Need a career change - thinking of Estate Agency - any thoughts?

[Somethingtodo]

Left a v Sr job (Global Communications Director) with big blue chip ... wnat to do something I am passionate about - love property - love meeting people - so thought EA might be my bag? No idea what the career structure, renumeration etc is like - so would like to hear from others ....

Watching with interest.....

Hi - I've come into EA during the last 2 years although I am mainly office based doing administration. I think you may be shocked by the remuneration available for EAs if you've come from a large blue chip company. If you do a job search on something like Reed.co.uk for Estate Agents you will seen that pay starts from as low as 14K and even senior managers may only get £40-£50K and I am imagining you being used to a somewhat higher standard of living (I could be wrong). Different companies pay in different ways for senior staff and some chose a higher basic with low commission or low basic and high commission. If you are able to join a busy, well established, agent then, if you are good at reaching your targets, then you could do better - probably London is where the big money could be - but outside London you may be disappointed. However - I love this job, but I am not the main bread winner in our home. I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks bilb -- I would love to say that "I love this job" - I am aware that salary will be a fraction of what I was earning - but life is toooooo short and I want to do something that I am really interested in. I live just outside London in a commuter hot spot so I would imagine that pay might be better as most houses sell in 800k-2m. Also looking to move back into central London in next 3 years when a couple of the kids have departed for uni - so would end up working there also. Would you recommend a large national chain or traditional local agent?

You will probably be surprised to find that there are very few truly independent agents left - even those advertised as 'independent' often the reality is that there is a large international property group behind them but they are 'allowed' to act independently. Where abouts are you - I am in Buckinghamshire?

It can be a fairly 'closed and incestuous' business as EAs move around from one company to the other and all seem to know each other in local areas. In the past 20 years or so lots of agencies were bought out, then sold, and staff were employed/made redundant/ re-employed again etc!

I am in Sth Bucks !

Hi I work just outside high Wycombe and we cover a wide area from here over to Thame and Aylesbury. I live in chesham/amersham area. Unless you can get a job with knight frank most agents cover all price brackets and even in bucks there are plenty of small, lower priced properties. I don't know if you have any child care issues but most agents work 0830 to 6 and later if it's busy and weekend working is quite normal depending on which agent you work for - although you must work long hours where you are now. I would be happy to talk more if I can help

Have you thought about new home sales for a developer? I did it for about 10 years, however I worked part time. Really enjoyed it.

Having recently looked at the land registry sales for the later part of 2014 for the UK, I wonder if this will be a good career move . redundant comes to mind.

Check them out yourself the figures tell a story all of their own

It's over

What/where are the figures roneik and how do they compare to the same period year on year - specifically for the SE?

If there is a crash etc - props still get sold though dont they? maybe even greater volumes?

The rush is at the bottom , the bottom is the bit smart people predict.
Why don't you do some research, because the last thing I want is to help any landlords lurking,
There are sites where you can get the historic data prices paid that go way back . Find them . There are download PDF s on the land reg

It's over

Building Surveyor maybe? it's very practical and varied and interesting, if you like nuts and bolts work.

Thanks Meerka -- yes I will look at some professional courses and retrain...