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Hi all,
I'm looking for abit of advice if possible. I'm looking to start my own business if possible. At the moment I work for one of the big estate agents on the Costa Blanca.
I really don't like working for them, I don't like the way they operate, I have not sold many properties simply because I cant tell people how good the company is, when I know the after sales is the pits.
So I think its only a matter of time before I get the sack for not reaching their so called targets (Rant over).
the main reason for this help post is....I am looking at a couple of options for future employment, as I need to work.
I don't have a lot of money to invest. I have been talking to this small company about a franchise in resale and property management I know their is a slump in the property market, but I don't want to make a fortune or rip people off, I just want to make a little money to tick over.
If that's no good I was thinking of setting up an Auction room selling Bric A Back etc. Does anyone know where I can find out how I go about setting one up please?
Or any other venture that may be available. I would really appreciate any help.
Thank You.
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Hi Ollie
Welcome to the forum
lets not beat about the bush, You will not make even a small trickle of money with a franchised real estate business. You would be lucky to make your initial outlays and on going costs in the first two years.
As with any business you may start, you have to be prepared to be self sufficient for at least a year before showing a profit. There are few business ideas that have not yet been tried. Some have been lucky and made it, and of course they would be your competition.
Sorry to sound so negative, but i'm sure you will get lots of advce here, Unless you can come up with a great new idea, you would probably make more money working at Pizza Hut.
Anyway best of luck
John
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Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres.
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HI Ollie
Is the franchise with Remax?
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This is from Remax website
You do not have to be experienced in the property sector to succeed. We welcome ambitious and determined (mugs)individuals from any sector who are looking for a challenging opportunity. (wish to part with thier hard earned cash) With our training and support programme (slick spiel) and by following each step of the process we promise to take your career to a new level (and take as much money from you as possible)
the red is my translation, sorry i could nort resist
do you need to read more?
j1
_______________________
Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres.
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Ollie
Is the franchise with remax? Just wondering as they are the only franchise I know about within Estate Agency.
BTW
This message was last edited by Candyfloss on 11/25/2007.
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Hi,
Thanks for your replies. I not saying I'm going to go into this Estate Agency just looking at it at the moment. I have been racking my brains to find out what I can do work wise.
As you say Johnone it would be fool hardy to jump in with both feet.
Hi Candyfloss,
No the Estate Agency is not Remax. It's only a very small Agency. It only has about 4 Offices. However I did look at Remax but i wasn't too impressed with their packages. And I found them very contradictory on some of their answers.
Thank you for your greeting Candyfloss.
I have looked at Bars & Cafe's, but every man and his dog is doing that. As you sat John it needs something special.
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John is right though, you never make money at first when you start a business so you'll need to make sure you can sustain yourself and fund the business for at least the first year.
That was our biggest mistake when we set up our business...we only had enough money to last us 3 months! Ouch....wouldn't do that again in a hurry 
Justin
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Schools in Spain Guide | The Expat Files | Learn Spanish | Earn a living in Spain
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Unless you find work and build up a business in your spare time, then when that takes over you can devote full time to it. It does take a good year to start up and I would not recommend getting into estate agency at the moment, despite me being in it. I have been trading for 4 years now and even with all the media interest and the huge amount spent on advertising, I would say I broke even last year! Still have small overheads and the hard part is to attract clients.
You could try operating an aftersales service yourself and offer it to estate agents - most agents hate following up on petty matters, but you could do that for them??
Bric a brac auction is ok, but I see you are in San Pedro and a large auction house (blue box) started up a few months ago just outside san ped, there is also one covering the mijas area and one in alhaurin that I know of as well, so resonably well covered in that area.
Good luck
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Quite frankly m'dear, I don't give a damn!
www.herbalmarbella.com
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Rixxy, I think Ollie may be in a different San Pedro? (he/she mentioned Costa Blanca) - Bric a Brac may still be an option? I think you're right about real estate though, there have certainly been loads close down since this slump started.
I think Johnone is the most negative, pessimistic cynic to ever post on EOS
I think I agree totally 100% with Johnone 
Candyfloss - I think there are quite a few franchise REAs in Spain - do a Google for franquicias + inmobiliaria or something like that.
Ollie, I think you're probably right to shy away from bars/cafes, because the authorities seem to be doing their utmost to discourage this type of business anyway. Always puzzles me why clothes shops can belt music out all day long, but if a bar plays background music in the evening they get treated like common criminals. Especially strange in a country where making as much noise as possible is something of a National pass-time.
As Johnone said "There are few business ideas that have not yet been tried." If you come up with something new, please do tell us all about it!
Good luck.
_______________________
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
Mark Twain
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Hi Ollie,
I wouldn't go into franchise personally, especially in the current market. But whatever you decide to do i wish you luck and take no notice of the cynics out there. Stay on the forum we do have a lot of fun and there are some that actually don't post doom and gloom . Also I found it invaluable when we were buying so keep us posted.
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Hi Ollie,
I would imagine you were looking at an "easybuy" franchise.
You woulde be paying a lot for something that in essence is very easy to set up yourself.
Unless you are already an estate agent with a good background and experience of previous downturns i would steer well clear at the moment,there are more agents closing than opening due to the drop in volumes of serious buyers.
I have had my own business from 1999 and at times it has been both the best and the worst thing i ever did!
Whatever you choose to do look for a niche market and make sure you have the background skills to make it work.
I am a great beleiver that if you work hard enough at anything you can make it work.
Good luck and all the best for the future
Regards
Georgia
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www.taylorlandandpropertygroup.co.uk
still here after all these years!
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Now get back to working hard!!! , you hairdresser!
_______________________
Quite frankly m'dear, I don't give a damn!
www.herbalmarbella.com
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i will treat that last comment with the contempt it deserves...............
And you pass that on to you know who as well!!!!
Is that your phone ringing....................?
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www.taylorlandandpropertygroup.co.uk
still here after all these years!
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Hahaha! Yes its ringing but it isnt you know what or either of the you know who's!!!!! Bum! 
_______________________
Quite frankly m'dear, I don't give a damn!
www.herbalmarbella.com
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It's a good point that Georgia makes about estate agents closing down. Ollie also mentioned cafes/bars etc, and it's perhaps worth noting that, although just about every foreign owned bar is perpetually "on the market", the prices for most leasehold premises seem (to me) to have come down considerably recently. Rather than representing an excellent opportunity, I think it's an indication of the difficulty of making a decent living in this particular area. Of course there are notable exceptions, but unless you have something special to offer, it's probably best to look to something else if possible.
_______________________
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
Mark Twain
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I said, unless you have something special to offer. 
_______________________
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
Mark Twain
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It'll Pick Up After Christmas
That's what I keep telling myself anyway!!!!
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Hi, we did a franchise with Millennium Worldwide, (now closed down) what a bunch of cowboys and they had many offices in costa blanca. We very quickly dropped them as non of the promises came true, for example the level of help, experience with opening an office in a foreign country, etc etc. I have heard the original owners are now called something else in mainland, but cant be sure of that. We started on our own and have been quite happy, working for ourselves, keep the overheads down, dont believe all the ad reps and tell the customers the truth not what they want to hear. Leave that to the cowboys. Money is slower, but boy to do keep your customers. We are now happily Millenium Property World in Fuerteventura, and though slow like the rest of Spain at least it is still 25 degs today!! Decemeber 18th. No heating bills and only 5% IGIC tax. 
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Island Babe, Ireland
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