Posted by David Butler America’s Note Network on April 27, 2000 at 20:09:57:
Hello William,
You have a good thought there, and I can easily recommend it as a good base for a place to begin in the creative real estate industry. Believe it or not however, there are quite a few variables in this field that will determine what works best for you.
Generally speaking, you will need to be licensed in most states, to operate as an independent mortgage broker. There are many exceptions however, if you start as a loan officer for another lender. You also avoid the pitfalls of carrying your own business costs, and in the right set up, the company does the hardest part - marketing.
If I was starting up today, I would latch on with a company that does a ton of high powered marketing, and loans in many states. With some of these, you might even get some salary ramp up during your first month or two. The thing is, a lot of these houses can bring in the customers, so you can realistically expect to earn anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 per month, or more, depending on the products the company offers, and the effectiveness of their business model (including the marketing campaign).
One nice thing is that some of these types of places will give you the training you need to succeed - although you aren’t really learning the loan business per se, as much as you are taught how to “sell” loans.
But, it does put you in an excellent position to start with, particularly if you are motivated to learn the guts of the business on your own. And a great deal of what you learn will be very valuable for you in your career down the road as a real estate investor.
Way too much ground to cover to provide a more pointed answer, but I hope this helps, and best of luck.
David P. Butler Vice President, Broker Relations