7 Things You Should Do Before Becoming a Realtor
If you’re reading this blog, then chances are you’re pondering the thought of becoming a realtor! Okay, so I'm going to be straight up with you guys, real estate isn't all rainbows and sunshine. It takes hard work and dedication to turn into a top-producing realtor. I usually tell people that are thinking about getting into real estate that it's easy to become a realtor, but it's hard to be a realtor.
Now, what exactly do I mean by that? Well, in most states, all you need to do to become a realtor is take the required classes, pass the licensing exam, and find a broker to affiliate with, and BOOM…you’re officially a realtor…yes, it’s that easy.
BUT the classes that you're required to take teach you NOTHING on how to become successful as a realtor. So once you’re a realtor, it’s really up to you to figure out what you need to do to get some deals under your belt, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be this way. Here are seven things that you can do before you become a realtor so that you can start off strong as a new realtor!
#1: Build Your Database
Out of all of the things that will be mentioned on this list, building your database is hands down the most important thing you should be doing right now because that’s literally where all of your business will be coming from. A database is composed of basically anyone and everyone regardless of whether you know them or not. The easiest way to build your database is by starting with your sphere of influence, which are all of the people that you're close with.
You may be wondering where you should store all of your contacts. My advice is to not overthink this. There’s no need to spend hundreds of dollars on a fancy CRM when you’re just starting off; instead, you can simply just use a spreadsheet.
#2: Learn Your Market
Let me ask you this, would you want to be treated by a doctor that has no idea what they’re doing? You probably said no, and most people would say the same thing about working with a realtor. As a realtor, you’re expected to be the expert on your local market, which is why you must do your best to live up to those expectations. Here are some of the things you should know about your local market.
-Where all of the popular attractions are
-The basic factors that influences the economy
-Market trends such as median sales price, average days on market, and sold price to list price ratio
#3: Grow Your Social Media Presence
There should be no debate as to whether or not you should be on social media. If you’re not willing to be on social media, then I’m sorry to break it to you, but it’s going to be quite difficult to make it in real estate. It’s important that you let the world know that you’re getting into real estate, and the best way to do that is through social media. The three platforms that you should definitely be on are Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Then it’s completely up to you on whether or not you want to be on more platforms, but remember not to overextend yourself.
#4: Save Your Money
Becoming a realtor is not cheap at all, which is why you need to save up enough money to be able to get started in real estate. The costs to get started in real estate varies, but to give you a rough idea, here is what I had to pay for to become a realtor:
-Licensing Classes: $249
-Exam Prep: $41.94
-Examination Fees: $134
-Prorated Brokerage Fee: $144.86
-Board of Realtor Fees (HCAR, MAR, NAR): $721.75
-Multiple Listing Service Fee: $355
-Sentri Lockbox Fee: $215
Ok, so all together to get my license and be able to practice real estate as a realtor, I had to pay a grand total of…$1,861.55, so as you can see, it’s not cheap to get started as a realtor AND this is not including all of the expenses it takes to run my business. So what I recommend is that you save up enough money to pay for the upfront costs and keep the job that you’re working at now so that you still have some money coming in to pay for your personal and business expenses.
#5: Pick Your Brokerage
Picking the right brokerage to affiliate with is a major decision for a new realtor to make, so it’s not something that should be taken lightly. It’s best for you to start searching for a brokerage before you pass the licensing exam rather than after because there are a lot of things that you should be looking out for when picking a brokerage to affiliate with, so you need to give yourself as much time as possible to make that decision. Here are the top three things that you should be looking for in a brokerage:
Training and Support: Don’t work for a brokerage that won’t give you the training and support that you need to grow your business. Whether you’re a new or experienced realtor, you should always be working towards expanding your knowledge and skills.
Success: You want to work for a brokerage that has a lot of successful realtors because this will allow you to learn what they did to get to where they are today, so that someday, you too can become a successful realtor.
Resources: As we discussed earlier, being a realtor is not cheap. So being with a brokerage that provides many resources will help alleviate those costs.
#6: Find Your Mentor
There are two ways for you to become successful in real estate and that’s learning from your failures or learning from other people’s failures...the question I have for you is which way do you prefer? As I said before, the licensing courses teach you nothing about how to become successful in real estate, so one of the best ways to do that is by finding a successful realtor who’s willing to teach you what they’ve learned over the years. Finding a top-notch mentor can take a while, so don’t be in such a hurry to find a mentor right away. Once you do find a mentor, make sure that you’re giving back to them in some way to show them how much you appreciate the time and effort they’re putting in to help you become successful.
#7: Create Your Game Plan
Alright, the last thing you must do before you become a realtor is to create a game plan for what you’re going to do in the first couple of weeks and months as a new realtor. Now, this plan doesn’t have to be complicated; just create a list of things that absolutely must be taken care of as soon as you officially become a realtor. Some things that you can do is reach out to everybody that you know and let them know that you just got into real estate or network with lenders, title officers, and inspectors so that once you start getting clients, you’ll be able to refer them to people that they can count on. Just make sure that you’re not getting into real estate completely clueless about what it is you need to do.
Now You’re Ready to Become a Realtor!
So there you have it, those are the seven things that you must do before becoming a realtor. I’m going to end things off with one last piece of advice. If you’re genuinely thinking about becoming a realtor, think about it REALLY hard because you’re putting a lot of your time and money on the line. Becoming a realtor isn’t something that you can “kind of want to do”, you have to be FULLY committed. This is a career that takes a lot of sacrifices, and if you’re not willing to make those necessary sacrifices, then please do yourself a favor and don’t become a realtor. Alright, that’s all I have to say, thanks so much for taking the time to read this blog. I’m wishing y’all the best of luck in whatever career you decided to go in!
Here’s a video I made on the topic that was dicussed in this blog.
Sources
Friedman, Karen. “7 Things to Do before You Get a Real Estate License.” CA Realty Training, 8 June 2021, www.carealtytraining.com/real-estate-license-7-things/.
“How Can You Really Get to Know Your Local Real Estate Market?” Real Estate Express, 2 Jan. 2020, www.realestateexpress.com/career-hub/grow-your-real-estate-career/get-to-know-your-local-real-estate-market/.
