Learn coordination inside a brokerage first, or go independent from file one?

In-house, and not for the reasons people usually give. The forms you learn in a brokerage are the forms your future clients use. I've watched independent coordinators show up knowing transaction software cold and then ask which addendum handles a repair credit in this state. That gap costs you a client on file two.

I'm in pre-license class right now and the thing that surprised me is how much of the coursework is contract mechanics rather than sales. If you go independent with zero of that, you're going to be reading a purchase agreement for the first time with somebody's deposit on the line.

The unpopular part, from where I sit with a small team and a hiring budget for coordinators: in-house coordinators often come to me having only ever worked one broker's checklist, and they treat it as the law of the land. The independents I've hired adapt faster because they've had to. Both doors work. What I actually screen for is whether the person confirms in writing rather than assuming.

@cobalt what do you pay an in-house coordinator versus what you'd pay an independent per file? That number would decide it for me faster than any of this.

@plumb it isn't really comparable. In-house you're buying someone's capacity, so the cost per file drops as volume rises and you eat the cost in a slow quarter. Per file you pay only for closings. I've been building out a service business and the per-file model is what lets you start with three clients instead of needing one client who can fund a salary.

I've been through this twice and there's one thing I still don't get. If a coordinator isn't licensed, what can they actually do? Someone said above the line varies by state. Is there a plain version of where that line usually sits?

@juniper the plain version is that administrative work, chasing signatures, tracking dates, ordering things, is generally fine unlicensed, and giving advice about terms or negotiating on behalf of a party generally is not. Where exactly that sits is a state question and worth asking your state's real estate commission directly before you take a fee. I came from the trades and the same distinction exists there, the guy who orders the material isn't the guy who signs off on the load calc.