New Ontario Real Estate Agents – So You Are a New Ontario Real Estate Agent Licensee, Now What?

A new Ontario real estate agent, wow, congratulations! Now what? Chances are you are probably still flying high with excitement after all the hard work and study you just went through. Time to take a well deserved break before jumping into the realty sales game. An opportunity to think about things like what kind of properties to specialize in, what kind of Brokerage to be part of, and a good time to review and list some old and new goals.

Now that you have your passing marks, and you took some time off to celebrate, a decision to join an Ontario realty Brokerage firm needs to be made. This is a requirement since you must be employed by a Brokerage registered with the Real Estate Council of Ontario or R.E.C.O. You will fill out a new registration with your employer and your employer (realty Brokerage) will also fill in its section and authorize same. These forms with your fees and dues payable to R.E.C.O. will be sent by either yourself or your new employer. Upon successful qualification, based on the information you provided on the application, you will be issued your brand new Ontario real estate license certificate.

There are many different types of real estate Brokers and Brokerages to work for in Ontario. Variations among them like, residential vs commercial and/or industrial and leasing, office expenses, commission splits, services provided for you, training, office space for your desk and phone, franchise office vs independent etc etc. One main difference which is vastly overlooked by many new realty agents starting out in their careers, is whether the real estate Brokerage is a member of their local realty board. The difference is vast since being a member means that all registered agents with that Brokerage have to be members as well. Being a member entitles the agent many beneficial privileges and services but it also comes at a yearly cost. If the Brokerage is not a member then the yearly cost is avoided by the Brokerage and all its registrants and no services or privileges given either.

Here are some steps you should consider:

1. In Ontario under the R.E.C.O. rules and regulations, you must be registered with them through an Ontario Brokerage within 1 year of passing your final exam. If you fail to do so, you will have to start from “scratch”. Therefore, your first step ought to be whether to jump in as per the steps that follow or park your Ontario real estate license and hold it active with a Brokerage that provides a low cost “keep your license active” service. If you decide to park your license by holding it active, you can do so indefinitely subject to the Brokerage policies. When you decide to take your license off hold then all you need to do is request to transfer it to another Ontario Brokerage of your choice. One more thing, if you park your license, make sure it will be a month to month contract to ensure flexibility. If you are asked to pay a yearly membership or parking fee, inquire whether they have other options available for you.

2. Decide what type of real estate in Ontario you want to sell/trade. Residential homes and condos, investment housing like apartment buildings, industrial buildings, commercial properties, office buildings, leasing etc

3. a) Based on your decision in step 2, interview the Broker/Owner of a few real estate Brokerages in Ontario that specialize in that field since they will be able to assist you in the “know how” of that selection. Learn about their support, and commissions payable to you and learn about their office policies. Compare them to the other Brokerages you interview. Pick the Brokerage the fits in with your personal goals.

3. b) Depending on your selection in step 2, you may or may not require the services of your local Ontario real estate Board. Most active residential salespeople will want to be members of their local Board because the multiple listing service will be extremely beneficial in sales. However, some commercial salespeople elect to be registered with a Brokerage that is not a member of any Board. Commercial is often a field where agents develop their own purchasers for their in house listings and prefer to sell or lease commercial properties without the assistance of other agents from other Brokerages through the m.l.s. system. If I lost you here, sorry…make sure you ask the Brokers you interview to explain the pros and cons. You may get a different view from each Broker.

As a new Ontario real estate agent, Licensee, you may want to consider taking it slow before you jump in and incur all kinds of expenses right off the start. It may prove you well to initially join an Ontario realty Brokerage firm that will allow you to hold your registration or license there with them at a low cost before deciding to go full out with a franchise Brokerage or any other Firm that provides all the services that you will eventually require in your career. In the real estate Brokerage world this is also known or referred to as “park your license” or “hold it active” with a non board member Brokerage in Ontario.

Park your license and holding it active does not only apply to new Ontario real estate agents. There are Brokerages out there that provide this “parking” or “holding” real estate licenses for all registrants including Brokers, associate Brokers, Realtor, sales rep’s, husband and wife real estate teams where there are 2 licenses active etc etc.

