One frequently asked question (FAQ) among newcomers to the real estate industryis, “Can I work real estate part-time?” The answer is “yes.” Lots of people work part-time in real estate, and many are successful.

One joy of a real estate career is that it allows you to be your own boss and, to a certain extent, create your own work schedule. That’s how it’s possible to pursue real estate part-time. It can “fit” into almost anyone’s daily itinerary. For employees who previously worked set hours in a specific location, a real estate career sometimes represents unprecedented freedom.

It’s important to remember, though, that success in real estate sales comes only with real effort.

As a Pennsylvania licensee, you will work as an independent contractor affiliated with one broker. What you earn in commissions will depend solely on the business you bring to the brokerage, by helping clients and customers buy and sell real property.

Business doesn’t magically appear. Sales aren’t handed to you. You must find buyers and sellers to work with, and help them close deals. That’s the nature of the job. It takes commitment, it demands patience. With both, it grows over time.

If worked properly, in fact, it grows so well that some newcomer licensees find they can make the leap from real estate part-timer to full-timer more quickly than they ever dreamed.

Are there hurdles to working part-time? The answer also is a qualified “yes.”

One problem: times when you can be available to customers and clients may not coincide when they need or want you. If buyers want you to show them a home Thursday at 3 p.m., and you need to be elsewhere at that time, you’ll have mighty unhappy (and maybe even lost) prospects. Scheduling flexibility usually solves this.

Another problem: some brokers want to affiliate only with full-timers. Why? Because what many brokers offer to newcomers – training, guidance, legal supervision, office space, marketing assistance, and the like – poses a substantial cost to the brokerage. Brokers want to ensure their investment will pay off, and their odds improve when licensees work full-time.

This doesn’t mean you can’t find a broker to affiliate with part-time. It simply means you’ll likely end up interviewing with more brokers until you find one with whom you feel comfortable and who works with part-timers. The good news is, there are still plenty out there.

This article was originally published on the Polley Associates‘ blog

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It’s apparently happening already with licensees governed by the state Insurance Department.

Mark Vessella, deputy commissioner of Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs – the agency which issues licenses to real estate practitioners and other professionals – recently confirmed impending enforcement of an executive order that requires “all applicants seeking to receive or renew various state licenses, permits and registrations (to be) compliant with their state tax obligations.”

Vessella’s acknowledgement was in response to an inquiry made by Commission counsel Judith Pachter Schulder, who in turn was following up on questions posed by Polley Associates. Pachter, in a letter to Polley Education Director Hugo Weber Jr., reported the matter was discussed during the Commission’s June 9 meeting.

Polley had been supplied with a May (2009) letter to Pennsylvania insurance licensees who were notified by the Insurance Department that they were “not compliant with Pennsylvania taxes,” according to Revenue Department records. “Please be advised,” the letter continued, that the Insurance Department “may consider appropriate enforcement action” if licensees failed to comply, including but not limited to “cease-and-desist orders, imposition of a civil penalty, and/or licensure action.”

Letter recipients were told to contact the Revenue Department within 20 days “to avoid enforcement action and resolve your tax issues.”

“Like the Insurance Department, the Bureau (of Professional and Occupational Affairs), beginning with the State Board of Accountancy, also will be sending letters to licensees who the Revenue Department advises is not compliant with Pennsylvania taxes,” Schulder’s letter to Weber said.

That means, sooner or later, real estate licensees will be due for similar tax scrutiny.

This article was originally published on the Polley Associates‘ blog

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The Commission reported it had received “numerous calls” about the implementation date of the new, shorter-form notice from licensees whom, it said, “may still have a substantial supply” of older, long-form notices available. Because “there is no substantive distinction” between the two forms, the Commission said, it decided to allow continue use of the long form through mid-September.

Licensees can use the short form too, if they want, but one or the other must be presented upon an initial interview with a prospective client, the Commission emphasized.

As of Sept. 16, the Commission added, the long-form will be officially phased out and only the new short form will be acceptable.

Related:

• June 13 Deadline Looms For PA Consumer Notice

This article was originally published on the Polley Associates‘ blog
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