The "People Power" Job Superbook Book 29. Real Estate Job-Business Guide (Real Estate Profit Ideas, Rental Income, Flipping, Foreclosures, Promissory Notes)

Most real estate agents and brokers sell residential property. A few, usually in large firms, specialize in commercial, industrial, agriculture or other types of real estate. Each specialty requires knowledge of that particular type of property and clientele. Selling or leasing business property, requires an understanding of leasing practices, business trends and location needs.

Agents who sell or lease industrial properties must know about transportation, utilities and labor supply. To sell residential properties, the agent must know the location of schools, religious institutions, shopping facilities and public transportation and be familiar with tax rates and insurance coverage.

Although real estate agents and brokers generally base their operations in offices, most of their time is spent outside the office, showing properties to clients, evaluating properties for sale, meeting with prospective clients and performing a wide range of other duties. Brokers provide office space but agents generally furnish their own automobiles.

Agents and brokers often work more than a standard 40-hour week. In addition, they often work evenings and weekends to suit the convenience of their clients.
Most real estate and appraisal firms are relatively small, indeed, some are a one-person business. Some large firms have several hundred real estate agents operating out of many branch offices.

Many brokers have franchise agreements with national or regional real estate organizations. Under this type of arrangement, the broker pays a fee in exchange for the privilege of using the more widely known name of the parent organization.

Although franchised brokers often receive help in training sales people and in running their offices, they bear the ultimate responsibility for the success or failure of the firm.

Real estate is sold and appraised in all areas but employment is concentrated in large urban areas and in smaller but rapidly growing communities.

Real estate agents and brokers must be licensed in every state and in the District of Columbia. All states require prospective agents to be a high school graduate, be at least 18 years old and pass a written test. The examination, more comprehensive for brokers than for agents, includes questions on basic real estate transactions and on laws affecting the sale of property.

Most states require candidates for the general sales license to complete at least 30 hours of classroom instruction and those seeking the broker's license to complete 90 hours of formal training in addition to a specified amount of experience in selling real estate (generally 1 to 3 years).