Real estate has always been one of the most steady industries to work in. Even in economic downturns, people are searching for homes to try and take advantage of good deals. If you’re looking for a career, that makes a real estate agent a great choice.
And when 87% of homebuyers will use real estate agents, there will usually be plenty of work to go around.
If becoming a real estate agent is your goal, this post will help. The guide below will tell you how to get started with a career in the real estate industry.
Learn Your Licensing Requirements
The first step to becoming a real estate agent is to learn what your state requires for the job. It isn’t like regular jobs — where you can apply whenever you want as long as you have the skill set. Local governments want realtors to be held to a higher standard, so you must get licensed to work in a state.
The requirements for each state may vary, so check into what’s required for your location. You can typically find this information on government websites.
Once you determine your requirements, it’s time to take the next steps to become qualified.
Take a Course
Once you understand what’s required of you to become licensed in your state, you need to understand the ins and outs of what a real estate agent does. This means taking a course to learn the details.
There are many courses available that will teach you how to conduct yourself as an agent. And the good news is that it doesn’t cost that much money to take one — with many maxing out at around $1,000.
Your real estate course will have all the details you need for an area and an exam once you finish the materials. Once you complete the exam, you can proceed to the next steps of getting a real estate license.
Take a Licensing Exam
Once you prove you have the knowledge required to be a real estate agent, the next step is applying for the license. You do this by taking an exam that shows you have the knowledge required for the job.
You’ll need to pay each time you take the exam. You can expect to pay a few hundred dollars for each attempt — and if you fail, you can retake the exam. The number of times you can retake the exam and the amount of time you must wait between attempts will depend on your state’s rules.
Join a Brokerage
It’s not easy to get started as a real estate agent on your own. You haven’t proven yourself yet, so it’s challenging for home buyers and sellers to trust you can handle the job.
This is why most new agents get started by joining a brokerage. They join under the supervision of an experienced agent and work with them to get their initial clients.
Going this route will provide invaluable experience that you can’t get just by reading books. You get to work with an expert first-hand to see how to handle common real estate situations.
As time goes on and you gain more experience, you can eventually branch out on your own and stop working under supervision.
Join the National Association of Realtors (NAR)
Even if you have a real estate license, you may still not have access to all the necessary resources. There is an organization called the National Association of Realtors that offers those resources.
Once you join a brokerage and start working as a real estate agent, you can apply to join this organization. Once you do, you can officially call yourself a realtor.
You also get many other benefits from joining. It gives you access to the multiple listing service (MLS), which lets you see other realtors’ listings.
Access to these services can give you a leg up to help you grow your real estate brand and make more money.
Create Marketing Materials
People looking for real estate agents won’t just find you when you start. Yes, you may get a few clients from your brokerage. But other than that, you must learn how to market yourself and find clients.
You’ll need marketing materials to do this. Here are a few things to look at getting:
- Business cards
- Website
- Brochures
- Yard signs
Stay professional when you purchase these materials. You want to come off as an expert when presenting yourself to clients and give the impression that you can deliever results.
Start Networking
You can’t avoid networking when you start working in real estate. You can get far by marketing your services, but you probably don’t want to spend too much time trying to find clients. Eventually, you want enough contacts to be able to recommend your services.
You’ll also need contacts in the real estate industry. Take a client that needs to get a mortgage. You can recommend your bank contacts to your clients to help them get a good mortgage for their new home.
It also pays to know people in the construction and marketing industry. Take online home photos, for instance. Have an experienced real estate photographer available to take great photos for online viewing — discover more here about real estate photo taking and editing.
Becoming a Real Estate Agent Takes Work
Becoming a real estate agent can be a rewarding experience. You get to help people find the homes of their dreams and make some money at the same time. However, you’ll need to put in some work before working in real estate.
You need to go through the proper process before finding a job as a real estate agent. Follow the guidance above to get started and begin your real estate career.
Do you want to learn more about choosing a career? Head back to the blog to find more career advice.
