Karen,

It depends on your personal core values!  If you know who you are and what you stand for, then you should join a company with similar core values.  A

I have my own. It is like Groucho Marx said, any club that would have me as a member I don't want to belong to.

A question that I have been pondering for the past year.

I have an interview list with dozens of questions, not sure if any of them are a Must, but all add to the possibility of a good fit.

I left the big box brokerage after 9+ years because I was tired of the BS. I went independent over 5 years ago and have never looked back. The pay increase was nice too. 

I'm so with Ron and Alexandra Seigel !!

It depends on the level of experience and support required by the individual agent.

It depends on what I need. When I was new I looked for a brokerage who would train.

For me, are they known for their integrity?

The services provided.

I remember many every man for themselves operations. Saying that, I always thought teamwork would fare better...Its subjective

Purely hypothetical, since I have my own company since 1993...

  Reputation of the company, and of the broker.

  Split.

  Support staff (secretarial, TC).

  If that company gets Relocation referrals or other in-house leads, to whom are they distributed? 

  What happens to my listings if I leave that company?   I know that legally (in Florida) they belong to the Broker, but will I get a piece of the pie when they sell?

  What are the core values and beliefs of that broker?  Are they similar or identical to mine?  

Location, broker, parking availability, manager to name a few.

DO they alllow for online paperwork including a software system ?

Do they a llow for property managmeent or leasing?

My name is branded with RE/MAX to the degree of most people thinking I own the office....  the only reason I ever moved from one office to another, after a minimum of a 10 year period, was for a greater cut of the action...

It's been a long time since I made a change and I have no intention of making any in the future. So have not really given this any thought in quite a while.

I own my office and don't even want to join another office again!

Karen Jones Lewis, MBA, Realtor - I used to say, education and training. Now I'd say, support and trust from your broker! 

Values of the company must align with mine.

The must for me is my name be the company. 18 years with the big box. <y own company since 2009...love it for so many reasons!!

What I need now is quite different than what I needed when I started or even 10 years ago. I now want a good copier, reliable and fast internetm a separate office where I can churn out the work, a space for my assistant. I gave up on having an attractive office and good coffee long ago.

Culture, reputation and integrity are very important to me and I expect my office to share my core beliefs. 

support

There are way to many to start naming them.  No one thing should determine the decision

Select the office that will best meet your personal needs. I selected RE/MAX.

Clearly this question takes on a different weight if read by a newbie or by an agent who has figured a few things out.

For me, the MUST is vision. Unless the broker embraces VISION, it will matter very little which 'same ole' company one goes with. The decision to be made is how you want the moneys created to be dispersed.

Agents live in a wasteland  devoid of real vision.

If you have a MBA credential you are trained to read income statements, business projection etc. Most start as a commercial realtor or broker.

For those who have been around rarely you get leads from work and work at home a lot. The commission split matters as 90% of residential realtors go to the office picking up their cheque and leave.  I used to think office cultural matters as chemistry between workers and broker used to be important.  The worst is those who have nothing to do gossip about others.

I personally like broker who is a re attorney. You get legal advice without looking for one.

The last office I left had the WORST front desk people.  They were rude, and had half a brain.   My current office is excellent.

I joined the family business, so there wasn't much looking around done.

Overhead, fees, split, and a broker who stays out of our face.

no more than 10 minutes from my home