesday after classes (around 12 PM). Wish me luck!
Well, I received the license (in hand) today and went to my first interview at Key Realtors. I wasn’t surprised to hear that the broker/owner was not enthusiastic to hire students, though she does normally have one on staff. The last student she hired was apparently a member of at least one social organization in the community (like Knights of Columbus or Kiwanis) and it sounded like he did decently, though he didn’t excel. So I was being asked who my contacts were, which is apparently (though not surprisingly) very important in real estate. After explaining to me the MLS/office fees and commissions and asking what I wanted to get out of the job, she asked me to give her time to think about it and give her a call next Friday.
But I’m not just going to sit and relax until then, I’m going to talk to my fraternity’s chapter adviser and another person who frequents the fraternity who works for a family that owns quite a bit of real estate in Macomb (the family’s name was even mentioned in my real estate class just today to my surprise). Chances are, if I worked for this family, I may be working almost exclusively with them in commercial/rental transactions, and I’d hope that I could get to know what they were looking for in such situations, so I’ll talk to those people and let the broker/owner know what’s going on when I call her next Friday, hope it turns out well, otherwise I wouldn’t expect much.
Other than that, (like I just mentioned) I’m currently taking a course in real estate and am thinking I’ll continue taking the courses in that field, as I’d still ultimately like to open an office when or nearly after getting out of school.
As the title says, I booked three more KGB shifts (my first shifts as a special agent, not just a trainee), one for each today, tomorrow and Friday. I accidentally booked an hour earlier than I was hoping (due to their system being on EST and me being on CST), I tried canceling the shifts for tomorrow and Friday and re-booking them for the proper time (they’re scheduled around classes those two days), and they’re currently in the status “looking for cover.”
I’m going to set the goal of booking at least three hour-long KGB shifts each week over the next month, which will give me at least 15 hours of work with them, since I’d like to be able to stick with them, I’ll probably do a few more shifts just to get up to 20 hours. I figure this should earn me 40-50 dollars for the month (at minimum).
Just checked my bank account, IDFPR just deposited my cheque yesterday, August 25, 2009. I sent it via Priority Mail on the 15th, they received it on the 17th, and the cheque was deposited yesterday, the 25th, so it took just over a week for them to deposit the cheque.
To my knowledge, I haven’t heard anything from them as of this morning (though I may have gotten a letter from them yesterday, I wouldn’t know if I did or not), either via e-mail or otherwise, but it’s good to know they’re working on it. I also checked the IDFPR website (license lookup) to see if I’m listed, but still nothing, and I figure this is a long and rather bureaucratic process, so I’m just waiting out it’s completion and will update appropriately.
Since my last update and for quite some time, I have not visited the KGB website. I did somewhere around three hours’ worth of work and they deposited about $10 into my bank account. I still would like to pick up some extra cash if I’m not doing anything much more profitable, but I don’t want to get too caught up in it. At the very least, I’ll try working for twenty hours over the next month and posting how much I earned for that time worked.
As for the real estate license, I filled out and sent all of the forms required to get the license. I’ve checked my bank account and the check I sent to them (for about $125) to get the license has not yet been withdrawn from my bank account, so I’m guessing it hasn’t been processed yet. I did send all of these documents via USPS certified mail and confirmed that they did indeed receive the information, so now it’s become a waiting game. I shipped out the package on the 15th (the day after taking the exam) and they received it the following Monday. I’m guessing processing is just taking a little while.
Finally, and unrelated (even more so) to the purpose of this blog, school has re-started up again, so perhaps expect updates less frequently (maybe at the rate of one per week, hopefully not fewer).
Anyway, pretty tired now, so going to try to get some sleep.
Since my last update and for quite some time, I have not visited the KGB website. I did somewhere around three hours’ worth of work and they deposited about $10 into my bank account. I still would like to pick up some extra cash if I’m not doing anything much more profitable, but I don’t want to get too caught up in it. At the very least, I’ll try working for twenty hours over the next month and posting how much I earned for that time worked.
As for the real estate license, I filled out and sent all of the forms required to get the license. I’ve checked my bank account and the check I sent to them (for about $125) to get the license has not yet been withdrawn from my bank account, so I’m guessing it hasn’t been processed yet. I did send all of these documents via USPS certified mail and confirmed that they did indeed receive the information, so now it’s become a waiting game. I shipped out the package on the 15th (the day after taking the exam) and they received it the following Monday. I’m guessing processing is just taking a little while.
Finally, and unrelated (even more so) to the purpose of this blog, school has re-started up again, so perhaps expect updates less frequently (maybe at the rate of one per week, hopefully not fewer).
Anyway, pretty tired now, so going to try to get some sleep.
I passed the state/national exam to become a licensed real estate broker, so now it looks like all that is left is applying for the license, which I plan to do possibly tonight (I’d be licensing myself as a sole proprietorship, I suppose).
The exam was pretty straightforward, the national “simulation” portion included role-playing scenarios in which you had to follow the situation and know what to ask and whom to ask. The state portion was 45 multiple choice problems that were all very straightforward, all in all, after taking the courses, I’d say the exams were easy.
Now on to getting the license, there’s quite a few instructions on how to do this, so when I’m more relaxed (and don’t have a headache), I’ll probably begin filling out the forms. Currently (and rather by the seat of my pants), I’m considering filling out the forms in such a way that it looks like I’d create a sole proprietorship, which seems like a good way to begin, as I could always be hired by another broker (I assume).
Well, tomorrow’s the big day when I take the exam to obtain an Illinois real estate broker’s license. What I’m going to do tonight is review the national simulation (which is online and my teacher gave me copies of some problems that weren’t online), possibly review some of the quizzes I’ve taken and just hope for the best. I’m feeling pretty confident, but someone who had just passed the test happened to be in the office when I was picking up the transcripts and he suggested I review the simulation portions before testing. Other than that, I’m feeling good about it and prepared, the exam is at 1:30 PM tomorrow on Washington Street in Chicago.
Other than that, on Saturday I’ll be going on vacation again and then somewhere around the 20th, I’ll be at school, so I’ll update about whether I passed or failed the exam and try to give another KGB-related update before going on vacation, then (depending on how things go) I may update more regularly while in school.
Wish me luck!
I’ve been on vacation for a little bit and have neglected the site, I have updates concerning the following:
Anyway, more updates coming and I’ll start with real estate, then KGB, then go from there.
I practiced driving a little bit yesterday and today, quite in line with what people have previously told me, it’s quite tiring, and I’ve only done it in very quick (15-minute) spurts, and haven’t really driven on a real street yet. If I’d known putting learning how to drive off until I was 23 would be so stressful, I probably wouldn’t have done it, but what’s done is done and hopefully I’ll be able to get my driver’s license either over winter break or next summer.