Realtor

Overview

Many people may be familiar with realtors or real estate agents because they were hired to help buy or sell a home. However, there is more to real estate agents than what customers see. Real estate agents are constantly handling their own paperwork, marketing themselves to prospective customers, and tracking houses to buy or sell, all while dealing with their customers. While agents facilitate the exchange between buyers and sellers, brokers are the owners of brokerages, establishments that sponsor real estate agents. Real estate brokers have even more responsibilities since they can act as agents, but are also in charge of running their own business. It requires more training and can only be completed after a few years of experience as a real estate agent. 

Requirements

The requirements for becoming a realtor varies by state, but in order to become one, there are 4 general steps every aspiring agent must complete. The first step is understanding the state’s real estate license requirements. For example, California requires successful completion of 135 hours of education in Real Estate Principles, Real Estate Practice and 1 more course of your choice. Texas, on the other hand, requires 180 hours of education specifically in Principles of Real Estate I and II, Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, Promulgated Contracts Forms, and Real Estate Finance with a specific number of hours necessary for each course. After identifying the state requirements, the next step is to enroll in those real estate pre-licensing courses. There are different approaches to complete this education such as local real estate schools, universities, technical schools, online schools, and even some realty firms. After passing these courses, the third step is to take and pass the real estate salesperson exam which may require a fee, fingerprints, and a background check. Finally, real estate agents must find a real estate broker that will sponsor them and help them complete the paperwork needed to obtain their license. This in all should take about 4-6 months but to become a broker, it requires more education and another exam.

What Can High School Students Do?

• Learn about your state’s requirements
  • https://www.kapre.com/resources/real-estate/requirements-to-get-a-real-estate-license
• Get to know your local real estate agent at their community events
• Enhance your written and oral communication skills by joining courses like drama and speech and debate
• Take statistics and accounting to reinforce your math skills
• Understand different computer programs in Google Drive and Microsoft 365

Please check out the sources below, they have links connecting more websites to further your research!

• https://www.kapre.com/resources/real-estate/how-to-become-a-real-estate-agent/
• https://www.kapre.com/resources/real-estate/requirements-to-get-a-real-estate-license
• https://resources.workable.com/real-estate-agent-job-description
• https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/careers/sales-real-estate-brokers-sales-agents#:~:text=Make%20High%20School%20Count&text=Take%20advantage%20of%20English%2C%20history,Master%20the%20computer.
• https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/101314/what-are-differences-among-real-estate-agent-broker-and-realtor.asp