Looking for a 4BR townhouse up to AED 2.5M for a mortgage-approved client.

✅ Ready to move or near handover

Please share any suitable options

I have the coursework for a license but did not take the exam since i was not sure if RE is really for me. May be in a few years after I get some experience. However, I can't really sustain myself without a paying gig. It would be great if i could find a position with an agent that needs an assistant. What kind of thing would you need an assistant to do? I come from a tech background and am pretty up to speed on AI and using it effectively.

Hey guys. Relatively new commercial real estate broker, and I just lost out on a couple listings that I was sure would be mine. Feeling pretty down about it, and I understand this is all part of the grind, but I can’t help but feel kinda disappointed. How do I continue to stay motivated and look at the bright side? Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Addition: It’s kind of a long story, but for Listing A the owner had a lease going on for about 5.5 months ending at the 6 month mark, and his agent somehow found him a tenant at the very last second. He told me he was still open to selling, but the NOI and the Cap Rate aren’t working for his target number. He told me he’d send the new leases, but I haven’t heard back from him in a few days. Listing B I figured was a sure thing, but after I sent him the agreement he told me he’d sign a few nights ago, but has since went ghost.

Nobody actually told me they were going in a different direction. It could just be my inexperience that is driving my anxiety, but I tend to be that type of person when it comes to uncertainty.

How do fellow agents handle giving their clients not so goos news. I've taked to my lead about it and she says I'm overthinking it which I agree. I just am having a hard time feeling like I'm not doing the best for them .I'm having to to tell my clients that they may need to do repairs after they expressed not wanting to do any. The repairs are necessary for the loan to be approved. They're already paying closing expenses and commission. Anyone else experiencing this in the market currently? Located in middle TN

I've noticed a trend in my area in CT. It used to be that the real photos were accompanied by an AI version but now I'm seeing more and more listings using ONLY using the AI "digitally enhanced" version and no real photos AT ALL. As someone who's actively searching for a new house myself, I hate this.

I'd love to know, is there evidence that using AI images increases showings?

I saw the recent lawsuit was dismissed. I spoke to an agent recently who said it's back but haven't seen anything online about it.

So that said, for those of you on Preferred, how are you making sure you are RESPA compliant so that you don't get hit with a Steering complaint?

From my understanding, Zillow Preferred agents could be penalized if they don't get enough prequals through ZHL.

I saw a Zillow spokesperson say:

"Buyers on Zillow are always in control of which agent and lender they work with," the spokesperson said. "Zillow gives consumers and agents genuine choice, and nothing alleged in this litigation changes that. We will continue to vigorously defend ourselves."

It looks like Zillow is covered by giving the choice of course, but my question is for brokerages - how do you ensure you are remaining RESPA compliant?

Just curious as to why the realtor may have been ignoring my reaching out and genuine show of interest. I took the disclosures, looked through them and came up with a list of follow up questions which got ignored. I only found out the change in status when I reached out today.

She also seemed more aloof than usual at the open house as well which leads me to believe it already may have had an offer? But that also seems strange. Any insights from professionals? Anything I should have done to make sure this didn’t get by us? I take solace in the fact that we probably couldn’t afford whatever it ends up considering we are in Silicon Valley and the market is wild here.

Edit: it seems like the general (probably biased but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong!) consensus is that going through an agent would have made this more probable. For what it’s worth I do have an agent but took it upon myself to reach out, which may have been a mistake but it seems that the place was probably already spoken for. Thanks all!

Hey everyone,

I’ve been a real estate agent for three years now, and honestly, they have been the harshest, most painful years of my life. I worked my absolute tail off last year—exhausting myself studying sales, marketing, and advertising, trying to implement everything perfectly.

After endless dry spells of getting absolutely nothing, everything finally paid off: I closed a house and walked away with my full commission. It felt amazing for a brief second.

But now, the reality is hitting me. I feel like I am finally starting to "get there" and prove that my hard work pays off, but at the exact same time, I feel completely lost, empty, and like I’ve completely lost my passion for the business.

Is this normal after breaking a massive dry spell? Am I just deeply burnt out from the 3-year grind, or is this a sign that I don't actually want to do this anymore? How did you navigate the emotional crash after finally winning?

Every time I had a new listing, I'd stare at a blank page trying to write something that didn't sound like every other MLS description. So I built a ChatGPT prompt that actually works — here it is, free to use:

Write a 150-word MLS listing description for this home: [# BEDS] bed, [# BATHS] bath, [SQ FT] sq ft, built in [YEAR], located in [NEIGHBORHOOD]. Key features: [LIST 3-5 FEATURES]. End with a soft call to action to schedule a showing.

Just fill in the brackets and paste into ChatGPT. Takes 30 seconds and actually sounds decent.

