realtor

I have been working as a realtor in SL since December. I call myself a realtor because this is SL. I could call myself a frog if I wanted to and I would not be the least bit worried about the RL board of frogs taking offense. I am lucky enough to be associated with one of the largest land owners in SL and they have tons of people coming into their office every day. I never have to solicit anyone. Anytime I want to work there is a constant flow of people that are actively searching for land. People can help themselves to rentals obviously, but it makes a HUGE difference if they are greeted by a real live person and shown the properties in person. Most people have a few questions and nobody enjoys reading notecards. All it takes really is a pleasant personality and some general knowledge about how land works in SL. I learned what I needed to know by reading these forums and the knowledge base, and by renting and owning land for my own use. Generally all I do is point out the positive aspects of the property and then ask them if they have any question. As far as profiles go... mine is filled with sarcasm and sillyness. I don't think anyone has ever made a land rental decision based on what is in my profile. I don't believe in dress codes... I show parcels to people in whatever I happened to have chosen for the day. I might be in sweats or I might be in a tuxedo. One day last week I closed a deal in a sarong. Lol. This is SL. People don't expect you to dress like a realtor.

Ok so now I am curious about this. So, the land or build (apartment? house?) that you show, who owns those, the people who ask you to show the land/apartment/house? Is your company 'hired' to do this, and the people who come to your company to purchase these things, do they pay? Is interesting, would never have thought of such a thing, in SL.

I don't have a company. it's just me. I work with one land owner and they compensate me for my time.

Gah! finally someone has some useful info without all the BS. No kidding Eli......you could call yourself a frog or a doctor on here or a lawyer or a cpa.....it's SL......sheesh The requirements in those careers are much more stringent than are those in becoming a 'realtor'. I really doubt anyone gives a damn irl what you call yourself here in sl. If Ms Mint wants to use her profile and be a real estate agent here so what! If she can't get any sales because peeps don't trust her then she'll figure that out in time.

Thank God, and thank you. I was having second thoughts about the whole thing, based on the feedback I have been getting here. As I mentioned, I was interviewed for this sales/realtor/assistant position, and as of now i have been offered the job. The people who wish to hire me have seen my profile, know me by name, know how i present myself, and have decided to work with me despite all of this. They based the decision on my ability to present myself in the interview, and how they feel i will present myself to a prospective customer. They are also aware that i am new here, and I suggested i would do some research so I could get a better understanding of what the challenges I will be facing; hence the original posting here. I can honestly say, that I was about to call it quits, based on the feedback i was getting here. Thank God for the last few, I feel reassured, and I will continue to try to educate myself so I may carry out my responsibilities in a satisfactory manner. Please forward, or let me know of any places i could visit so I may learn about this salespersons position. Again, I thank you for taking the time to listen to what I have said.

Excellent. Congrats on getting the job and good luck with it.

Welcome to the forums, Sweetmilf. Actually, your idea isn't a bad one...once you've done your homework and understand how land sales and rental work here, you are probably right...your RL experience and inclinations will probably serve you well.

Land here is VERY different than in RL. For one thing, it's not "real" estate...it's space and CPU cycles on a server somewhere. Secondly, almost all sales are person to person, no agent or middleman or sales person. About the closest I can think of would be an "estate manager" position, someone who is hired by a large landowner to handle the day to day business of running a rental region ("sim".

There is a TON of stuff about SL land. I suggest you start by reading the SL Wiki, and the "buying and selling land" stickies at the top of this forum.

Once you have an idea of the basics, go out and buy or rent a small parcel. I suggest doing this with BOTH mainland and private estate land, since there are distinct differences in how the two work.

For specific questions, join the in world group SL Land Answers Unlimited.

IM me in world, I'll be happy to talk to you.

You should have second thoughts. You were given some good advice.

If you're going to be handling 500L a week rentals......no biggie.....but when people plop down over 50 us dollars....they pay attention.

It's wrong to assume that people spending money at businesses here do not make judgment calls. They do so here, just as they do in RL.....because they are handing over RL dollars.

Amazed that a legitimate company would send out someone with that profile and name to represent their business....that alone, requires some second thoughts.

I disagree with most of this. It's only SL, you know. It's not that serious.

Sweetmilf, congrats on the job, and for finding a niche within SL which suits your needs and desires. Good luck with it!

Jeez, you American "realtors" sure do take that word seriously. You need to just give up and accept it's become a generic word for anyone who deals in real estate.

I have rented whole sims to vampires. Rented a 4096 sq M prime commercial space to a furrie. I once rented a parcel to a tiny little snake. They are all spending real money... but obviously it's a virtual world. We are all a little bit wacky

Like I said....if you're working in small nickel and dime numbers.....it won't matter......like you said, it's only SL.

If you're working in larger numbers.....it matters.....and it would be foolish and short-sighted to think that it doesn't.

The Capital R word is not a generic word. Yes, those who have the right to use it - take it very seriously.

QFT

If the word Doctor can be thrown about in all sorts of ways without any fuss, I think everyone else can lighten up a bit as well.

Eli - I read your profile and presentation. I would have no problem renting from you, and I would have no problem sending you out into SL to represent my business....in fact, thought it was funny and friendly....and a great presentation.

Oh wait, another thing. I see a couple people here questioning whether or not you even need a Realtor(R)(C)(patent pending) to rent land. Well in my experience it absolutely makes a huge difference.

