job as estate agents am i safe??

drift_nut

i been approched by an estate agent manager and have been offered a job. i really want to do this as i think i would be good at it and id really enjoy it but i dont want to leave my secure job if the market is in decline.
i hope someone can help me.
kye

BitterAndTwisted

IF the market is in decline? Do you read the newspapers or watch the TV at all?

It's commission-based job. You do the maths

1echidna

The EA business is less recession proof than most. Of course if one is good others will be laid off before you and in the good times the money, no doubt, is excellent. It really depends on whether you really don't like your present job and have sufficient understanding of being an EA to know that you will be good at it and enjoy it. Sometimes life is about taking a chance when presented with one.

BitterAndTwisted

1echidna wrote: »

The EA business is less recession proof than most.

It is? I accept that there will alway be people who need to sell, to move with/for work for example, but when (like now) there are fewer and fewer properties on the market, doesn't that mean the EAs will need to be looking at their commission percentages just to get the business at all?

staffie1

drift_nut wrote: »

i dont want to leave my secure job

You have a secure job? How did you manage that? I didn't think such things existed anymore...?

1echidna

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

It is? I accept that there will alway be people who need to sell, to move with/for work for example, but when (like now) there are fewer and fewer properties on the market, doesn't that mean the EAs will need to be looking at their commission percentages just to get the business at all?

There are great swathes of the economy (most gov't employees for example) whose employment is very or fairly secure but a downturn with unemployment high in recession prone industries always reduces the amount of houses bought and sold and negative equity can make matters worse. From a business point of view the best way for EAs to continue in existence is to cut costs by laying off staff but continue to charge commissions at a level which will cover these reduced costs. Must say though that we had an offer from one EA to charge a drastically reduced rate, unfortunately it came after we had signed an agreement with another EA.(who had reduced his charge by 25% to get our business) If it got to the stage where they were all operating on peanuts I guess all their performance would that of monkeys.

googler

drift_nut wrote: »

i been approched by an estate agent manager and have been offered a job. i really want to do this as i think i would be good at it and id really enjoy it but i dont want to leave my secure job if the market is in decline.
i hope someone can help me.
kye

One of the requirements of the job is to write descriptions of the properties that you're marketing. Some agencies will be more particular about your grammar, punctuation, etc. than others, but let's assume for the time being that you want to get your written English in shape for the job, and let's also assume that you might write for the property brochures in the same way that you did above.

Here's a version with corrections. If you can't/won't appreciate the difference, I'm tempted to be hard-hearted and suggest you won't have a future in EA unless someone else writes your descriptions for you.

"I have been approached by an Estate Agency manager, and have been offered a job. I really want to do this, as I think I would be good at it and I'd really enjoy it, but I dont want to leave my secure job if the market is in decline. I hope someone can help me."

There you go. There's some help. Hope it's helpful.

BitterAndTwisted

That was rather nasty. Unnecessary, too

PasturesNew

What line of work are you in at the moment?

googler

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

That was rather nasty. Unnecessary, too

I disagree - he/she is asking for opinions about taking a job where a high standard of written English will be expected, and where an error in a description that leads to a Property Misdescription (as defined in the Property Misdescriptions Act) could lead to a hefty fine for him/her or the agency.

Better for me to point it any failings now, than to find out at the second or third interview, or even worse, at the business end of a Trading Standards investigation.

There's no nastiness involved, merely setting out some guidance for the OP.

bryanb

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

That was rather nasty. Unnecessary, too

But true nevertheless.