Supplementing Your Income with a Part Time Real Estate Business

This is a guest post by Jeffry Evans, licensed real estate agent.

If you are approaching or are in retirement, or simply want to have a little extra money come in here or there, then pursuing real estate as a side career part time might be just the thing to do. Out of all the things I can think of, it's hard to think of one job where you can make a few thousand dollars, with just a few hours of work and all from your home (or office, if you prefer).

                                

The typical real estate contract pays some 5-6%, and the paperwork to complete it is just several pages long, and often promulgated by a state body, such as a real estate commission or association of Realtors. This makes the technical part of being a real estate agent easy. So it really just comes down to getting your license, and working with buyers and sellers.

Getting Your Real Estate License

To become legally able to act as a real estate agent, you'll have to get licensed. Each state varies slightly on the steps to becoming an agent, but they all following the same basic steps. First, you'll have to have some education. There are many companies, both online and offline, that can deliver a custom package of real estate education to you.

Once you have completed the courses, you'll have to pass a state exam. Once that's passed, you need to deliver the paperwork, and any background checks the state requires. Then you'll need to partner with a local broker, until you become a broker yourself (and you don't have to, you can stay under another broker indefinitely). Once the state acknowledges you partnership, you are ready to begin helping buyers and sellers.

Becoming Successful and Making Some Money

Now that you have your license, your focus needs to shift to finding and helping interested parties. Starting a website is the best approach, because over 80 percent of home buyers begin their search online. Be sure to get a website that you can list properties on, and then begin promoting your site out through social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Start searching online for other websites that have something to do with real estate and/or finance. Partner with them to deliver helpful content that their visitors can use. In return, you'll get creditability and visitors to your site. This is the vital part of the process called real estate internet marketing.

If you consistently publish quality work that is helpful to online home searchers, you'll soon find that you have prospects that want you to help them find their next home. When they do, all you have to do is use the MLS and any other means you have of finding properties to locate and show your new prospect homes that fit their desires.

Be as helpful as you can, and you'll end up with more business than your competitors, and a nice supplemental income, that doesn't cost you all of your time.