Last Updated on 3 years by EasyCowork Team
Are you wondering how to become a real estate agent in the U.S? In this post we look at qualifications, license, examination & skills required to become a real estate agent in 2022.
There are a lot of people who enter into the real estate after leaving their jobs.
If you are getting into real estate, it might be worthwhile to understand the basics of YouTube as lot of potential real estate customers are viewing properties on YouTube and there are several real estate agents who regularly post videos about properties they handle.
For example, check out this YouTube channel by the name Enes Yilmazer.
This guy does tours of expensive houses in the U.S and get millions of views every month.
Even if you do not have access to such properties, you can always get started from what is possible and then move forward.
You can watch a Tour of New York Apartment here:
Channel URL: https://www.youtube.com/c/EnesYilmazer/videos
In addition to attracting new customers, you can also earn some passive income through YouTube.
If you want to learn more about how to become a real estate agent, you can consider joining Aceable Agent- which is an Online School to learn the real estate business as an Agent.
Aceable Agent is an online school for modern students, and they have mock tests that will help you become more confident and pass your real estate exam in your first attempt.
Explore Aceable Agent Real Estate CourseIf you are interested in the whole concept of making money online, you can check out some of my other posts including 10 Easy Ways to Earn Money Online without Investment, How to Earn Money from YouTube, how to earn money from Facebook and how to start a blog and make money.
I recently helped a client of mine generate $1000 in income from his YouTube channel that was not making any money and even you can do the same even with a channel that is relatively new.
Earlier, I had co-founded a video company and raised $2 million in funding and then got fired from the company I started. I had done lot of testing and research on how to monetize YouTube and now I use the same skills to help other YouTubers.
You can read my full story here if you are interested.
Everyone has a different reason for selecting real estate as a career. You must decide about the location where you are planning to practice your real estate business.
Every state has separate rules and regulations for providing a state license to become a real estate agent.
Make sure that you apply for the state license if you have planned to become a realtor in a particular state.
The foremost question which lingers in the mind of each beginner is how to be a successful realtor in the real estate industry.
We bring forth an ultimate guide so that you can have complete knowledge as to how to become a realtor in the United States.
It’s not easy to be a successful realtor in the United States. There are a plethora of responsibilities on the real estate agent such as handling managing offices, paperwork, working on leads, handling contacts, networking, developing relationships, dealing with sellers, dealing with buyers, and much more.
One of the best methods to get a real outlook on the daily routine of a real estate agent is to get in touch with local realtors of the United States.
Ask questions about the job, profit and career growth in the real estate industry from the local realtors. You need to be fully assured before taking up real estate work.
Make your mind and then commit to the job with full enthusiasm.
Ultimate Guide on How to Become A Real Estate Agent in U.S [2022]
Table of Contents
Qualifications to Become a Real Estate Agent in the US
There are certain qualifications which are required to get the state license for becoming a realtor. If you have questions like how to become a realtor in Texas or how to become a realtor in Florida or how to become a realtor Ohio, then you must keep reading. These qualifications are mentioned below:
- The candidate must be 18 years old (The age limit can vary for different states)
- The candidate must have a legal resident of the United States
- The candidate must have completed the pre-license education
- The candidate must pass a particular examination to get a real estate license
How to get the realtor license
- State License: The real estate license process is different for every state. If you have selected the location for working as a real estate agent, then check out the pre-licensing requirements mentioned on the official real estate commission website of the state. Keep reading to know how to get a realtor license in the United States.
- Pre-licensing Course: If you are looking forward to becoming a realtor, then you must have completed the pre-licensing course. If not, you can do the course with the help of live classrooms at reality firms, schools or universities. There are a plethora of universities and schools which offer licensing courses in the United States. You should enroll in a licensing course to qualify for receiving a state license.
- Apply for Real Estate Licensing Examination: As soon as you finish your licensing course, apply for the licensing examination. Registration and application process for applying for the licensing exam is different for different states in the United States. While applying, you might need to submit fingerprints and get your background checked. The application process can take some weeks because a lot of paperwork needs to be completed.
- Qualifying the Real Estate License Examination: You need to prepare a lot to pass the real estate license examination. You need to put in some extra time to study for the exam. You can take help from online courses on the internet or study with the help of books. You might not quality the exam in the first attempt, but keep trying.
- Real Estate Broker: Even after passing the real estate license examination, you do not get a state license quickly. A realtor is licensed to start working only on behalf of a particular broker. You still cannot start working as an independent real estate agent after passing the exam. You can find a real estate broker before you start applying for the state license. Once you pass the Real estate license examination, you need to work together with your real estate broker to submit the paperwork with the state. After your form is accepted, you will be given a state license. As soon as the state license gets issued, you can start practising as a real estate agent along with the broker as your sponsor.
