I think they are great if you can trust your partner and have complimentary skills. I have the benefit of working with my brother and we've always worked very well together - he is better than me at some things, and I am better than him at some things - so together we fill in each others weaknesses. it's one of the rare occasions that 1+1 can = 3.
Trust is another issue. I have dealt with other partnerships that have dissolved for one reason or another and it's always difficult splitting systems and equipment and clients that you have both worked on together.
If you're working in a partnership, get things down on paper. Who is responsible for what etc so that it avoids problems later.
-Roy

I've toyed with partnerships in the past... The best ones work when you partner up with someone the least like you. The ego's don't clash, and as Roy so poetically put it 1+1=3!
A good organizational checklist is necessary when it comes to the clients. The last thing anyone wants is lost paper work or double contacting a client for paperwork that has already been signed.
Ultimately it comes down to the type of person you are. I tend to prefer to work on my own, but I also have an amazing colleague who is there to help out when need be

Thanks Roy and Mark. I absolutely agree that you should work with someone who balances out the relationship, otherwise there would be a lot of head-butting and counter-productivity.

I also definitely agree that the partnership responsibilities must be written down in some sort of contract.

@Roy - what's your and Amit's process to ensure you haven't done any double-work or contacting (as Mark was referring to)? Is it simply constant communication and updating one another?

Also, do your client's find it beneficial having 2 sales reps working with them versus one? Or do you split the work, so that one clients are dealing mainly with one of you and the other is available for "back-up" duty?

I'm writing this response on my phone so pardon any typos etc.
When we first started, and clients were hard to come by, both Amit and I worked with clients together. We both went on all showings etc. which was important for both of us to get experience etc.
Even then, it was difficult to make sure we didn't double call or tell the client the same info twice etc. We were both trying to do 50% of the job and it was just too difficult. We started taking "lead" on a client and one of us would be responsible for everything with the client and the other would be available as backup. The trust issue is huge here because we know that whether my clients generate more money or Amits, everything is split 50/50 and there is no ego about it.
More recently, it's become simpler to organize the clients as I am dealing with anything pre construction and Amit is dealing with anything resale. When a call comes in, we know exactly who is going to deal with it and we each have our expertise. And again, in terms of revenue, whether pre-construction generated 100% or vice versa, there is no ego from me or my brother that says "I made this money, it's mine" which is very very important when establishing partnerships. We work together and compliment each others skill sets, and that's what makes it a good partnership.
I have seen partnerships become a problem because the partners don't outline what is expected of each other ahead of time and they bicker because "I did more work than you on this deal" etc.
Clients can find it beneficial but it's not something we promote (we see agent partnerships highlighting 2 for the price of 1) - it's more of a background thing for us. Yesterday my brother couldn't make a client showing so I went in his place which was much better for the client than potentially missing the house they liked.

Great question, Diana!

I've only experienced RE as a partner as I joined my Grandmother who has been an agent for 40 years so my situation is obviously rare. I was lucky enough to have such a knowledgeable veteran to learn from, therefore allowing me 5 times the experience than if I was to start out on my own. In my case, this is a definite plus but we've had our ups and downs in terms of figuring out who does what and ensuring we don't step on each others toes. In our case, I'm taking over the business so it's gotten to a point where I pretty much do everything so that doesn't seem to be an issue anymore. But we're seeing a lot of partnerships in the core and in more normal cases, there are definite benefits - sharing the expenses, clients get twice the network of buyers and twice the expertise - but I would think it would only be beneficial in the long run if you have a lot of consistent business coming in since you'd also share the commissions...

Thanks Roy and Tiffany for the feedback - it's definitely good to hear from people who have experienced this.

Ultimately it's what you're most comfortable with. Whether you go with a partner or not, I highly recommend that you have some kind of mentor that is willing to work with you and help you when you need it.
One of the things that I love about my office is the open door policy. We have some very high producing agents in our office and the doors are always open if you have questions - we're all there to help each other instead of seeing each other as competition. My door is always open for others, and others always have their doors open for me - it's a great environment and one that I think is very important - don't try and tackle this sometimes very harsh business on your own!

Do you ever see partnerships between commercial agents and residential? For example, there is so much prime commercial real-estate in condo-developments. It seems like it would make sense for a commercial agent to team up with a VIP agent who has great relationships with builders.
Does this exist?