Techies moonlight as real estate agents, rake in cash

CHENNAI: Professionals in the IT sector may be paid big bucks but a little extra money doesn't hurt. Many techies, including several who work for top companies, have found that moonlighting in the city's booming real estate market can be a very lucrative part-time job.

Software professional A Vignesh, who started dabbling in real estate four years ago, now has six partners in a real estate firm that he launched with his friends when they were second year undergraduate students. "We now work in various software and BPO companies but we continue to do the realty business on the side," he said.

Vignesh says his company mostly looks for IT and corporate clients. Techies like him who have got into real estate usually do business in apartments and residential complexes in posh areas of the city.

But Vignesh's partners say it's not an easy job. "We visit sites and meet buyers over the weekends," said K Raguram, who also works for the firm. "Only few deals work out. When we get buyers and sellers to come to an understanding, we make good money," he said. Software professional K Ramesh purchased an apartment through Vignesh two years ago. "I bought a second-hand flat in Thuraipakkam in 2010. It was a furnished house and the price was reasonable," he said.

T Balakrishnan, who works for a multinational corporation, entered the real estate business after an unpleasant incident while purchasing an apartment. "I'd been searching for a flat for more than three years before I bought a second-hand apartment in 2008," he said. "I paid agents Rs 90,000 as commission and later learned that they had overpriced the apartment."

Some of Balakrishnan's friends who wanted to buy apartments asked him for help. "I started searching for flats myself because I knew that many brokers cheat people," he said. "I visited many apartments before I found a place for a colleague in Adyar. He forced me to accept a gold chain for my trouble." He soon started accepting commissions for his services and found that he could make a tidy sum by being a part-time realtor.

The trend of professionals from other industries getting into the housing market has been on the rise, said K Velmurugan, a realtor for more than 10 years. He said the market is big enough for everyone, so part-timers do not pose a threat to those in the business.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Techies-moonlight-as-real-estate-agents-rake-in-cash/articleshow/14380875.cms