Real Estate FAQ
What is Entailed in a Real Estate Career? How do I Get Started?
If you have a real estate license, and are just starting a new real estate career,
here's how it typically works:
You’re usually not an employee of the broker you work for, but an independent
contractor, working on behalf of the company. You are provided with many
benefits through your association with a broker, including support through
marketing, training and association with an established company.
In the beginning of your career, many “leads” for potential home buyers or
sellers may be generated by the broker for you to follow up on. You may also be
responsible for “floor time”, in which you are on call at the real estate office to
assist walk-in customers. As you gain experience and a wider circle of contacts,
you will generate many leads of your own.
Your initial job is to respond quickly and clearly to the needs of these potential
customers, and to demonstrate the capability of your company and yourself to
represent them. If they agree to work with you, you represent them as either the
buyer or a seller in the purchase of a home.
How Does a Real Estate Agent Serve Buyers?
A large part of the work in helping buyers is assisting them in defining what they
want in a home, what they can afford, and helping them to find and view homes
that meet their needs best. You will also make them aware of the services that
your company may provide in terms of mortgage, title, insurance and other home
ownership services, to ease the home buying and home owning process.
Your job is not to "sell" a particular home, but to act in a consultative manner to
help them buy the home that will give them the greatest overall satisfaction. After
they’ve decided on a home, you will help them negotiate the best price, and work
to ensure that any possible issues regarding the purchase of the home are
worked about between your buying customer, the seller, and the agent
representing them. Finally, you’ll work to facilitate the closing process, ensuring
that all paperwork and financing is in order, and help them take ownership of
their new home.
In the end, your job is to provide needed value and expertise in one of the most
important decisions that anyone can make – the purchase of a home. By
exercising and demonstrating your capabilities, you take much of the pressure
off the new homeowner. If you perform well – which we take to the next level at
GMAC Real Estate through Premier Service – it’s very likely that these buyers will
turn to you when they plan to sell their house and buy a new one, and refer
friends and relatives to you for new business.
How Does a Real Estate Agent Serve Sellers?
Home sellers need more assistance in marketing their homes than they might
expect. A professional real estate agent can help home sellers in many ways,
not least in determining the best possible price for a property, based upon the
condition and nature of the property itself, its competition in the market, and the
seller’s desired timeline for sale. Homes that are under-priced don’t maximize
the home seller’s investment in their property. Homes that are truly overpriced
linger on the market, creating dissatisfaction for the seller. You, through your
experience and the tools your company makes available, can help the seller set
the best price for the timeframe in which they wish to sell.
Another important aspect of marketing is presentation. You can help the seller
understand what they can do to improve the cosmetic appearance of their home,
and if necessary, the investments required to make their home sell at a higher
price and during a shorter period of time.
A great value you will bring to the table is making home buyers and their agents
aware of the home’s presence on the market. This means far more than putting
a yard sign out, though your company’s name – and your own – can go a long
way in drawing attention. These days, “selling” a home is really about
“marketing”, and taking full advantage of both online and offline media. You’ll
ensure descriptive and compelling marketing copy is produced on the home for
use in both online and print materials, arrange for photography, explore the use
of virtual tours with the seller, and bring a full range of marketing opportunities to
the seller to promote the home in the most effective manner.
Once an offer is made, you again act in a consultative manner, helping your
customer weigh the offer, and to negotiate for the best value for the home. While
indeed your job is to “sell” the home, its important to ensure that the seller’s
desire to “close the deal” doesn’t compromise their overall needs, or cause
them to make a rash decision – the real goal is long term satisfaction, not
immediate gain. After the buyer and seller have agreed on a price, you will work
to facilitate the closing process, ensuring that all paperwork and financing is in
order, and help the seller transfer ownership of their new home.
As in the case of the buyer, in the end, your job is to provide needed value and
expertise. The sale of a home is a major event in anyone’s life, with the potential
for financial gain through the sale, but sometimes a sense of emotional loss. By
exercising and demonstrating your capabilities, you help the seller to make the
most of their investment of time and money in a property, and often help them to
buy a new home as part of the process. If you perform well – which we take to
the next level at GMAC Real Estate through Premier Service – it’s very likely that
your customer will turn to you for assistance in all their real estate needs, and
refer friends and relatives to you for new business.
How do Real Estate Agents Earn Money?
Generally, the agents for both buyer and seller are given a commission for their
services, which is a percentage of the overall value of the real estate transaction.
Generally, the commission is split 50/50 between agents.
While policies vary, depending upon the local company you work for, generally
you would share a part of your percentage with the broker, in remuneration for
the services and support that they provide to you to assist buyer or seller
throughout the home buying process, the overall advertising and marketing they
do to gain prominence in the market, which you gain advantage from through
associating your name with the company.
