Becoming an Agent: Of Mental Models, Systems Thinking & Adding Value

Becoming an Agent is the working guide I wish someone had handed me when I started. It's part field manual, part way of thinking about the job. It’s free to download below.

Where it came from

In December 2006 I bought a home in Las Vegas, near the top of the market, on the strength of two sentences: “It can’t pop, there aren’t enough homes to sell,” from my agent, and “If it pops, we’ll just refi you,” from my lender. Within six months the market collapsed. The refinance never came, the advice ran out, and I worked my own way through a short sale while learning that, in my squadron of 120, at least 25 of us were going through foreclosure, short sale, or bankruptcy.

That left me with a question: what if someone in the room had actually been the advocate I needed? A few years later, stationed in Colorado Springs, I got my license to try to be that person. This book is the decade plus of work since.

What’s inside

It runs from the practical to the philosophical:

• The nuts and bolts: what it really costs to be an agent, choosing a brokerage, how agents actually get paid, market analysis, and the part-time-versus-full-time question.
• The way of thinking: mental models, systems thinking versus linear thinking, a philosophy of engagement, and the “Three Questions” I ask every client to ask themselves before they buy.

It’s written for people weighing whether to get licensed and for newer agents finding their footing. And if you’re a buyer or seller trying to understand how a good agent should actually think, you’ll find something here too.

Nothing in this text should be construed as legal or financial advice; it is intended as a practical guide for real estate agents interested in adding value. © 2023 Rob Thompson, Realtor®.