As we already mentioned, real estate is a great career choice! There are many ways to get into real estate, but most of them require you to either work in marketing or sales directly, or be well-connected to an agent.
Getting exposure through social media and building your online presence can help you market yourself as an entrepreneur or business owner. Many people make a good living online now, so it’s not impossible to go after that dream job.
However, being able to show off some proficiency in the field is still important if you want to climb the ladder. Luckily for you, here are 30 things you can do to get professional real estate training whether you’re a beginner or advanced.
1. Read books about the profession
This one seems pretty obvious, but many novice realtors don’t know what to read beyond “How to sell a house fast.” If you’re looking to take your skills to the next level, then diving into some psychology, tax laws, or finance theory is needed.
2. Take classes at a community college or university
Most colleges these days have courses related to real estate. Some offer certification as well, depending on what degree program you choose to pursue (broker, appraiser, etc.). Check out our article on how to become a real estate agent via school routes for more info.
3.
Make a plan
Even if you have no experience, there are many ways to get into real estate. You can start by thinking about what area of real estate is interesting to you and getting some training in that field.
Real estate comes down to business dealings, so learning how to do basic accounting or finance would go a long way towards helping you become an agent.
If selling a house is your dream, then becoming licensed as a Realtor is one of the most important things you can do to pursue your dreams. Licensing requires taking several tests as well as passing interviews with both members of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and state boards for licensure.
The NAR offers various courses and certification programs designed to help people learn more about the profession. There are also lots of free resources available via their website and social media platforms.
Create a business
Starting your real estate career does not require too much of an investment unless you want to become very wealthy quickly. Most people are never rich because they spend their lives living expensively, so why would it be different for you?
To get started, you can actually work as a broker without having your own office or license. That is what I have done in the past, and I still do to this day!
By being a brokerage agent, or what’s called a franchise owner, you will represent one or more seller and/or buyer brokers that they hire to handle transactions for them. You will receive a large part of the profits from these sellers and buyers.
This way you don’t need to worry about running your own show, there are already other professionals out there who have done it before and made money while doing it.
Fund your business
Now that you have determined that real estate is for you, what next? You will need to start investing in your business very soon!
Most people do not realize it, but real estate professionals are heavily invested in the industry through debt. A lot of loans and mortgages were made possible because of their relationship with sellers or buyers who paid them to promote them or sell them property.
Pick your location
Choosing where to study real estate is dependent upon what you want to do with your career. If being close to people is important to you, then a city that has a lot of activity will help you gain experience.
If you are more creative, then a quieter area can inspire you to create new strategies or designs.
If you prefer having lots of options, choose somewhere that is rich in culture so you have something to explore.
You should also consider whether you would like to work alone, with one or several colleagues, or if you’d rather be surrounded by many different personalities.
Know your market
As with any career, being successful in real estate depends largely on knowing your market. What is the current state of the market? Are there more houses being sold than homes that are for sale? If so, then it’s a good time to start looking to buy or sell a house!
You can tell if the market is soft by how many people come to you as a seller or buyer. If everyone is talking about how hard it is to find a home and how expensive it is, then it’s probably best to wait things out a little bit. On the other hand, if people are talking about how much their house has grown in value since they bought theirs, then that’s a great way to make some money!
If possible, see what kind of properties have recently been listed/sold to determine just how strong or weak the area’s economy is.
Write your business plan
Now that you have an idea of what real estate is and some of its different components, you can start thinking about how to get into it as a career. Before jumping in with both feet, however, there’s one more important factor to consider.
You need to know what kind of investor you are. Are you someone who loves to take charge and manage projects yourself? Or do you prefer working with others and sharing in their success? It’s good to be honest with yourself about this so you don’t invest money and time only to find out later that you’re not really suited for the job.
There are many ways to learn professional real estate investing skills. Some courses teach you directly from materials such As A Realtor®, while other educational programs give you practical tips under real-life conditions.
But no matter which route you choose, make sure you understand the basics first! This article will go over those fundamentals.
Choose your team
Being an entrepreneur or business owner, you will need to have people that support you. Your colleagues, friends, family members, and even others in the industry can help you succeed. People who are supportive of you will also likely make small changes to aid you in achieving your goal.
They may even inspire you to keep moving forward when you’re tired. Having people around you that believe in you is what keeps you motivated and focused.
As mentioned before, being an agent takes lots of different jobs beyond listing houses and selling them. This includes marketing, answering phone calls and emails, running meetings, etc. It really depends on the individual person as to how much they want to do each one of these things and whether it’s enough to become a real estate agent.
But making sure you have someone there for you goes far more than just having a friend that says they’ll be there for you when you get your dream job. Investing in friendships that will help you in your career is a worthy investment.
People with similar goals can motivate each other to work harder and achieve their dreams together. The easiest way to find this kind of friendship is by joining an organization or club related to the field you wish to enter.
There are many organizations out there free to join that offer training courses, connect you with peers, and promote success among individuals.
Registration with the IRS
While most people are not professional real estate agents, being an agent is still very popular! This is because you can get into real estate without having to be professionally licensed or certified. What you need to do is register with the IRS as either an individual income tax return preparer or business income tax return preparer.
Once this is done, you can start offering your services to other professionals and individuals in the field as an income tax return preparation service. Some states may also require you to be certified but this is less common than licensure.