Depending upon your broker, you may also have the opportunity to earn money if
your customer takes advantages of any home ownership services the broker
offers, such as title, home warranty, and more.
It’s important to remember that as an agent, you are not paid a salary. Your
success is based upon your ability to successfully represent buyers or sellers.
Depending upon the market, your ability, and the ability for both you and your
company to gain new customers, you may have a very stable flow of income. Or,
it may be affected by seasonality, with very busy periods of very high income, and
slower periods with relatively lower income.
If you have conviction and are willing to invest time and effort in your real estate
career, the rewards can be great, both in terms of the money you earn and the
type of life you lead. If you want a job with fixed hours that pays a regular amount
on a standard schedule, real estate may not be the best career for you.
Why Should I Work for a Real Estate Broker? Why Not Go
Independent?
While there are some independent real estate agents, most agents work for a
real estate broker. Working for a real estate company, particularly one that
affiliates with a national brand like GMAC Real Estate, offers many advantages.
Here are a few:
Brand Name Recognition
Working for a recognized and successful real estate brand name and broker
gives you instant recognition and market awareness that leads to more
prospective buyer and sellers.
Business Resources
In addition to offering a (strong and trusted) brand name like GMAC Real Estate,
most real estate companies provide marketing tools, web sites, company
resources, skill-enhancing training programs and tools and market promotion.
This enables you to concentrate on representing home buyers and sellers..
Potential Customers
Particularly at the beginning of your career, a real estate broker is a strong
source for potential customers. Even as you develop customers through
referrals from past customers, your real estate broker can generate a significant
number of leads for you through their Web site and ongoing marketing and
advertising.
Increased Earning Potential
Your brokerage may offer many services for home buyers and sellers that an
independent agent can rarely offer, such as title, home warranty and other
homeownership services; you can earn additional income when a customer that
takes advantage of these services.
Professional Training
Good real estate companies offer effective training and mentoring for their
agents through live and online courses, seminars, and sales conferences.
(Training Page).
Benefits
Group medical insurance and retirement programs not available to independent
agents are often available through brokerages. GMAC Real Estate proudly offers
the best benefits in the industry (Benefits Page).
Networking
Working for a broker puts you into close contact with other agents, offering more
networking opportunities for real estate professionals and the synergy of being
part of a team.
If you have a real estate license, and are just starting a new real estate career,
here's how it typically works:
You’re usually not an employee of the broker you work for, but an independent
contractor, working on behalf of the company. You are provided with many
benefits through your association with a broker, including support through
marketing, training and association with an established company.
In the beginning of your career, many “leads” for potential home buyers or
sellers may be generated by the broker for you to follow up on. You may also be
responsible for “floor time”, in which you are on call at the real estate office to
assist walk-in customers. As you gain experience and a wider circle of contacts,
you will generate many leads of your own.
Your initial job is to respond quickly and clearly to the needs of these potential
customers, and to demonstrate the capability of your company and yourself to
represent them. If they agree to work with you, you represent them as either the
buyer or a seller in the purchase of a home.
How Does a Real Estate Agent Serve Buyers?
A large part of the work in helping buyers is assisting them in defining what they
want in a home, what they can afford, and helping them to find and view homes
that meet their needs best. You will also make them aware of the services that
your company may provide in terms of mortgage, title, insurance and other home
ownership services, to ease the home buying and home owning process.
Your job is not to "sell" a particular home, but to act in a consultative manner to
help them buy the home that will give them the greatest overall satisfaction. After
they’ve decided on a home, you will help them negotiate the best price, and work
to ensure that any possible issues regarding the purchase of the home are
worked about between your buying customer, the seller, and the agent
representing them. Finally, you’ll work to facilitate the closing process, ensuring
that all paperwork and financing is in order, and help them take ownership of
their new home.
In the end, your job is to provide needed value and expertise in one of the most
important decisions that anyone can make – the purchase of a home. By
exercising and demonstrating your capabilities, you take much of the pressure
off the new homeowner. If you perform well – which we take to the next level at
GMAC Real Estate through Premier Service – it’s very likely that these buyers will
turn to you when they plan to sell their house and buy a new one, and refer
friends and relatives to you for new business.
How Does a Real Estate Agent Serve Sellers?
Home sellers need more assistance in marketing their homes than they might
expect. A professional real estate agent can help home sellers in many ways,
not least in determining the best possible price for a property, based upon the
condition and nature of the property itself, its competition in the market, and the
seller’s desired timeline for sale. Homes that are under-priced don’t maximize
the home seller’s investment in their property. Homes that are truly overpriced
linger on the market, creating dissatisfaction for the seller. You, through your
experience and the tools your company makes available, can help the seller set
the best price for the timeframe in which they wish to sell.