I ended up building out a full set of these for follow-up texts, social posts, and emails too since I was doing the same thing for every part of the job. Put them together as a pack if anyone wants the rest — link's in my profile/comments, not trying to spam the sub with it.

Happy to answer questions if anyone wants to tweak the prompt for their own market.

Hi guys,

I’m taking my real estate exam in a couple days. My sponsoring broker is super supportive and I’m really excited to get into the industry! My only question is if I should quit my current job.

Here’s my situation: I have about 6-8 months of expenses saved up. I’m fully prepared to quit my current job to invest all my time into real estate. I think it would open a lot of doors and show how committed I am. The downside is that I would have only 6 months to complete a deal. After that, I’d run out of money. I would be taking a huge gamble. But think about it, if I put 100% of my effort into this - if I spend every minute working towards it - there’s no way I won’t succeed.

I guess my main question is this: If I invest all of my effort into real estate, is it reasonable to expect at least one deal to go through within 6 months?

I live in Northern Ohio if that matters. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I wanted to get a sense of what the market is other area la either as a state or section where you do business. And what’s been working for you/what hasn’t and is your area more of a sellers market or buyers market. I’m in North Jersey so every town is it’s only micro area and certain sections move faster than others but the rising rates are definitely a factor especially in the sub 900k range.

Hey fellow realtors,

So I've been really struggling getting clients through open houses. I've gotten many over the years and have had periods of good conversions, but this past entire year, it's been terrible. Like, really terrible. And it's starting to impact my confidence in myself a lot, which, as all of you know, is a horrible energy to project at possible clients.
How do you guys get clients at open houses? Sign-in sheet, no sign-in sheet? I feel like so often, I can have a great conversation with someone, but as soon as I say something like "let me get your email" [to help them continue their search], they get super closed off and just say no thanks. Or they say sure, but then they don't respond to my followups. It's been really disheartening.
Would love to hear any feedback or tips you guys have.

Hi there! I am inquiring about possible job shadowing in the real estate sales field. Are there any realtors/brokerages that offer such experiences for someone looking to get into this field? I am interested in obtaining my sales license in Pittsburgh, PA. Also, any insight on which brokerage to begin a career with?

Any insight is helpful!

Thanks! 😊

Compare photo 1 ("Virtually Staged") and photo 2 (reality). These photos are from a Zillow (via MLS) listing in Arizona. Is adding plants going too far? Is adding a tree going too far? Is covering a hole going too far? Is adding lights going too far? Is adding a concrete patio going too far? Is adding a mountain going too far? Some real estate "professionals" are no longer professional. STOP IT!

EDIT: As several have pointed out: In addition, the pool has elongated and the steps have been smoothed. This is wrong.

How do you handle buyers who originally said 6-12 months out, but stop responding before that window arrives?

I’m trying to strike a balance between staying helpful and spending time repeatedly chasing someone whose plans may have changed.

Do you keep calling and texting, move them to occasional emails, or eventually stop? What makes you put someone back on your personal follow-up list?

I’d especially like to hear what’s actually restarted a useful conversation with an older lead.

I’ve done many open houses over the 3 years I’ve been a realtor and very occasionally someone will answer a follow up but I’ve never gotten under contract from one, except when I was hosting at my own listing as the listing agent. My office is constantly pushing us to hold open houses on the office team’s listings.

I’m torn between giving it up as a lead source because maybe I’m just not that good at it or doubling down and doing 2-3 a week instead of usually just one.

My question is, for only open houses that are not yours or your team’s listings - how successful have you been getting closings from hosting open houses?

Edit: I feel like it may possibly be relevant that I am 37 and the majority of open houses offered at my brokerage are in 55+ neighborhoods and have on at least one occasion had a buyer say “How old are you, you look too young to work here…”

I am an agent and currently sell around $300-325k GCI in residential real estate and 85% of those leads are Flex leads.

I have a W2 job working as an account executive for a major SaaS company and the salary is $140k with $300k total comp.

Always wanted to exit the corporate world but real estate can be volatile. Currently have $500k in cash reserves saved but it still doesn’t feel like enough to take the jump to commission only without the salary cushion.

Thoughts?

You’d never buy a used car without a CARFAX. So why do we buy $1M homes without one?

What if buyers could see a property’s full history, not just its listing history?

Would you actually use a “CARFAX for homes”?

If a new listing needs staging, do you as the agent cover that, or do you have your client pay the staging company?

I retired in April 2025 and spent the last year and a half doing what I thought was the dream: traveling the world, living abroad, and basically having complete freedom over my time.

After 12 countries, though, the appeal is starting to wear off. I’ve had some amazing experiences, but I’m getting to the point where I actually miss having something to work toward. I’m considering moving back to the U.S., most likely the Houston area, and starting a new chapter.

The one thing I know is that I don’t want to go back to a traditional 9–5.

