So you’re thinking about getting a real estate license and wondering the best way to get started. You’re in good company. With baby boomers retirement in full swing now is a great time to start your real estate career, especially if you’re an energetic self-starter who likes to socialize and enjoys working with people. Also, having strong negotiating, sales and problem-solving skills are key ingredients to success in any sales profession.
Speak to family and friends that you know in real estate.
Speaking with family and friends that are in real estate is the best source for unbiased information. Since they are most familiar with your background, they are in a good position to give you helpful advice that could save hours of research. Attending local networking and career events and even scheduling an appointment to speak with a broker at a real estate firm you would like to work for are excellent sources of information and can help give you the lay of the land in your community.
Getting Your Real Estate License
When it comes to getting your real estate license, there are many choices available. There’s online and offline real estate schools, self-study books and community colleges that offer courses in real estate.
If you thrive in self-paced environments enrolling in an online course may be a good fit for you. But if you prefer a more traditional, instructor-led setting, choosing an offline real estate school or community college may be a better approach.
Whichever learning method you choose just be sure it meets the real estate licensing requirements in your state. Each state has its own licensing requirements. Once you have taken the state-mandated courses and have the required hours of instruction, you will take your real estate exam at a state licensing facility. Most real estate schools offer practice exams to help you prepare for the state licensing exam.
Find the best real estate company to work for
There are three important aspects to consider when trying to find the best real estate company to work for; training, mentoring and commission structure. When interviewing brokers for a Realtor® job at their firm it is important to ensure they have a variety of training programs available and the broker or an associate is willing to mentor you. Good training and mentoring can help get your career off the ground quicker and help prevent you from making costly mistakes.
In addition to training and mentoring, commission structure is equally important because it will determine your income. Some firms have traditional 50-50 broker splits which mean the broker takes half of your commission. There are also more progressive 100 percent commission firms. In this arrangement, the agent keeps all of their commission and the broker charges a nominal transaction fee, which is usually less than $300.00.
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Kale Realty offers 100% commissions on all sales to brokers (minus a $350 fee). We’d be thrilled to add you to the team! You can schedule a call or meeting with D.J. by clicking here.