There's a lot of churn in SL. That is to say there are a lot of new people who don't know anything about land except that they want some. Those people need a lot of hand holding and have a lot of questions. rent usually isn't a huge amount of money but it's not insignificant either. Most people want some basic understanding of what they're getting for their money.

On top of that it's very comforting to know that whoever you're renting from has people who are online and available for questions or whatever. It gives an aura of respectability and stability which can be important when SL is so full of fly-by-night companies vanishing with your money.

Sure, I get renters who come along and plunk money into a rental box without talking to anyone. Those are my favourite kind but I still get a good 50% or so of my new business via rental agents.

Weeellll as estate manager, I figure all that is my job, all the handholding and explaining to newbies how it works, and being available for questions later. But I guess if a person is a sim owner and doesn't have or want an estate manager for that purpose, to manage the day to day sales, tiers, issues that come up, then yeah I guess so......

I guess different people have different styles. Personally it's hard for me to think what benefit an estate manager would bring. But I do know that people go through my store every day and then leave without ever talking to anyone. Missed opportunities. As far as I know no-one has ever left our estate because of lack of day to day support even though it might take a few hours to resolve any serious problems that can't be handled via email.

I used to work for a massive cell phone company and everyone there knew that the costly part was getting a customer in the first place, after that they usually stuck around no matter how much we sucked. It's much like that with my estate, except we don't suck.

I totally agree with you Elanthius about the hand holding. When I was in that business the hand holding made all the difference. There is a ton of stuff someone needs to learn before buying.....and they need help after buying. I was always scared to death to hire someone to do that for me.....afraid they would leave out a step or give the wrong information.

My comments as to the use of that particular word....

1) is that it is tossed about here by people who don't actually hold it. That could imply to a person who needs that hand holding that they are a qualified expert.

2) even if they do hold it.....does it have a place here? This is an entirely different ballgame. Entirely different process. Just because they have the education on the process in RL.....doesn't mean they have the knowledge to counsel someone on a land transaction here. And how would one verify?

Let me give an example of how this might effect someone. I'm going to compare to attorneys, and if you are an attorney, don't get your briefs in a wad.....I realize that you had much more education and training than a real estate agent.....it's just the only example I have experience with.

I was once approached by 2 women in SL that represented themselves as RL attorneys. They threatened me with an action that might cause me to pay a RL attorney a significant amount of money.

I took their claim to their profession seriously....and contacted the company they claimed to represent. That company said they do not have representation here, and that those women did not represent them. But for a few days....I was getting ready to call an attorney.

Now.....what if someone has lost a significant amount of money over a land purchase that has gone sour....or even a small amount of money.

Can you see how it would be treacherous ground for all parties involved if one of those parties had represented themselves as someone with credibility by advertising a credential or license or designation? Whether they possessed one or not?

There was a lengthy thread a month or so ago.....about people here representing themselves as counselors....psychologists....etc. Some very good points made in that thread about treacherous ground on using professional titles here.

My first few weeks in SL, I was clueless about how land worked. When I searched for a rental, the sheer amount of information was a bit much to handle. If I had bumped into a real live person that could have explained everything, it would have made it a lot easier. Nowadays, I don't need it, but back then it would have helped a lot.

Even if you do understand it, there's a market for people who can show others around, and help them find good plots. I have toyed with the idea of finding a small mainland parcel to call my own, but every time I start to look around, I find it too daunting and time consuming a task.

Well, guess as you say, the different styles work for different people. My sim is full with a short waiting list, so I don't *think* I've missed any opportunity. In my case, the sim owner is on when I am not, so there's always an alternative, to either of us. The benefit of an estate manager is that the sim owner, who doesn't want to do the day to day stuff, doesnt' have to. I enjoy it and think land issues and such are fascinating, and like most things in life, if you like it, you're good at it. It's pure volunteer for me, no compensation. Just a labor of love that I happen to be good at.

You can read the threads here, and on any given day, there is going to be one about a land transaction gone bad.

Implying that you have expertise in that area by using a title or designation from RL is just muddying the waters for even more confusion and frustrations.......even if you are a buyer who is sharp enough and cautious enough to know it means nothing here.....not everyone is.

OP has been hired to represent someone involving these SL land transactions that most find confusing and complicated.....with zero experience and zero knowledge in SL land transactions. This is the title she gave - sales/realtor/assistant position.

Applaud her for getting a job with zero experience....applaud her for having the enthusiasm and willingness to learn.....but for heaven's sake....yet another person has just been given a title and has just been let loose in SL to handle land transactions with no knowledge of SL land transactions!

That's why having a Realtor to help is essential. Even an inexperienced Realtor would be better than no guidance at all.

Thanks for saving me the typing. I'm extremely happy with my current home, which I rent. But the apparent absence of the sim owner for many months and the current economy sometimes makes me wonder if I shouldn't be ready to move on short notice. I dread the thought of having to look for a place this good again.

If I were in your position, I would have a plan B. My mainland property is plan B. It always has been. Its a 2048 and when we lost our home my hubby thought we would be homeless. Pffft, I told him "Baby, I got this". I was renovating the home anyway and planned to surprise him with our "weekend getaway". As it turned out, I did. But, not for the reason I wanted. LOL! We planned to stay there for a couple of months. But in a matter of days, we started missing our "home". Will texted me while I was at rl job, "baby, I got us our own sim.

So yes, make some sort of contingency plan.