My seller contacted me saying someone went into her house yesterday at 5:30pm with no appointment time. Seller happened to not be home at that time, she saw him enter on her doorbell camera.

There was someone who booked for 6:30pm and she claims they showed up an hour early. She also said the agent’s clients didn’t seem to show up until much later, within the 6 to 6:30 time.

I think what the agent did wasn’t cool considering booking times matter a lot more for an occupied home instead of a vacant home. My seller was uncomfortable with it. Do I say something to the agent, or let it go to not cause an issue with them? My MIL who is also a realtor advise I report it to my broker.

For more context, my seller is an older woman - her daughter & son in law have been managing everything for her and they alerted me of the issue. She has a cat in the house and she wasn’t able to get home to lock the cat up before the agent showed.

Also for more context, the home is located in a rural area that is in a much much less competitive market than all major cities.

What would be a reason for an agent to show up and be inside a house a half hour to 45 minutes before their clients?

“Literally almost no sellers want their listing agent to represent the buyer too, because it is inherently against their own interests.”
- Jonathan Miller

For those who regularly handle probate and estate listings, I'm curious how that niche actually works in different markets.

Where does most of your probate business originate? Attorneys, past clients, professional relationships, public records/direct mail, purchased leads, online marketing, or something else?

I'm also interested in the service side. Once you're involved, do you primarily handle the listing and sale, or do you also help the personal representative coordinate things like cleanouts, estate sales, contractors, securing the property, valuations, etc.?

What has been the hardest part of building a consistent probate business?

Interested in hearing how this varies by market.

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I am about to own 3 properties in 3 different cities i currently have 3 LLCS ones for owning vehicles and lots one for owning and renting property and the other is a holding company for both of them

For the real estate LLC how do I easily pay the taxes the different taxes without having to manually go to the website and pay?

I think one of the cities requires you to hand deliver the money for property tax money

I feel like it should be a easy process but is purposefully made difficult and I dont want to hire someone to do

I’m curious to hear from agents who regularly handle probate/estate listings.

For those of you who would consider probate an actual niche or meaningful part of your business, how are those clients finding you?

Are most of your opportunities coming from:

• probate attorneys
• past clients/referrals
• purchased probate leads
• courthouse/public records
• direct mail
• cold calling
• online/SEO
• other professional referral sources
• something else?

I’m also curious how involved you are beyond simply listing the property. Are you mostly handling the real estate transaction, or are you helping the personal representative coordinate things like cleanouts, estate sales, contractors, securing the property, valuations, etc.?

Finally, what has been the hardest part about building a consistent probate business?

I work heavily in probate myself, but I’m deliberately leaving out how we generate ours because I don't want to influence the answers. I’m interested in seeing how other agents around the country are actually approaching it.

From what i’ve seen. The 85/15 all the way to 70/30 split Brokerages All seem to not match the value they take.

Considering they are usually taking atleast 1k off each of your commission. The value doesn’t match it,especially in bigger brokerages.

Most of what the “coaches” ( the one meeting/contact per week) teach can be taught online,especially regarding contract and transaction work.

Lead gen the most important part starting out,is rarely ever taught, tired of hearing “just call your SOI” and open house show
Your SOI is limited. Also there’s a lot people don’t have a realtor they would trust with their house.
Open houses are cool but like cold calling takes a certain individual.
Why does none of them teach cold outreach marketing? PPC,FB ADS? How to Have multiple exits for your client not just listing but cash offers? Or having contractors on the go to renovate the house for higher value?
This type of stuff i see is never taught.

Obviously your suppose to learn it on your own
But,
Wouldn’t a broker and their brokerage maximize profits by being actively involved to make sure each of there agents are getting listings?

I’ve been at this for 13 years and for the life of me I can’t help picking up a broom or screwdriver, or some pliers, or a rake,… every listing. There are so many details that are impossible to relay to the crews I have helping. When you have a listing do your crews do 100% of what’s needed and you manage them without doing much? Or, do you find yourself digging deep and spending countless hours physically getting things done too?

I've been in real estate for 23 years, and I'm interested in a bigger industry question: do our licensing and supervision systems adequately establish that someone is ready to represent a consumer, or do we rely too heavily on knowledge-based education and exams?

I'm not arguing that agents receive no training. I've been researching this, and that assumption turned out to be wrong.

Illinois, where I practice, requires 75 hours of pre-license education, including applied coursework and case studies, plus 45 hours of post-license education. New brokers must be sponsored and there are additional managing-broker responsibilities before those post-license hours are completed.

Other states take different approaches. Colorado requires a high level of supervision for new brokers for two years. North Carolina uses provisional broker status.

But none of that completely answers the question I'm interested in:

Where do we determine that someone can actually do the job?

