How to Become a Real Estate Broker
Tips For Becoming a Real Estate Broker
Do you want to become a real estate broker?
Real estate brokers can do everything an agent can, helping buyers and sellers through buying or selling a home. Brokers can also employ real estate agents to take care of clients, leaving the real estate broker to manage the transactions within the brokerage.
We will take an in-depth look if you have ever wondered what a real estate broker is or how to become one. Maximum Real Estate Exposure has a comprehensive resource explaining the definition of a real estate broker and brokerage.
What Training Do Real Estate Brokers Need?
Before becoming a broker, you must have worked as an agent for two years or more, depending on your state’s requirements. Different states have different requirements for the time you need to be an agent.
For example, you need to be an agent for three years to become a real estate broker in Massachusetts. It is different in other locations. To become a real estate agent, you must complete pre-licensing training courses in an approved school.
This training will teach about contracts, legal issues, finance, insurance, taxes, and ethics. With the training completed and exams passed, the new agent can go and work for their real estate brokerage.
When the sales agent has completed the two or more years required, they can begin the process of becoming a broker through additional training.
Training courses for brokers cover some of the same topics as those for sales agents but with a more profound knowledge of the subject as required in the role of a broker. They also learn about the legal requirements to operate a brokerage and business law, as well as learning about property management and investments and real estate development.
After successfully completing these courses and passing the necessary state-required exams, they can begin working as a broker. This doesn’t necessarily mean opening their own real estate brokerage right away. They could work as an associate broker within their current brokerage, to begin with. This will give them experience as they carry out more duties and have more responsibility.
Do Brokers Need to Have Any Certification?
Just as real estate agents need to be licensed, brokers also do. A broker must have the required experience as a real estate agent. Depending on the state, this could be one, two, or sometimes three years.
Training courses approved by their state need to be completed, which can take weeks. These courses will cover all the relevant topics providing the broker with the necessary education to enable them to oversee property transactions and manage a brokerage.
The state’s broker licensing exam can be taken when the courses have been completed. When a real estate agent passes this licensing exam, they still might have to pass a background check before they are licensed as a broker.
How Long Does it Take to Become a Broker?
The most time-consuming part of the process to become a broker is gaining enough real estate agent experience. This might mean spending two years as a real estate agent before beginning the process of becoming a broker.
While this is two years in many states, it could only be one or as many as three years. The courses required to be completed to become a broker also vary in the amount of work required and the time it will take. However, this is likely to take weeks or months instead of years before the state-licensed exam can be taken.
How Much Does a Real Estate Broker Earn?
Most brokers are paid at least partly by the commission, and their earnings will depend on the number of transactions they deal with. This means that the amount they earn will change monthly.
The average broker salary in the United States is more than $68,000. And with average commissions of $42,000 a year, total earnings are more than $110,000 a year.
Much of a real estate broker’s earnings will depend on their commission splits with the agent they employ and their production. The area in which a real estate broker is located matters too.
For example, does the area carry many high-end homes, or is it more of a first-time home buyers market?
What are the Career Prospects for a Real Estate Broker?
The success of any broker hinges on their skills in developing their business and finding new clients. With more experience and a larger group of contacts, a broker will find more success as their reputation grows.
In the beginning, they might be working for a brokerage, but they can work independently. And with enough experience, they can start their own brokerage, hire real estate agents, and manage the transactions.
How to Find Out More About Becoming a Broker?
If you are already a real estate agent with some experience and want to take your career to the next level, you can check the National Association of Realtors’ website or contact your state’s association for more information.
You can also speak to brokers you already know for advice. Becoming a Realtor if you haven’t already done so is wise. To become a Realtor, you must be a National Association of Realtors member. More importantly, you must take an oath to follow a strict code of ethics.
A Realtor is someone other agents can look up to. Realtors usually make more yearly income than real estate agents.
Final Thoughts
It is essential to understand real estate lingo. Many people do not realize that a real estate broker, agent, and Realtor are different from one another. Unfortunately, they are often used interchangeably, which causes people to assume they are the same.
Bill Gassett is a thirty-six year veteran to the real estate industry. He enjoys writing helpful articles for buyers, sellers and fellow real estate agents to make sound decisions. His work has been featured on RIS Media, National Association of Realtors, Inman News, Maximum Real Estate Exposure, Newsbreak, Credit Sesame and here at Realty Biz News. He has been on of the top RE/MAX agents in New England over the last two decades.