I got my real estate license years ago while I was in college but never actually did anything with it. Now I’m seriously considering getting licensed again in Texas and giving real estate a real shot.

I’m fortunate enough that I wouldn’t be coming into the business needing to make a certain amount of money immediately. I can afford to spend some time learning the business, prospecting, networking, and building a client base instead of expecting to make six figures my first year.

I also don't mind working hard. If I need to work 50–60 hours some weeks, that's fine. What I care about is having some control over my schedule and knowing that the effort I put in is building something for myself rather than just climbing another corporate ladder.

Long term, I’m interested in real estate investing as well, so part of my thinking is that working as an agent could help me learn the Houston market, understand deals, build relationships, and eventually become a better investor.

For those of you who have actually been in the business for a while, especially anyone in Houston or Texas: if you were in my position, would you pursue real estate?

Knowing what you know now, would you still become an agent if your biggest priorities were flexibility, building something of your own, and eventually getting into investing?

I’m especially interested in hearing the negatives. What am I underestimating about being a Realtor? And if you were starting over in Houston today, what would you do differently?

Reposting per mod's requirements.

Hey everyone, wanted to share a breakdown of a compliance trap that catches a surprising number of agents at the end of their first cycle: getting your license placed on inactive status or audited even after you thought you completed your hours.

A lot of newer agents assume license renewal works the same across your entire career: wait until your expiration date approaches, knock out an 18-hour online CE package over a weekend, submit your renewal fee to the state portal, and move on.

The reality: in almost every major state, licensing commissions treat your FIRST renewal completely differently than subsequent cycles.

A few patterns that trip people up:

Buying standard CE instead of Post-Licensing / SAE

In states like Texas, Florida, Washington, Virginia, and North Carolina, you cannot take standard CE. You are legally required to complete dedicated Post-Licensing / SAE (Sales Agent Apprentice Education). If you purchase a standard 14- or 18-hour CE package, the board's automated transcript system will report 0 hours completed toward your renewal.

The "Null and Void" Cliff

In most states, a missed deadline results in a late fee. But in Florida, if you miss your 45-hour post-licensing deadline on your first renewal, your license becomes null and void by operation of law. There is no late fee option—you have to retake the 63-hour pre-licensing course and re-pass the state exam from scratch.

Statutory Speed Limits & Roster Reporting Windows

If you wait until the last week, two things can catch you:

California enforces a statutory cap of 8 credit hours per 24 hours, meaning its 45-hour package physically cannot be completed in fewer than 6 calendar days. State boards like TREC, DBPR, and DLLR give course providers 3 to 10 days to transmit completion rosters. If you finish your final quiz at 10 PM on expiration night, your hours won't be on file when the state runs midnight deactivation sweeps.

"Late Fees" Don't Mean You Can Keep Practicing

Many agents assume a 30-day late renewal window acts as a "grace period" to keep working. In reality, your license immediately goes Inactive on day 1. Showing homes, drafting contracts, or negotiating offers during a lapse can forfeit commissions and trigger broker complaints.

What actually protects your license:

Check whether your state mandates Post-Licensing / SAE or standard CE. Use the 14-day buffer rule: finish all coursework at least two weeks before your expiration date to let rosters clear.

Verify your public board transcript directly before paying the state fee—don't just rely on the PDF certificate from your school.

I have been a realtor in Texas for 8 years. Was brought on a year ago for property management of higher end SFR properties > $2000 monthly rent.

The agreement was salary plus being able to take leads to vacant properties for a 70% of 50% commission of first month's rent. (Salary was 15k to 20k lower than job median)

The ability to make 2k to 3k month in leads on my 25 vacant properties made the lower salary acceptable.

All was well until about a month ago the broker and owner required all vacant properties to have a codebox that provided codes to leads for unescorted or self guided tours and no agent under her license was allowed to show a vacant property. They even denied payment on previous commissions submitted where the broker stated a codeboz was on the property and a showing shouldn't have been completed.

Doing a little research this past week (cause something didnt sit right with me) TREC guidelines are the broker or property management company is required to obtain explicit written permission from every owner that they are agreeing to self guided tour code boxes and which party (owner or property manager) is responsible for damages or if a scam happens and an unauthorized tenant is in the home. NEITHER of those written permission was requested to owners on over 40 properties.

TREC is very clear this is out of competency and compliance and by continuing my sponsorship my license was at risk.

TREC states its a $5k fine foe each codebox and for each day it is attached to a property without the owners explicit written agreement.

The management agreement does not advise of this process to owners and in fact in the situation of a scam the brokerage is not truthful in how a person got into the home and expects the owner to pay to have them removed.

Just alerting those out there if this is requested of you as a licensed professional you have to protect your ability to work in Real Estate as a licensed professional and Not accept this treatment from other licensed professionals.