How To Choose Your First Real Estate Brokerage In Texas

As soon as you complete your pre-licensing courses, pass the TREC real estate exam and earn your Texas real estate license, you’ll probably be anxious to get to work and start building your big, successful new career. However, before you can get your real estate career off the ground, you’ll need to pick a brokerage. The right brokerage. In your first year as a real estate agent, your broker will help guide you through all the questions and concerns you’ll likely have. The right broker will also help get your name out there, which as a new agent, is paramount.

But what constitutes the right brokerage? Well, that depends on you and what you’re looking for in a broker. Here are a few major things you should take into consideration when checking out all the best brokerages in Texas.

What to consider when choosing a Texas brokerage

• Franchise vs. Independent brokerage
• The brokerage's reputation
• The broker/agent commission split
• The amount of support offered by the brokerage

Let's look at these a little more closely.

Is a franchise brokerage or independent brokerage better?
First, you need to decide whether you want to work for a franchise or an independent brokerage. Franchise brokers, like Keller Williams, are located all over the country and have a more corporate-like culture. They may tend to control the way their real estate agents operate a little more than independent brokerages, but you may decide that the marketing materials and second-to-none training they can offer you as a new agent are worth working in a stricter work environment.

Independent brokerages usually offer their real estate agents a little more independence in the way they run their business. Also, the teams tend to be quite a bit smaller than franchised brokerages, and the environments a little more casual. You just need to decide what factors are most important to you and go with it!

Does the brokerage have a good reputation?

I’m sure this goes without saying, but you want to associate yourself with a brokerage that has a good reputation. If they’re a franchise, how much name recognition do they offer? How are they known for treating their agents? If they’re an independent brokerage, how well-known are they within the community in which they operate? How much of the market share do they occupy? Ask yourself these questions while you’re doing your research.

How does the broker/agent commission split work?

Another thing you need to consider is that when you start making new sales, you’re going to have to split the commission from those sales with your broker. Different brokers offer different commission structures, and you’ll want to pick a brokerage that offers you a commission split you are comfortable with.

The definition of a “good” commission split depends on a lot of factors, such as your market, the brokerages’ resources, etc. Just remember to make sure you fully understand how the commission split works before you commit to anything. You don’t want to accidentally put yourself in a financial bind!

Does the brokerage offer support?

The amount of mentoring, training, and marketing brokerages offer differs greatly from broker to broker. Some are very hands-on, while others mostly just let you fly free. It’s all going to come down what you personally need and prefer in a brokerage. If you need more support in developing your skills as an agent, then you may prefer a more hands-on environment. We suggest finding a handful of brokerages that you’re interested in and then scheduling interviews with them so you can get a feel for their approach to supporting their agents. This is a big decision, friend, so there’s no such thing as too much research!

image source in order of appearance: Helloquence via Unsplash, Bethany Legg via Unsplash