New Brokers
By Jim Palmer Jr.

Beginning a successful real estate career is quite difficult for most new brokers for a lot of reasons. In the business we affectionately call them “baby brokers” because of the state mandated requirement for intense supervision by an experienced Managing Broker or Designated Broker in their first two years. Even when the new broker has come from a related industry such as building or lending, the learning curve is steep for beginners.

Customers sometimes shy away from such brokers because of their inexperience, making it even more difficult for these baby brokers to get their real estate business started, though some eager buyers could care less about the competency factor, because to them the finding of a property seems to be paramount in terms of priority. Since the available open slots in the average baby broker’s daily planner may still have some big empty spaces. Being ready at a short notice to cater to such demanding buyers may be one advantage baby brokers have over more established agents.

They may also have more time than a busier agent to spend on a property listing which could be appealing to needy sellers. Many of these baby brokers come to the real estate industry armed with plenty of relevant skills and are able to quickly get up to speed, but many of them survive this start up by pure determination and endurance. Some come into real estate sales thinking that they can garner a little income on the side as a part-timer by doing a few deals a year to supplement retirement income, but those types usually don’t last long once they realize what the demands are.

State law mandates that any contract written by a new broker (less than 2 years in the business) must be scrutinized by their Managing Broker within 24 hours of signing.  Because of that requirement, new brokers are so carefully instructed in their first several transactions, it is as if that experienced Managing Broker is really at the helm. This fact should relieve many skeptics of their worries that an inexperienced broker will miss something important.

The fact is that many experienced brokers in the real estate business might just miss something a baby broker wouldn’t, just because they have not kept up on the latest best business practices or new regulations.  Maybe they are experienced, but just don’t have expertise in a certain aspect of the business, such as all of the nuances of land brokerage compared to residential transactions.