If you had previously done your homework and have already selected the Ontario Brokerage you wish to join and be employed by, then great, jump in with gusto and make it happen. For the many new real estate graduates out there, taking the slow road may be a better way to ensure you make the right decisions for yourself. It is amazing how many well intentioned people decided to become a real estate agent in Ontario with a long term career in mind only to have that dream cut short. The expenses that will be introduced to you in this field can be shocking especially if it takes a while before you notice some commissions coming in.

Give yourself a fighting chance. It really is a great business to be in right into your later years. Your just around the corner from receiving that certificate (real estate license) in the mail that you have worked so hard for. Shop around for that Brokerage and interview at least 3-5 Offices/Firms. Jump in with a full service real estate Brokerage with full real estate board membership or park your license for a while and take your time doing your due diligence. The choice is yours.

5 Ideas to Start Your Home Based Business!

Home can be your workplace now, given that there is an explosion of home-based businesses these days. And what’s more, with a variety of options that are available, you can very well have your dream job sitting at home! Working at home helps you avoid the daily rush to the office, the crowd, the stress and also gives you quality time to spend with your family. You can be flexible with your work timings too.

Home based jobs only require a bit of discipline and proper time management. The first step however is to conduct a thorough research on the kind of jobs available and then choose from it a job that would suit your interest and skills. Here are some home-based business ideas that can work for you:

1. If you have a hobby then you can turn it into a part-time job! Think about the hobbies you have and then you can search if there is a franchise opportunity in that field. If you step into a strong franchise that has an already fixed system and knows how to market and run the franchise, then this would be an ideal opportunity for you to train and develop.

2. Pet care is a booming business these days. Even if people are stringent in other matters sometimes they do not leave a stone unturned in taking care of their pets! If you are an animal lover then pet care as a business can satisfy you and also bring you good money. You can not only be a pet-sitter but also offer to groom and train pets.

3. Online business and marketing is also a great way to earn money sitting at home. You can start out as a beginner in sites like eBay where you can then go on to develop and expand your business. You can start by auctioning your personal items like books, games, electronic gadgets, etc which you do not need any more. Then you can think of a particular item or product to sell which would be in the line of business you are interested in.

4. There are some very easy ways to earn money online. One is by taking part in online surveys. Many international companies conduct surveys to know the opinion of their consumers. They are ready to pay good money to aid their market research. So what you need to do is register in a good survey company, check your email and choose the best surveys. So every time you fill the blanks for the companies, you earn money!

5. Proofreading is also a good way to earn money online. With the increasing number of websites, there is a great demand for proofreaders. Busy content writers do not have time to go back to their work and have a re-check. So there are a lot of errors found everywhere. So one needs to proof read all the writing that is out there in the websites. Not all proofreading jobs pay you good money.

In order to be in the chosen few who earn more in this profession one needs to have an excellent knowledge in English grammar and spellings. You could be asked your educational background in English, but not all online employers demand these requirements.

3 Ways to Start A Home Based Business

Ever since the internet began people have been looking for ways to start a home based business using this amazing marketing tool. The internet has given power to one man band operations to compete with major corporations in the marketing sector and for very little money. In this article I am going to suggest 3 ways in which you can start a home based business.eBay.eBay is a great place to start a home based business and many people are still making a lot of money from buying and selling products on eBay. The problem is finding products that are popular enough to make a decent living from. You have to be competitive and you have to take into consideration the fees one has to pay when starting your business. A good place to look for products is esources, a wholesale directory of national and international suppliers.Multi Level Marketing.Multi level marketing is now used in major companies very successfully for promoting their products and give entrepreneurs the opportunity to make excellent profits from a bit of hard work. Mlm is the process of selling a product or service for a company on a self employed basis. The opportunity also gives one a chance to build a home based business by recruiting other people to sell the products, in turn you receive commissions on their work as well.Affiliate marketingAffiliate marketing in an internet based business that allows one to drive traffic to a merchants website via a special link allocated to you. Once you make a sale from some-one you have directed to the website you will receive commissions. A good place to start looking at this type of home based business is click bank. This type of home based business allows you to be free from any customer interaction making it low stress and most of the time free to start, although it can be slow going until you get established.There are many ways to start a home based business both on and off the internet, above are just a few of the examples and a good place to get started on a budget. One thing that one must remember is that one of them are by any means a get rich quick scheme, although when implemented correctly can see substantial amounts of wealth generated. It is up to the individual to have a passion for success to see success.