How To Pick A Edmonton Real Estate Brokerage

I’m starting my hunt for the right brokerage for me to work with. Picking a real estate brokerage is even more complex than picking a realtor when you’re going out to buy a property because I’ll likely be tied to them for at least a year or two. Some brokerages take as much as half of your commissions, and while I’m ok with that if I get the right support, I’m not interested in making my broker rich off my fees. Here’s some of my thought process.

What I bring to the table

• ~15 years at a property management firm doing everything from sweeping parking lots and painting fences through reno projects, leasing and doing high-stress and high-value evictions.
• 3 years as a professional internet marketer, focusing on SEO, web analytics and social media.
• 4 years personally investing in Edmonton real estate, learning the REIN system inside and out, and networking with Edmonton area investors.

What I want from a brokerage

• Someone who doesn’t eat their young. I’m not an uber competitive sort of guy, and I don’t want other agents going through my recycling to steal leads.
• Training, mentoring and a chance to work with some very experienced agents
• Proven technology solutions. I don’t really want to have to figure out the best options for tablet PC’s, paperless offices, lead management/CRM, etc. I have my own ideas, but I want to work with an existing system, without becoming the de facto IT guy.
• Advertising flexibility. I want to try weird custom signs, interesting online stuff and generally be outside the box. Particularly if they’re not full fluent in internet, I want to be able to run with it and not have a broker harassing me. Also, don’t make me use your sign supplier, or at least don’t mark the cost up.
• Fluent about or accepting of Joint Ventures. There are brokers who get freaked out by the idea that I might do some JV investments with clients.
• Flexible commission structures and desk fees. I want a broker who does more than just sell desks.

Who I’ve talked to and who I’m talking to:

• Sara and Sheldon at Coldwell Banker Johnson
• Art Valerio at Royal LePage ARTeam
• Bill T. at Realty Executives Polaris
• Jody at Schmidt Realty
• Bill Briggs at ReMax Edmonton Central

There’s more, but my questions are:

Who else should I talk to?

What else should I be looking for?

What do your favorite Realtors do that you love? What drives you crazy?

Photo Credit: neubie on Flickr