Are you a people’s person? Do you like to find properties for sale or rent? Do you have an interest in marketing, selling or managing properties? Do you always keep looking at the listings in your local newspaper? If your inner salesman looks like a realtor to you, then becoming a real estate agent might be the best career path.
Be aware of certain things before you jump in and start approaching property owners. Becoming a real estate agent is exciting, but needs a lot of planning as well as getting a license. Want to know more? Keep reading.
What Is a Real Estate Agent?
As a real estate agent, you sell or lease properties on behalf of the property owners. But that’s not all. You must be familiar with a lot of laws, terms and nuances in this field to be thorough.
It starts off with a survey of the property, wherein you scope the details. You gauge the structural integrity, take measurements, photographs, and cover pretty much everything you can, in order to build a profile of the property in question. Then you value the property based on these details and the area code in coordination with the owner.
When all is said and done, you use this profile to market the property to prospective clients. Usually you do this by making sure that the property is listed online and offline depending on the budget. Whenever a client is interested, you must answer queries, follow up on the communication and show them the property as well.
But it does not end there. Just like real estate owners have a budget in mind, so do the clients. This is where your negotiation skills come in handy. Usually you benefit the most by sticking to the budget of the property owners. However, high valuations scare off potential customers. A lower stand attracts more customers, but most of them consist of stinkers and unwanted troublemakers. So, you must play the balancing act constantly to keep things running.
How Do I Become a Real Estate Agent?
In the US, you need to fulfill certain requirements to become a real estate agent:
- You need to be a legal resident in the US;
- You need to be 18 years (or older in some states);
- You must get a license as a real estate agent to operate as one.
It is important to know that there is a pre-license education and a license examination involved. You need to complete the education before you can appear for the license examination. Once you pass this exam, you can call yourself a real estate agent. Furthermore, to work in a specific state, you need to have a real estate license for that state. If you are interested in Florida real estate, you can finish a Florida real estate course and get your license.
However, you can not operate as one yet! You need to find a real estate broker and work on their behalf at first. After you pass your examination, you and your broker complete the formalities with the state. Once the forms are filled in and approved, the state issues you a license to practice as a real estate agent as sponsored by the broker. You might want to consider approaching a successful real estate agent such as Sunnyrealty early on in your licensing procedure to get a head-start.
Tips for Success
The licensing is just the first half of the battle. In order to succeed as a real estate agent, you need a unique combination of skills.
Build your circle of influence: Contacts are everything in this business. Start early and contact people such as investors, loan administrators, buyers, sellers, appraisers, other realtors, etc.
Backup: Income is hard to come by during your first year or two. Have some stash ready for those ‘rainy’ days.
Planning: You need these contacts and your circle of influence even before you begin the licensing process. Remember, everything is an asset. The more you have, the easier your journey.
Sounds easy, right? Not quite. Jumping tracks and switching to this career without some sort of education or experience is not a very bright idea. Being a real estate agent is a daily hustle of building connections and marketing yourself, and your commitment will decide how much commission you earn over a given period. If you think you have the commitment and resolve to do all the above, the other half of your battle should be easy pickings.