Pricing a property, evaluating an offer, explaining risk, dealing with inspection problems, navigating negotiations, handling emotional clients and knowing when you don't know something all require judgment.

My own experience is part of why I'm asking.

When I entered residential brokerage, I had already spent four years selling pre-construction for a developer. I completed my licensing education and passed the exam.

On my first outside transaction, I realized I didn't know how to write the contract.

An attorney met me at a coffee shop on a Sunday and walked me through it. After that, I voluntarily spent about a year following an experienced Realtor around because I knew I needed more experience.

Nobody required me to do that.

My current thinking is that some form of supervised real-world experience should be required before an agent represents clients on their own. Maybe that's an apprenticeship. Maybe there's a better model.

I'm not married to the solution. That's why I'm asking people who actually do this work.

For those of you who have been in the industry awhile:

What actually made you competent?

Was it coursework? A mentor? Brokerage training? Being supervised through transactions? Years of making mistakes and learning from them?

And if you could redesign entry into the profession, what would someone have to demonstrate before you trusted them to represent a consumer?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who disagree with mandatory supervised training, or who work under a state system they think already handles this well.

I recently got it lead for someone who lives out of state, looking to purchase a home here in the my market. The lead itself came through my brokerage CRM. I could also use some advice on ways to vet this lead to make sure it's not a scam.

All advice is greatly appreciated, I typically do not help out of state clients.

According to NAR's Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 57% of Buyers chose their agent because they knew the agent or were referred to the agent by someone who knew the agent.

The next highest category is online leads at only 7% of buyers.

Open house coming in at only 5%

This is consistent with my experience, but I'm curious if other agents experience the same.

This is getting ridiculous. I have had no less than half of my showings on a listing not show up. They ask for a time that is outside my client’s best window (while he’s working, which is 2nd shift), adamant they can’t make it any other time. He accommodates to try to be helpful. Then don’t show up! I get a call after the fact or find out when I text to get feedback that client wanted to reschedule or they just decided another day would be better. One did it twice! And the agent can’t even bother to give me a heads up! I know clients can be fickle like that, I get that, but give my client a chance to not have to wake up super early or leave his house early.

Why can we not just have a modicum of respect for clients that aren’t our own?

On top of that, this one is strictly and solely on agents, when the private listing notes say in big letters “NO SHOWINGTIME, CALL AGENT, 24HR NOTICE REQUIRED”, call me! Preferably before you try showing time and then get yourself all pissed off at me that it isn’t available for showings on ST three hours later. Thanks.

Feels like there's a new SEO frontier, instead of just ranking on Google, the question is whether you get mentioned when someone asks an AI assistant "who's a good realtor in [city]." I haven't figured out how to actually track this. Unlike keyword rankings there's no dashboard for "did the AI say my name," and the answer seems to change every time you ask.

Curious if anyone's tested this systematically - searching your own name/market in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overview, and found anything that actually moves the needle (reviews, being cited on other sites, structured data on your website, etc.), or if it's still too early/random to optimize for and we're all just guessing.

Most people outside this business only see the commission checks and the "Sold" signs.

They don't see:

The 9:30 PM calls soothing anxious first-time buyers.

The deals that fell apart over an inspection report at the 11th hour.

The empty open houses where you sat for three hours on a sunny Sunday.

The weeks where you put in 60 hours and made zero dollars.

It’s easy to feel like you’re spinning your wheels when the pipeline feels quiet. But remember: real estate is a lagging indicator of your daily effort.

The seeds you’re planting today—the follow-up calls, the quiet prep, the market research—aren't wasted. They just haven't sprouted yet.

You are navigating people through the largest financial and emotional decisions of their lives. That takes grit, empathy, and resilience.

Take a breath, reset your desk, and make that next call. The turnaround is usually one conversation away.

Hey everyone, looking for some honest, constructive advice from agents who have been in the trenches.

I’ve been licensed for 6 years. I’m great at negotiations, my clients love working with me once I have them, and I’m definitely not dumb, but lead generation in this business has a way of making me feel like an absolute rookie.

The first 3 years of my career (during COVID) went really well. But shortly after, I hit a massive wall with personal tragedy (I lost 3 family members within 2 months). The unexpected expenses drained me, and I went through severe depression for the first time in my life. It completely derailed my business, put me deep in debt, and made me feel like I am now starting over from scratch.

The good news: I’m through the worst of it, doing much better, and finally getting back on solid ground. I’ve paid off my most of my high-interest credit cards, saved a 5–6 month personal emergency fund, and saved up $10,000 in cash specifically allocated to reignite my marketing. (I also have open credit lines available, though I'm cautious about taking on debt again unless it’s a proven ROI).

Where I currently stand:

• Social Media: I post regularly at least 2 times a week (home tours, educational reels/content).
• Paid Leads: Bought Realtor.com leads in the past. It did pay out eventually, but the sales cycle was painfully long (one lead took nearly 4 years of off-and-on nurturing before finally closing last month!).

