Catherine Ulrey - I'd say, as long as they respond to their clients' needs, it's okay. As long as they communicate with you when the transaction is on, that's fine.

It's not our business to check on what 'else' they are doing - as long as they do their due diligence to their clients and other agents.

I have seen many full time agents not returning the calls or showing up on time or.....many other things!

It is NOT unprofesssional. To be frank, such an effort could give an agent access to a vertical market that those of us on the outside are excluded.

One fellow I know works as sales staff for a yacht resale company at the marina. ALL of this clients and ALL of his marketing is confined to those affluent citizens. Unprofessional. No. Exceedingly cunning..YES!

And to be frank, I can not tell when he's working. vacationing or goofing off. Yet always on the leader board with a mega-pop every month.

IF (and that can be a big "if") a transaction goes smoothly, the agent is equally as knowledgable, does not shortchange his or her clients in any way, and does not otherwise advertise her Mary Kay or Amway business on her email (THAT amazes me!), I do not care what they do.  Some people have consuming hobbies, some people shut it down at night for family time or tv time, whatever, some people are involved in civic organizations or PTA,  so if someone wnts to work a 2nd job or go to school, more power to them. I have seen plenty of full time agents be unccessible and less than knowledgable who are not working another job or going to school.   Until we raise the bar in this profession, anyway, it is a moot point. 

At times a side business can become an excellent adjunct to your Real Estate or vice versa. I used to have a 4x4 pickup and would plow snow in the Northeast. My customers knew I'd have them accessible within hours after the accumulation. It wasn't a discount service it was peace of mind for them. A typical snow day would net me almost $3,500. I wish I was there now, not really, however the work complimented both businesses quite well. 

We have to work together.

Catherine,

I don't know if this was already answered but I actually am more involved in preventing consumers from being scammed in the real estate industry.  The business itself takes a lot of work and customer service and in my opinion, if you can provide superior customer service for your real estate business, keep up with the latest trends and still afford the time to do another business then more power to you.  The goal is to help the consumer whether you set hours for 8 or more a day or less than 3.  That's just my opinion.  Hope that helps, I'm always trying to learn more and get better so I look forward to hearing other responses.

Charles Knighton II, MSRE

President- The REI Consumer

Charles@REIConsumer.org

www.REIConsumer.org

It's not bad doing Real Estate part time, until you get your feet on the ground, but not in favor of Real Estate being a permanent part time job.

I don't know if I would call it unprofessional, Catherine.  But, I'm not sure if part time agents can adequately service their clients.

I believe as long as the agent is giving the client great service there is no harm and can be advantageous in my opinion. Leads can come from the other employment. I don't find it unprofessional at all. I think its a smart move.

All an agent has to do to be professional is keep up with the business he/she has...multiple businesses without other managers can mean none at all.

I don't think it's a question of being unprofessional. The real issue is whether you can really make a go of this business on such a part-time basis. As long as the agent is servicing their clients' expectations and delivering, it shouldn't matter if they are full or part time.

I have always done it full time . I know some successful agents who do it part time . They have a lot of contacts and get most of their business from friends and family.

I feel as long as the agent provide good service and thinks about the needs of his client first  there is no conflict that he or she seeks to do other career goals.

Why would I get concerned about what they do?

People can do what they like to do. We can't stop them.