How to Start an Apartment Locating Business

Are you tired of working for a broker and getting only small sliver of the pie? This is just one of the reasons you may be wanting to start your own apartment locating business. The questions you may be asking are; what do I need to start a locating business from scratch? How much money will it take? Do I have to get a broker’s license? There are lots of questions like these that could be running through your head. I am going to outline what it takes and hopefully answer most of your questions.

First of all, if you do not have a lead source then you are going to have a hard time growing any kind of business. You will need a website, affiliate agreement, or run paid ads to bring some leads in. They need to be decent quality and steadily coming in. You can spend quite a bit to get a website up and running then ranked, so if you are looking for quick leads then you may want to look at leads from craigslist services, or affiliate programs that offer housing leads like Hotpads. These are little upfront cost to get the leads coming in, and later you can get a website up and running to generate leads regularly with a lower cost per lead.

Let’s say you already have leads coming in and that’s why you are considering starting your own company. I was in a similar situation. I had a website that I had created that was generating a good amount of leads each day, but I was working at a company that needed me to work their leads. I wanted to earn more money by working my leads, but it was not possible in the situation I was in. That was enough incentive to worked towards, and get my broker’s license. It took a great deal of work and money to get there, but I had an idea of how to make it so that other people in my situation would be able to do so much more without having to go through the ordeal of getting a broker license. Through broker sponsorship at Spirit Real Estate Group, you have multiple ways of making what you have into your own business. No broker’s license required! However, if you’re wanting to start a brand new stand-alone company on your own, you will need to get your broker’s license.

The next step, if you choose to strike out on your own, would be company formation. Formation of the company can be as simple as going to your county courthouse and setting up a DBA for around $20, or you can spend about $300 and establish an LLC. There are other business formations if you prefer, but if you have the money, an LLC offers the most protection along with the best tax solution. With these documents you can get an ein number through the IRS(free), and open a business checking account, also free if you look in the right place.

At Spirit Real Estate Group, you can become a manager, franchisee, or a lead distributor. No broker’s license required. The real money is in selling leads. You can franchise and bring on agents and set your own split with the agents. There are some requirements that come along with that, but you can earn money off other agents which is exactly what broker’s do. If you are not wanting to manage agents you can put your leads in our lead market and sell them to the other agents in the company. Once payment is received from the property then payment is issued to you in the next check run. Once again you can earn money off other agents, and you don’t even have to manage them! Advancement Opportunities

Once you have established the company the best thing to do is to sit down and write out your goals and how you are planning to get there. Periodically, you need to revise and update it, but you have formed an apartment locating company and your success is determined by your continued hard work and determination.

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