Real Estate License Exam
The Real Estate License Exam must be passed in order to receive the license to work as a real estate agent in the United States.
Even if you have all the skills required to be a realtor, you will require a state license to start your business. All you need to do is put in the time and effort to study for the exam with the help of online courses or books.
Take the exam seriously so that you don’t have to spend extra money to retake the exam. You will have to come in-person to a remote space to give the real estate license exam.
These remote spaces are located within the state and you will not have a problem reaching out to them. You will easily find an exam spot somewhere near your place.
The real estate license exam is an online exam held for people who want to become a real estate agent in the United States.
Try to reach the exam venue for 30 minutes. To enter the examination centre, you should bring two identification forms such as a government ID card like a passport.
The other identification form must have your name along with your signature (like a credit card). Do not carry a cell phone to the examination centre. The real estate license exam is held for 2 hours.
The duration of the exam can vary for different states. The online test will have almost 120 multiple-choice questions.
Requirements
Every state has separate rules and regulations which need to be fulfilled to receive a real estate state license.
There are different answers for questions as to how to become a realtor California or how to become a realtor in Ontario.
As both states are different, there will be different rules to apply for the real estate state license. Each state has a different requirement to determine how much coursework needs to be completed before and after the exam by the candidate.
Most states will allow a candidate to apply for the real estate exam if he/she is at least 18 years old. Ho
Broker for sponsorship
After passing the real estate license examination, you will have to search for a brokerage.
You can even start searching for a broker before you applied for the real estate state license.
There are a lot of brokers who might step forward to lend you a helping hand. The job seeker or the candidate holds the majority of the power, that is, there will be many brokers waiting to become your broker.
You can reach out to some nationally recognized brokerages such as Caldwell Banker, re max realtor, and Keller Williams.
Apart from national brokerages, you can also go for regional brokerages that are available near your place.
According to the Forbes article, the responsibilities of a brokerage have undergone a lot of changes in the last decade.
In the past years, the brokerage would offer office space, desks, secretary, fax machine and walk-in clients. But now the real estate agents have a lot more freedom with the help of the latest technologies.
Brokerages have now become much more liberal concerning the selection of location for performing tasks and conducting meetings by the agents.
Anyway, a candidate who has just received a real estate license must work with the brokerage which is widely known for agent retention in the long run.
Don’t start working with any brokerage just because it has national recognition. Talk to other real estate agents, explore your opportunities and then pick the best brokerage.
Start meeting with national and regional brokerages before you pick the right one. You must be prepared with your list of questions to ask from these brokerages so that you can be fully assured of receiving the best tools to succeed in your career.
You must ask questions regarding training and educational programs of the brokerage, costs, marketing materials, company policy manual, commission splits, and the terms of the agreement for being an independent contractor.
Take advice from experienced real estate agents regarding approaching the best brokerages in the United States.
Skills of a Real Estate Agent
If you have made your mind to become a real estate agent in the United States, then it’s time that you start building the necessary skills to excel in the industry.
A lot of people say that real estate agents must have a sales background or have great communication skills.
The fact is that anyone can put in the effort, study the project and improve their skills to succeed in the real estate industry. Check out the skills of a successful real estate agent in the United States.
Marketing:
The most necessary skill for a real estate agent to survive in the industry is Marketing. If you are excellent at marketing, you will be getting a great number of leads, sellers, buyers and much more.
The real estate agents get the money from commission. A realtor needs to exercise his marketing skills to earn the trust of the clients. It takes a lot of trust to make a stranger spend thousands of millions to invest in the real estate sector.
Henceforth, marketing skills will be a blessing in disguise for skyrocketing your career in the real estate industry.
You can start with building a website, generating email campaigns, promoting on social media channels, investing in the signage and ad space, etc.
Make sure that you can generate a lot of leads with the help of social media channels and websites. Your clients such as buyers and sellers must be able to approach you at all times.
Sales:
Every real estate agent must have sales skills. Sales include the complete negotiating process with the buyer as well as the seller.
With the help of marketing skills, a real estate agent must be able to get the clients on board. The sales skill will help a realtor to pick up a new business or leads.
Customer Service:
A real estate agent sells property, land, and homes but not any physical product like a computer, food or clothes. A real estate agent showcases his knowledge on the real estate project, laws regarding the project, negotiation, services and much more.
The clients might be relying completely on the real estate agent regarding the dealings and laws on a real estate project. Henceforth, a real estate agent must be great at bringing forth the best customer services for his clients.
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