How to Become a Real Estate Agent

Chuck Hub Author 17 months ago

colorado Mortgage leads - license requirements for real estate agents vary from state to state and I imagine the number of hours of class time varies as well.

Chuck Hub Author 2 years ago

movearoundus - I don't exactly know how to answer your question. You're correct in stating that the two are in basically the same business since most people only use the services of a mover when they buy a new house and move.

The big difference, as I see it is that real estate agents are basically independent sales people. Even when they are associated with a real estate company or brokerage firm, each agent is usually a separate business that is affiliated rather than employed by the real estate company (there may be exceptions to this, but, in general, I think this is true). Also, real estate agents' main assets are their knowledge and contacts - one usually doesn't have to invest in a lot of physical capital to go into this business and the business can be done alone.

Movers, on the other hand do need physical capital (trucks and other equipment) and muscle power. They also usually need one or more employees to assist with the labor part of the business.

I hope this answers your question.

Chuck Hub Author 3 years ago

lei - thank you for visiting and for your comments. As to the book, I am flattered that you feel I am a good enough writer to do that but for now my full time job and HubPages is about all I can handle in terms of time.

Good luck with your new career if you decide to change.

Chuck Hub Author 3 years ago

Christinekv - thanks for visiting my HubPage and for your comment. I began my career in the mortgage department of a Savings and Loan and in those days loan officers and others in the department were salaried employees with a regular paycheck and benefits. However, I did get experience working with and talking to realtor's who brought us most of our business and did learn a little about the real estate business from them.

My real experience upon which my reply to Tahira was based came from a two year experience attempting to begin a new career selling life insurance and mutual funds. I learned a lot, especially about sales, but as a single parent at the time whose only other source of income was some part-time college teaching and occasional computer consulting for small businesses, it was a disaster financially. I learned later that I should have done the deep investigation beforehand that I recommended that Tahira do. The suggestions that Tahira listen skeptically to both those who appear to be succesful and those who have thrown in the towel, listening for the off hand comment about having to stretch the spouse's income, observing the condition of their car, clothes, etc. for clues as to how much they are really making, etc., were things I ended up doing after I had entered the profession and which ultimately convinced me that this was not the career for me at that time.

Don't get me wrong, there are many in both insurance and real estate (as well as other commission sales jobs) who are very successful financially but they have not only had to work hard to achieve this but, more than likely, did not jump in to the profession with family financial responsibilities and no other sources of income. I have the utmost respect for people in these professions and know that the work itself can be very rewarding in other ways beyond the potential financial rewards.

Now remarried with a wife who has a steady income to augment my salary from my full time job, I am again trying my hand at commission sales with a relatively new network marketing company that has an excellent product and great income potential. However, this is being done on the side, part time, and my family and I are in no way dependent upon the income from this at this time. The mental attitude and other skills I learned as a result of my stint in insurance sales is coming in very handy with this business and my hope is to build this business up to where I can retire early and my wife and I live off of both this business and our pensions and income from our IRAs. My suggestion is that, if Tahira really wants to get into real estate she/he should go for it but first make sure there is sufficient income from other sources to provide support until such time as the income from being a Realtor can support his/her financial needs.

Chuck Hub Author 4 years ago

Tahira - thank you for visiting my HubPage. Selling realestate can be a tough job considering that it is all commission based and you are responsible for most of your own marketing and other business expenses as well as the cost of the mandatory training needed to obtain and maintain your license. It is not the type of business to enter full time if you have no other sources of income and have to support yourself individually or yourself and a family. The present depressed market is also not a good time to enter the field if you need a steady income.

On the other hand, if you are married and have a working spouse or are a young adult still living at home with your parents with few if any financial responsibilities, today's depressed market can be a good time to embark on a career in realestate. The same is true if you are retired and receive a monthly pension check. With sales down and many people exiting the industry, now could be a very good time to learn the ropes and begin building a business for yourself (even though many states require agents to affiliate with existing firms, such agents are still independent business people). Since it is also possible to work part-time in realestate you might consider begining that way while continuing to earn a living from a traditional full time job.

Before you invest any money in training or obtaining a license, I suggest that you give careful thought to why you want to enter this profession. If it is just a job and money you are looking for, you will probably do much better looking for a 9 to 5 job with an hourly wage or salary that is paid regularly. Realestate is pure commission selling which means that you only get paid when you sell a home (or find the right home for a buyer if you work on the buyer's rather than the seller's side of the market). To be successful you will need both a knowledge of real estate as well as a passion for both realestate and for helping people to buy or sell a home. I suggest that you not only study up on what training and knowledge is needed to sell realestate in your state and what the market is like for agents but also talk to agents to get a feel for what the profession is really like.

Unsuccessful agents who are getting ready to leave the industry or who have left recently will almost certainly paint a dark but realistic picture of the difficulties you will face in the industry. Successful agents will paint a very positive picture stressing not only the large amounts of money that a good agent can potentially make, but also the emotional rewards which include the satisfaction that comes from helping people to realize their dreams of homeownership as well as the freedom and independence that comes from being your own boss.

Take both views, but especially the successful agents' views, with a large grain of salt. There are many successful agents so the job and industry is not as bad for everyone as the unsuccessful agents will paint it to be. However, the rosy picture the successful agents will paint will gloss over the failures and other hardships that these agents have to deal with and many will describe their experience in terms of what they are working toward rather than their current circumstances. This is because successful sales people have to be very optmistic or they will fail. So the agent who had only a few listings last month and failed to close on any of them will start this month truly believing that he or she will get at least twice as many listings this month and close all of them. And, no matter how many people they show a home to without any of them buying, the agent will remain convinced that the next person or couple to see the home will buy it. While this mindset is important and necessary, it can often mislead the listener into thinking that success comes easy with the job. The key here is to cultivate a relationship with a successful sales person (but not the top seller in the office) and try to get a realistic impression as to what that person's personal and professional life really is like. Look for clues revealing just how hard that person has to work, how long it takes them to get a listing, how long and how many showings it really takes to make a sale, how heavily they and their household rely on the non-realestate spouse to pay the household bills, how old their car is, how often they wear the same outfit for work, etc. These people will probably be successful personally and professionally in time but, between now and then, they will have to work hard and be able to mentally deal with a lot of failure and rejection. If you still feel passionate about the job and are prepared to deal with the obstacles that must be overcome in the business, then this could be a career for you. If not, then you should save your money and save yourself the agony and find another profession. Good luck.