do it...because the 6% Architect's fees you'll get are nothing compared to the 6% per real estate transaction you'll be generating upon each successive sale of your buildings - over their lifetime.
Think about it. Years fter you are paid (and spent) there will be a realtor collecting 6% of the sale (which will be exponentially higher 50 years from now) Get creative with the deed restrictions - you may be able to get royalties over the life of the building with each sale.....if you are liable, then when does your interest elapse?

i guess its an okay idea, but be wary: you will soon discover the money you can make in selling your soul.. my friend got his, and then just became a real estate agent... hes about a millionaire tho, so good for him...

Gotta admit realtors can make alot of money. But I kinda liken them to used car salesman. They make a piece crap of seem desirable.
I just met with a client and a realtor at a house. The price was 2.6 mil. I asked the realtor about things like the cond. of the well, septic , gas line, hvac , age of the furnace. She couldn't answer one question. and told me to speak to the owner. She potentialy is going to make a min of 70k off the sale. WHY? HOW? FOR WHAT? All she could say how much the nearby properties have sold for and what a good deal this house was. I've never been able to understand why people selling their house have no problem with the fees realtors charge.

kellhammer, thats exactly what i meant...

if you want to sell your soul, and play with the minds of those unsuspecting, go ahead

i dont understand why this is "selling your soul." someone has to do the work and if people are willing to pay for it, then fuck it. agents/ brokers do provide a service and they do work, albeit a seemingly "lighter" kind of work than we do.

i'm getting my license, and if i can double or triple my salary, which will allow me more freedom and time to "design," then i dont see how this is selling my soul. i think selling your soul is spending your day talking to building department, planning department, e-mailing clients and contractors, and doing construction documents. that's not why i got into this racket and yes, its part of the profession, but the majority of folks that i know in the "profession" really dont like it. most love design, and how many hours a day do we actually do it?

anyone looking for a representative?

true, u can sell your soul in anything you do.

but im just saying once u start working its more likely you will become a true slave to money. but i guess that doesnt matter because most people are these days... its accepted i guess.

ah well

Excuse my ignorance, how can realtor's fees be a more or less steady 6%? I would think it really hard to sell a $20k house and can be somewhat easy to sell a $2.2mil house. Do realtors pick and choose what they sell? What makes realtors do a good job? The property doesn't sell cause the property sucks.
How bout buying real estate and doing a little design/build and then selling it? Your own boss, still an architect but no client. This is my dream, but you can have it too, I'll share.

strawbeary-

the total fees are 6%. 3% to the selling broker, 3% to the buying broker. if you are the selling or buying agent for the brokers you get half of your brokers fees (1.5%). the market will bear how easy it is to sell a $2 million home versus a $20k home, but the trick is to have the connections and experience to get the commission on the more expensive homes.

you have the right idea about buying fixers, doing work, and then selling, however it can get complicated. if you fuck up once (in a place like sf) you can lose your shirt.

realtor

I have done quite of bit buy/fixup/sell in the lower end of the market. You don't need to be a realtor to do it. If you contract directly with the property owner and are putting the deed in your name. Sheriff sales are a good way to buy also. Typically, there isn't a tremedous amount of design work doing this but making the right materials choices you should know what works and what doesn't. Knowing alot about construction is key.
I guess I'm alittle bitter about the whole realtor thing. Just from recent experience the ones I seem to deal with do very little for what they are compensated. Some do work very hard I'm sure and of course they motivated by money. Personally, if I hired a realtor to sell my 2.6 mil property, I would expect they would be able to handle the questions, without refering the potential buyer to me to answer question about the condition of the infrastructure. Like I mentioned in my last rant. Plus the last time I hired a realtor to sell one of my houses she did zero work and made 3 grand. I haven't use a realtor since

Good input. Considering the under appreciation of our profession in a financial sense I'm surprised that more architects don't try to cut out this 'middle man' who is making as much as we are for nothing. So in another words where do I sign up?

I had the same idea a short while ago. I think you can take a class and pass the exam to get license. The problem I found is after you got the license, then u need to work with a broker for 2 years before you can work by yourself. It may become a fulltime commitment. My idea is to get license and buy property for myself, to do fix/sell. It seems to be too much of time investment to get it.

just study for and get your broker's license, skip the realtor step.
a buddy of mine here at my office recently got his license and is going to depart architecture full-time and do the real estate thing come spring. He has his sights on development in the future. It is just the easiest money listening to him talk about how little he has to do.
Commercial real estate is where the real money is, but that does indeed take an apprenticeship to learn the ropes.
BTW, my buddy gives me a cut when I refer comissions to him....now there's a sweet deal with zero overhead.

Reason,
my bad - a two-year internship under a qualifying broker is now required.

two year internship sounds much less hassle than the IDP & ARE process

I already got my arcvhitecture license, don't want to give architecture up yet. Two years seems a long time for a side investment.
I heard you don't really need a realtor to sell a house. So you can fix/sell by your self.
I wonder what will be a best way for architects to take control, make some money, but not totally lost in a commerical world.
Will small property development be a good start or bad one?

You don't need a realtor to sell or buy a house. They have got the greatest scam of all time going because you basically give very little for the huge cost. They don't have to carry any liability and pretty much show you which line to sign your name to. I have some close friends who are brokers and have a good understanding of their business. The internet has made their jobs 1000x easier with the MLS listings yet they are very smart to keep the common public barred from it so they can still justify their use at "finding" you a house.

I would hope that in due time the common home buyer will educate themselves enough that residential real estate agents become a thing of the past.