I don’t know what finally pushed me to get a real estate license.
My brother-in-law was constantly bragging about his income from his own real estate ventures, which did nothing but make me detest the career.
However, my boss’s company suddenly folded last year and I had few other options to pick up quick income before searching for a position at a competing company. I did retail for a few weeks but couldn’t justify it with the astronomically small pay compared to what I was making beforehand. And with the same bills from when I had my previous job, I had to put my energy toward something that would actually keep the lights on and prevent my car from getting repossessed. While real estate didn’t seem like the most exciting career move, it was my last hope at making back some of the money I was losing each and every day being unemployed. Surprisingly, I seemed to take to real estate immediately. I learned from a friend of mine who has his license, and he was gracious enough to allow me to shadow him for a week while pretending to be his employee so it wasn’t too obvious why I was following him to jobs everyday. He told me that the heating and cooling system is essential in determining the value of a property. If the central HVAC system is broken, damaged, or over 15 years of age, a replacement machine needs to be factored into the price of the property. I always push for a lower price for my client if the home seller has an air conditioner and furnace that fits one or all of the above criteria.