I have been talking for years with Mark Madsen about opening my own real estate brokerage here in the Las Vegas Valley. I finally stopped talking and took action! On January 1st, 2011 I officially opened my own Las Vegas Real Estate Brokerage, Shelter Realty Inc.
Prior to making the decision to start my own real estate brokerage, I weighed the pros and cons and spoke with several broker/owners to hear firsthand of their experiences. I also calculated what I paid my broker for the last two years and what I expected to spend this year if business continued to grow and it was eye opening! It became evident that the only decision I had was to open my own real estate and property management brokerage.
After making the decision to move forward, I wrote out a business plan and tried to account for everything that needed to be done prior to opening. Little did I know that it is almost impossible to account for everything!
So, if you’re thinking about taking the plunge like I did, here are top 5 issues that I didn’t account for when I opened my own real estate brokerage.
- General Liability and E/O Insurance (More expensive than I estimated)
- Business license requirements (As a property manager, you are required to be licensed in all cities in which you manage a property, not just the city in which your office is located, like I had thought)
- Client/Landlord Response (It took much longer than anticipated to get back signed addendums from landlords authorizing the transfer to the new company)
- NAID Number (I forgot to apply for an NAID Number. Can’t sell a HUD home without one!)
- Peer Support (Others around you aren’t always excited to see you succeed)
Even though it’s only been a few weeks, I feel re-energized about real estate as if I was a newly licensed agent again and I am looking forward to sharing my experiences as a new broker/owner with others.
Cheryl Johnson says:
A good portion of Property Management is Crisis Management … stuff that can’t be planned for in advance … Except it is pretty much a given that most Plumbing Disasters will happen late Sunday night on a three-day holiday weekend. 🙂
January 17, 2011 — 6:02 am
Joe says:
Good luck Tony. My wife and I took the ‘plunge’ 3-4 years ago and have never looked back. I think in another few years (or even months) you’ll feel the same.
January 17, 2011 — 6:12 am
jay seville says:
Being indie rocks! It’s great not having to ever apologize for offending somebody in the marketplace that needed to be put in his place…not having to be concerned about higher ups coming down on you for being forthright or even regional figures smashing you into making an apology on behalf of the company.
Couple tips:
1) get real estate accounting system–LoneWolf systems works for me and provides a ton of support $1000 and $125/month
2) don’t get behind in accounting–learned this the hard way
3) virtual offices only run $200/month for a legal business address
J
January 17, 2011 — 7:40 am
Jeff Brown says:
Welcome to the Go-To Guy club. You’ll now learn, firsthand, in real time, what the following really means.
Good news? You’re the Go-To Guy.
Bad news? See ‘good news’. 🙂
Congrats!
January 17, 2011 — 11:18 am
Judy Orr says:
Congratulations Tony! I always thought you owned your own brokerage.
January 17, 2011 — 9:55 pm
Teri Lussier says:
Congratulations Tony!
January 18, 2011 — 4:21 am
Mark Madsen says:
Congrats Tony. It sure makes things exciting with our online activities knowing that we’re representing a company you own vs work for.
January 18, 2011 — 11:52 am
Wayne Long says:
Awesome Tony!! Congratulations!! I predict it is going to be a fun and challenging year. 🙂
January 21, 2011 — 6:19 am
Dylan Darling says:
Great news Tony! It looks like you’ve thought this out well. I’ve been thinking about opening up my own shop sometime in the near future. Its hard to make the leap though… May 2011 bring you much business.
January 25, 2011 — 12:52 pm
Mike Taylor says:
Congrats Tony. You are right, it is impossible to account for everything, but it is about having a plan and having a plan that is flexible especially in the beginning. You will be glad you went the indie route in no time at all.
January 25, 2011 — 8:22 pm