Finding your passion for real estate is the first key to becoming successful as an agent. If you love numbers, then being a financial planner or loan officer would be a career path that shines.
If you are passionate about people and relationships, then working in sales could be your field!
To be a great real estate agent, however, you must be able to do more than just sell houses or take out loans. You have to be able to assess whether or not someone will make it in this industry, help them find their place, and motivate them when they need a break.
That’s why having a degree or certification in business administration or marketing is very helpful. These courses focus on how to improve communication, leadership, and organizational skills.
But before you start looking into these programs, what level of license you should aim for depends mostly on you. Only if you want to become a professional real estate agent can you say you know enough to get a licence.
There are two main levels: entry-level and intermediate. An entry-level agent does not require any additional training beyond proving themselves through the basic requirements and earning their broker’s license. An intermediary agent needs to prove that they can handle transactions by taking some course work or completing assignments. Both types of agents can keep improving their knowledge and skill sets throughout their careers unless and until they choose to move up.
Costs of a real estate license
The cost of a real estate agent’s license is typically categorized into two main components — educational costs and licensing fees.
Educational costs include things like student loans, private lessons, books, and registration for any courses you take for your degree or professional certification. This is particularly important since most companies will require you to be licensed before they’ll give you business!
Licensing fees are also paid directly by individual states according to what position in the industry you want to enter. These vary depending on if you want an entry level sales agents license or more advanced licenses such as broker (or owner representative) or master limited liability company representatives (MLS).
Overall, the average total cost of educating and licensing a real estate agent is around 6-8 thousand dollars.
Obtain your license
Now that you have determined that you want to be an agent, it is time to obtain your real estate salesperson’s license!
Most states require you to take both a written test and then an oral exam before granting you your license. These are usually done through a board or department that oversees agents in your state, like The Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) or New York State REALTORS®.
You must pass these tests within a certain amount of time so they will probably give you some sort of deadline. After passing this test, you will receive your license which you can use to work as an agent.
Register your business
After you have determined that you want to be an agent, the next step is to register your business with your state agency that handles real estate licenses in your area. This process usually includes completing a few surveys or questionnaires as well as providing proof of liability insurance, professional certification, and tax identification.
Some states require you to be licensed before you can work as an agent, so it’s best to get this done as soon as possible! While some fees are upfront costs, most come out of your monthly agents’ license dues.
Pay your tax bill
After you have completed all of the required courses, passed the exams, and paid your taxes, it is time to get your real estate license!
Most states require that you are at least 18 years old before you can take the test for licensure, but some state licensing agencies will accept individuals who are just 17 years old with an official letter or certification proving they have graduated high school and attended six months of professional level training (this is not mandatory, however).
After receiving your license, most state boards also require that you pay a small application fee as well as a yearly renewal fee. Some also ask you to complete a requirement called “continuous education” where you must proof that you have taken certain classes and/or read certain books related to being a successful Realtor.
Know your city
This is one of the most important things you need to know before getting real estate license in Canada. You should familiarize yourself with your local area, including areas that are close to your home or workplace.
It’s very difficult to be successful as an agent if you don’t understand your market. Therefore, make sure to spend some time exploring different neighborhoods, looking at houses, talking to other agents, and reading up about the Canadian housing market.
You can do this by going into Google Maps and searching for “real estate [city name]” or visiting any community organization websites like RE/MAX or Royal LePage.
Pick your location
Now that you have determined that you want to be an agent, it is time to pick where you would like to start. There are two main things to consider here – whether you want to be in a rural area or close to major cities, and if you are looking for more than just sales, then should look into listing as well.
If you feel that this is not really you, you can always choose not to become licensed at all! While this may seem drastic, there are many ways to remain as a seller’s agent without having a license. You will still get paid very good money, but you will need to learn how to do business with agents so that you don’t take any of their business. This way you won’t needed to worry about getting a license later on.
There are also some states that require only being a broker instead of both broker and agent, which doesn’t require a license.
Start a business
Starting your real estate career can be as simple or complicated as owning a restaurant! If you have a passion for helping people, then becoming a licensed Realtor is something you should consider.
The word “realtor” comes from the Latin words for “true” and “speaker.” As such, their job description is to speak truthfully about the properties in sale, help find that home, and eventually close the deal.
Realtors are professionals so there is always someone more experienced to look up to. They may even get paid more than non-licensed individuals due to the nature of their profession.
While most people who start working with a broker are looking to make money, it is not guaranteed. A lot of brokers actually spend time investing in others’ sales before getting theirs done because they want to see how they do it. This is why having a strong work ethic is important since this person will be directly reporting to you once hired.
There are many ways to become a real estate agent. Some graduate college with a brokerage firm, while others pick which state agency to apply through. Either way, being licensed requires passing a test, submitting applications, and proving you know the law inside and out.
Obtain insurance
It is very important to have adequate proof of liability, personal injury, and vehicle coverage before being granted your real estate license. These three things are typically referred to as “licensing endorsements” or just licensing.
Most states require you to show at least $1 million in general liability insurance, usually within your own policy or through private vendors. This protection covers potential lawsuits from outside parties hit by or injured by your property.
Many states also require you to show specific collision and comprehensive coverages for your place of business (typically called commercial auto policies), which protect against physical damage to and loss of your place of employment due to an accident.
In addition to these two types of coverage, most state regulations ask if you have evidence that you will be paid off any medical bills related to a lawsuit or workplace accident. These are often referred to as Medical Legal Protection Policies (MLPPs).
