Tempted by the idea of becoming a real estate agent? It can be a great profession to break into, but first, you need to know if it’s right for you. Ask yourself these five questions and decide if real estate is the right career move.
Do you want the potential to earn a high income?
Real estate agents have a very high earning potential. Real estate agents earn a median income of around $46,000, which is great for many people looking to make a career change. It can also lead to payments well over $100,000. It’s important to remember that this is not a “salary,” even if people call it that. You bring commission-based income in yourself, which is why there’s no hard cap.
Real estate license schools like RealEstateU offer online real estate license courses at low prices, becoming a real estate agent with some of the lowest costs compared to earning potential.
Do you want a career that lets you grow with experience and skills?
There’s no dead-end in a real estate career. Working for a small or major company, you will eventually hit a roadblock where the next promotion stays forever out of reach. There’s nowhere to go from there except launching your own business.
As a real estate agent, you are your own business. There are dozens of ways to grow your business and earn more money:
- Grow your client list and repeat business as you make connections and expand your advertising budget
- Move into luxury homes.
- Become a referral agent.
- Invest in real estate yourself and start buying rental properties
- Move into commercial and industrial real estate.
- Work for a developer, or start developing yourself.
More experienced real estate agents enjoy higher incomes because they’ve had time to grow their skills and business.
Are you interested in houses?
There’s a lot to learn if you want to become a successful real estate agent, and one of the most important areas is learning about houses themselves.
Homebuyers want to know everything about a house. It would help if you spoke knowledgeably about construction, fixtures, types of brick or roofing shingles, windows, flooring, landscaping, heating systems, plumbing, and more. You must also learn about the real estate market, appraisal principles, and the neighborhood.
Do you want to help people?
More than houses re,al estate markets, or construction materials, the most important thing you need to know is people. You must be a people person to thrive as a real estate agent. You will want to know about your client’s lives, and most will be eager to share. There’s always a reason they want this out of a house or that out of a home, and it’s all about lifestyle. Real estate is for you if you love meeting new people and helping them make important decisions like what kind of house they want to buy.
Do you want to be your own boss?
The cherry on the cake of working as a real estate agent is working as your own boss. You’re accountable to yourself for your successes and your failures. You profit when you succeed, and the lessons you learn when you don’t care all your own. There’s no one holding your hand, and there’s no one telling you what to do either.
If real estate still sounds like it’s for you, click here to learn more about earning your real estate license. It’s an easy process when you do it online. Online real estate courses are an investment in your future that can really pay off.
