What is the best way to become a real estate agent?

Hi Jarad,

I have had my real estate licenses in three states for the past 17 years so am happy to share my experience in the industry with you.

First, there are a couple routes you can take to become a licensed real estate agent.  One, there are some college programs in which you can obtain a degree in real estate; secondly, you can research where you can take the pre-licensing classes required in order to sit for your state and national real estate exam.  Many real estate companies (often called Brokerages) offer these pre-licensing classes to the community; there is a fee for the classes in most cases and will vary on where you take the classes.  In VA, DC and MD the pre-licensing requirement was 60 hours when I got my license.  If you get a college degree in real estate you may (but will need to research this in your state) be able to forego the pre-licensing courses. 

Regardless of which path you take you will also need to sit for a state and national licensing exam.  These exams are offered at controlled testing facilities that are monitored by staff who work there.  The exam will be a set of multiple choice questions which will test your knowledge of basic real estate practices and principles in your state and nationally.

Once you pass the exam you will need to affiliate with a Brokerage (real estate company) because you are only eligible to practice real estate under the supervision of a licensed Broker (real estate brokers have a certain length of time in the industry and must take broker courses and pass a broker exam in order to be a Broker).   At least that is the policy in the states I am licensed in - every state has their own real estate laws and some real estate laws are national meaning every real estate agent must follow them regardless of where they practice (i.e., Federal Fair Housing Laws).

When selecting a Brokerage to affiliate with I would suggest looking at what kind of training opportunities they have for new agents, do they have a mentor program, are there opportunities to join an established real estate team which will help you to get client leads and with training as well.

Just because you passed an exam and joined a Brokerage firm does not mean that you will be successful in real estate.  Real Estate is a mix of direct sales, marketing, relationship building and business acumen.   You need to be savvy in those areas in order to be successful in the industry.   Also, you need to spend the time to understand and know your local market trends, geography, demographics, building codes, school district lines and pyramids, and much more.  In addition, you will need to understand your state or county's real estate contracts inside and out before trying to write a contract for a client for the sale of their home or the purchase of a new home for them.  

I recommend if you are serious about becoming a Real Estate Agent (or a Realtor is you become a member of the National Association of Realtors) that you find a mentor to help you learn the nuances of your local contract, real estate trends, and market.   This will enable you to learn from an experienced agent while building your own business.

Real Estate agents are self employed 1099 workers so you will be responsible for paying all of our own taxes, contributions to SSN and Medicare, and paying for your own health insurance (which can be very costly).    You should consider all of these things before jumping into the industry.

Lastly, the cost of entry into the Real Estate industry is not cheap.  It can cost you a couple thousand dollars just to get started; this would include the cost of your pre-licensing courses, the real estate exam, joining your local and national associations, paying for lock boxes and lock box keys, paying for access to your local MLS system, and other fees.   And what nobody tells you up front is that Real Estate is a very litigious industry and a Realtor or Real Estate agent can be sued by their client for almost anything if they are deemed to have done something that was not in the clients best interest.

Real Estate can be a very lucrative and rewarding career.  It is much more about running your own business than it is just finding a person's dream home.   Continued learning of the ever changing real estate laws and market trends are necessary to succeed but doing so can enable you to be very successful in the industry.

I hope this information proves to be beneficial to you and I wish you all the best if you choose to pursue a career in real estate.

Best,

René