Another important aspect of marketing is presentation. You can help the seller
understand what they can do to improve the cosmetic appearance of their home,
and if necessary, the investments required to make their home sell at a higher
price and during a shorter period of time.
A great value you will bring to the table is making home buyers and their agents
aware of the home’s presence on the market. This means far more than putting
a yard sign out, though your company’s name – and your own – can go a long
way in drawing attention. These days, “selling” a home is really about
“marketing”, and taking full advantage of both online and offline media. You’ll
ensure descriptive and compelling marketing copy is produced on the home for
use in both online and print materials, arrange for photography, explore the use
of virtual tours with the seller, and bring a full range of marketing opportunities to
the seller to promote the home in the most effective manner.
Once an offer is made, you again act in a consultative manner, helping your
customer weigh the offer, and to negotiate for the best value for the home. While
indeed your job is to “sell” the home, its important to ensure that the seller’s
desire to “close the deal” doesn’t compromise their overall needs, or cause
them to make a rash decision – the real goal is long term satisfaction, not
immediate gain. After the buyer and seller have agreed on a price, you will work
to facilitate the closing process, ensuring that all paperwork and financing is in
order, and help the seller transfer ownership of their new home.
As in the case of the buyer, in the end, your job is to provide needed value and
expertise. The sale of a home is a major event in anyone’s life, with the potential
for financial gain through the sale, but sometimes a sense of emotional loss. By
exercising and demonstrating your capabilities, you help the seller to make the
most of their investment of time and money in a property, and often help them to
buy a new home as part of the process. If you perform well – which we take to
the next level at GMAC Real Estate through Premier Service – it’s very likely that
your customer will turn to you for assistance in all their real estate needs, and
refer friends and relatives to you for new business.
How do Real Estate Agents Earn Money?
Generally, the agents for both buyer and seller are given a commission for their
services, which is a percentage of the overall value of the real estate transaction.
Generally, the commission is split 50/50 between agents.
While policies vary, depending upon the local company you work for, generally
you would share a part of your percentage with the broker, in remuneration for
the services and support that they provide to you to assist buyer or seller
throughout the home buying process, the overall advertising and marketing they
do to gain prominence in the market, which you gain advantage from through
associating your name with the company.
Depending upon your broker, you may also have the opportunity to earn money if
your customer takes advantages of any home ownership services the broker
offers, such as title, home warranty, and more.
It’s important to remember that as an agent, you are not paid a salary. Your
success is based upon your ability to successfully represent buyers or sellers.
Depending upon the market, your ability, and the ability for both you and your
company to gain new customers, you may have a very stable flow of income. Or,
it may be affected by seasonality, with very busy periods of very high income, and
slower periods with relatively lower income.
If you have conviction and are willing to invest time and effort in your real estate
career, the rewards can be great, both in terms of the money you earn and the
type of life you lead. If you want a job with fixed hours that pays a regular amount
on a standard schedule, real estate may not be the best career for you.
Why Should I Work for a Real Estate Broker? Why Not Go
Independent?
While there are some independent real estate agents, most agents work for a
real estate broker. Working for a real estate company, particularly one that
affiliates with a national brand like GMAC Real Estate, offers many advantages.
Here are a few:
Brand Name Recognition
Working for a recognized and successful real estate brand name and broker
gives you instant recognition and market awareness that leads to more
prospective buyer and sellers.
Business Resources
In addition to offering a (strong and trusted) brand name like GMAC Real Estate,
most real estate companies provide marketing tools, web sites, company
resources, skill-enhancing training programs and tools and market promotion.
This enables you to concentrate on representing home buyers and sellers..
Potential Customers
Particularly at the beginning of your career, a real estate broker is a strong
source for potential customers. Even as you develop customers through
referrals from past customers, your real estate broker can generate a significant
number of leads for you through their Web site and ongoing marketing and
advertising.
Increased Earning Potential
Your brokerage may offer many services for home buyers and sellers that an
independent agent can rarely offer, such as title, home warranty and other
homeownership services; you can earn additional income when a customer that
takes advantage of these services.
Professional Training
Good real estate companies offer effective training and mentoring for their
agents through live and online courses, seminars, and sales conferences.
(Training Page).
Benefits
Group medical insurance and retirement programs not available to independent
agents are often available through brokerages. GMAC Real Estate proudly offers
the best benefits in the industry (Benefits Page).
Networking
Working for a broker puts you into close contact with other agents, offering more
networking opportunities for real estate professionals and the synergy of being
part of a team.
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