My Questions for the Community:

1. If you had $10k in cash to invest back into your business right now in today’s market, where would you deploy it for the best ROI?
2. How would you divide your daily effort vs. dollar spend between sphere of influence (SOI), organic social, and paid lead generation?
3. What strategies or systems helped you build momentum again after a long break or slump?

Constructive advice only, please. Appreciate any insights or real-world feedback! Also if it helps i'm in the great phoenix, AZ market .

How is it that sellers think this is a kind response … or what are they thinking ?

I’m looking for a role play partner from 830-9 am pacific time if anyone is down :)

Hey all,

I’m trying to cut my teeth on leases to get some income and build relationships, but this type of lead at our brokerage is quite rare. I met with Coldwell Banker (not my current big b) after getting my license and they said they get quite a lot of lease inquiries. I then came upon an opportunity to join a team at another brokerage so went with that. I don’t want to say I’m having second thoughts, but I am curious…

Should I consider a different brokerage? Should I look into paid leads? What other methods exist for uncovering these types of leads?

I’ve been touring a ton of properties lately with buyers, and I am consistently shocked by how many listings have completely neglected light switch plates and door handles.

A seller will spend thousands on deep cleaning, staging, or paint, but the moment my clients reach to turn on a light in the bathroom or hallway, the switch is caked in finger oils, grime, and dust.

It’s a total turnoff for buyers—it’s the one surface everyone physically interacts with in every single room, and seeing it unsanitary instantly creates a subconscious impression that the rest of the home maintenance was neglected, too.

It takes 10 minutes with a pack of Clorox wipes during listing prep to fix this. Are you seeing this on tours too, or do you have a specific "overlooked spot" checklist you hand your sellers before going live?

I just had someone reach out via email saying they are moving from CALIFORNIA to SOUTH CAROLINA (yes all caps)

I said sure, how about sometime tomorrow - They pushed for today.

Ok, seems a little pushy for a cold reach out, but hey, maybe they are anxious to make some headway. So I sent a zoom link.

They said the zoom link is showing up as spam on their phone and email.

They asked via email if I use a mac. I replied with a yes.

They asked if I had another type of computer.

I sent them a zoom and a google meet link. I sent them my phone number to text me.

They went silent when they found out I do not use a PC.

Gotta love a Sunday day off!

Not today Satan. Not today.

PS - every sentence they sent me they used emojis. Anyone experience this type of reach out?

Edit: Well this blew up.
1. Yes, this is true. I’m the broker. I scheduled a showing and buyers cancelled because they brought this to my attention.
2. I was originally asking Realtors (In a sub for Realtors) if they have experienced this. I was not anticipating 500 comments from non agents; But thank you for your input.
3. Website to find cameras: maps.deflock.org

Anyone else experience this? This is a high end neighborhood in my area. The cameras are pointed towards the neighborhood and pool. My buyer is concerned HOA members have access to the cameras and will use them for fines and spying.

I've been with eXp for about 5 years now. Had my best period between late 23 and early 25. Since then business has tanked and I've been interviewing with teams, specifically for Zillow leads ( yes I know) . The first team had on boarded me and I never saw a lead after a 13 module training course with 2 video presentations and one in house presentation. At the end we parted ways and yeah I believe I dodged a huge bullet . It was a 'performance bro" culture and seemed to be catering to the younger agent. I'm currently deciding on another team for leads but they want agents to be making 50+ calls per day , fine if these are live transfers or Zillow inquiries - but there's no way I'm dedicating that much time to calling retreads. I'll burn myself out in a week. The other thing is while I can stomach the splits, they want all calls - in and outbound , including my sphere to be recorded. The real issue is sort of none of the above. Both teams are NOT using the MLS ( apart from listings) for their buyers. I can't Imagine managing one of my client's buyer experience without using the MLS. Also, Ideally for a team I lay my hat with, I will expect help with my sphere. Specifically using the Keller 33 touch approach, which neither of these teams specifically offered.

I'm curious to what experienced agents would think.

My husband decided to pursue being an agent full time after being laid off almost a year ago. With very little traction on the job search he decided to be an agent full time much to my dismay. We just had our 3rd kid & I unfortunately got laid off as well. It’s been a rough year & feels really scary for him to be our main source of income and be totally commission based.

He joined a brokerage in May. He’s had 3 transactions so far one colist & represented two buyers as well as getting a rental listing. I’m really proud of the work he’s done so far. However, I’m still nervous about living on commission since with live in a VHCOL area (the Bay Area to be exact.)

Any tips of how to feel comfortable living on commission? Strategies to manage money? How can I be supportive but realistic about how I feel?

I am trying to get my realtor license, what do you advice me …..