Hiya Joanne,
I used to be an agent. I went into the game with the main intention of learning how to play from their side... to use against them when purchasing. Personally, the eighteen months I spent as an agent were invaluable (even if it did set my studies back by two years - I could have graduated by now
).
Things to bare in mind:
- Awfully long hours. A typical agent works six days a week (your day off being during the week), with one weekend off every three or four weeks. And you'll be lucky to be home by six at night, and later during the summer.
- Unless you sell a decent amount of property, you won't get paid much. The pay system generally works on a retainer, so you get pocket money each week which is effectively owed back to the agency in lieu of commissions you're expected to earn, which is balanced out at the end of each month. There are more and more offices leaning towards a 'commission only' type arrangement with their staff, which means if you don't sell houses, you don't get paid.
- Potential lack of respect. This one I found hard to deal with, and often took general insults to the industry personally. I'll put that down to naivity and a lack of maturity at the time. There are a few good agents out there, but odds are good you'll be working with at least a few dodgy ones. The office reputation will either promote or tarnish your name while you're there.
- Stress. Comes back to all three of the above points, in various degrees.
- Under commission-based wages, from what I understand, the banks will look at your average over the last two years or your last twelve months, whichever is less, when determining your serviceability. So, when entering the game, you might find your retainer is about all the banks have to go on until you've gotten established. One of the Rolfs or Simon will know more about this than I do, and the rules have probably changes since my time anyway. Obviously not an issue if you don't plan on buying anything for a short while...
On the up side though, you will learn your chosen market inside out and gain access to a wide range of extremely useful tools and databases. You will meet many, many people, which (if you like people) is a nice way to spend the day. If you can find the right office to work for, it should be a good experience.
Joanne, I've still got the PA guide that I wrote when leaving my last job. If you like, send me a PM with your email address and I'll forward you an adjusted copy (some of the things in there are a little too specific for open information). If nothing else, it could give you an idea of the day-to-day things you'll find yourself doing - and, I guess, suggestions you can make to your boss as though they were your own ideas
Good luck!
James
