How to Become a Real Estate Agent

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By eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating: (66 Ratings)

A real estate agent mediates between the sellers and buyers of land and buildings for a price. They are experts in the complicated paperwork, provisions and proceedings associated with land and building transactions and guide the prospective owners to get a fair deal. However, it takes a lot of effort and skills to become a master of the trade. Follow these steps to become a real estate agent:

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Step 1

Ensure that you are a hardworking, patient and self-possessed individual. It is a good idea to have good communication and persuasion skills before you opt for this field of work. You might consider taking up a communication or personality development course to bring your skills up to speed.
Step 2

Collect details about sanctioned real estate institutions that offer different courses by interacting with either the Professional Licensing Commission of your state or the Real Estate Association functioning in your area.
Step 3

Enroll in small or full-fledged courses and take the written test that is necessary to evaluate your familiarity with the laws of trading real estate. You need to be at least 18 years old (some states require 21 years old) and be a high school graduate.
Step 4

Allow the Real Estate Licensing Commission of your state to conduct a background investigation process according to law. It is necessary because of the huge amount of money and confidential information involved in the deals.
Step 5

Search for different real estate agencies who would want to recruit agents by going online or from the yellow pages. Hopefully, you will become a part of the brokerage in no time after going through their hiring process.
Step 6

Work with a real estate broker for at least 2 to 5 years and gain sufficient experience before setting up an individual practice. Observe and learn the tricks of the trade.
Step 7

Procure your broker's license to practice as a broker from your state licensing authority after gaining a substantial foothold in the field.

Comments

njn8886 said

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on 12/30/2009 Licensing is handled by states in the US. Requirements and testing are all different so you will need to go to the web site of the deparmtnent of commerce or division of real estate where they will list the accepted schools both local and on line that offer the pre and post licensing classes. There are continuing education classes required on an ongoing basis. The exam requires a lot fo study and many do not pass the first time so be prepared for the idea of possibly retaking the exam. There is not benefit to a higher score, just passing is sufficient and then you are licensed. Commissions will be low at first but the trade off is learning from those more experienced in a larger brokerage. Then you can branch off to be more independent and dependeing on the requirements and cost you may want to obtain your brokers license. This usually requires a college degree plus additional...

plin said

on 10/29/2009 Same question as the folks asked above. Can you recommend some online accredit program?

susanhorton72 said

on 10/8/2009 Finding the right agency to work for is very important when getting your real estate license. I liked that you put that on your list. You want to get the right broker who has the same drive and motivation that you do, plus get a fair commission split.