339: From Sociology Major to Seven-Figure Agent Commissions

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

Everyone knows that real estate agent commissions are hefty. Those who have sold a house in the past few years may look at their settlement agreement and wonder where those tens of thousands of dollars really went. It’s not hard for a new agent in today’s world to lock in six-figures worth of real estate commissions within their first few years. But, not many agents, even uber-experienced ones, have been able to hit what Pat Hiban has.

Pat was one of the first “billion-dollar” real estate agents. Unfortunately, the “billion dollars” doesn’t refer to commission checks, but it does refer to real estate sales as a whole. This is doubly impressive when you factor in the decades when this was achieved. Pat sold homes in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s when home prices were far less than they are today. So, you could consider Pat an inflation-adjusted “trillion dollar” real estate agent!

But how did Pat, a sociology major without any connection to real estate, reach such heights within a few short years? And, a more important question to ask, why did Pat give it all up at the peak of his career? What was worth more to him than making seven figures and bringing home huge commissions every month? He gives hints as to why he left it all in this episode. And, as one of the newest BiggerPockets authors, you can pick up his books 6 Steps to 7 Figures and The Quitter’s Manifesto today!

In This Episode We Cover

Everything you ever wanted to know about real estate agent commissions and broker splits

Why so many new real estate agents fail during their first few years

Leveraging out your work, hiring employees, and scaling a business instead of building a job

Real estate investing basics and the downsides of taking too much depreciation

Quitting a lucrative career and the financial moves to make that ensure a successful transition

The six steps to reaching seven figures for real estate agents (and any other entrepreneur!)

And So Much More!

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Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-339

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