Real Estate: Becoming A Broker

Why Real Estate? Real estate is security, a source of wealth and a path to prosperity. Real estate is the Great West, where new-age cowboys roam million-acre ranches on horses and Humvees, against a backdrop of majestic snowcapped mountains. It is a 50-story luxury condo in downtown Manhattan where millionaire bankers relax with a paper and some fresh fruit on a balcony overlooking Central Park. It is a modest one bedroom one bath house on the wrong side of the tracks. It is a palatial 6 bedroom, 7 bath stone French Tudor, with wine cellar, nestled into a private cove on an exclusive lake in Texas within a private gated community. It is a piece of the pie. It is your home, your neighborhood, your piece of mind, your investment portfolio. Real estate is all that and more. Anybody can get rich in real estate. Yes, you have to be motivated and dedicated to your goal. But you don't have to be an investment banker, or a university professor or a hot-shot dot.com executive. If you have the desire to change your life, and are committed to becoming one of the rich instead of the want-to-be-rich, you can! That's because real estate is a great path to great wealth. But be clear, real estate is not a get-rich-quick scheme. You need to learn the most important basic principals of real estate, and then prudently put them to practice in the real world. We show you how at www.realpropertymillionaire.com. If you are ready to learn, we are ready to teach you! Becoming A Broker If real estate wealth is your goal, you might consider getting your real estate license, or even your broker's license. Most real estate transactions in this country include the services of real estate agents. The agents serve a valuable purpose during the course of the transaction by providing expertise in several areas: 1) Market analysis 2) Sales price negotiations 3) Document preparation and execution 4) Liaison between the buyer and seller 5) Facilitator of ancillary services such as title and escrow In a real estate transaction not involving an agent, the buyer and the seller must be responsible for all of the duties that an agent might normally perform. In some cases this can create problems that could result in a failed transaction or worse, including legal problems after the deal has closed. Serious real estate investors would therefore be wise to take a close look at the advantages of obtaining a real estate broker's license. Obtaining broker's license is not as difficult as you might imagine. Each state will have its own set of rules and regulations, but the process is more similar than different across states. After all, real estate is real estate no matter where it is found. The benefits that can be derived from having a real estate broker's license can be grouped into four categories. Commissions Commission dollars can be used as additional capital. Typical real estate commissions to the buyer's or seller's agent will range from 2% to 3%. With a sales price of $500,000, this would equate to $10,000 to $15,000 additional capital that the investor would have at his disposal. This could make the difference of success or failure in a PONOMO property. Of course, this amount can be much more significant with higher priced properties. Multiple Listing Services Investment properties can be found more readily. An investor with a real estate broker's license would have at their disposal easy access to the multiple listing services (MLS). Having the MLS at your fingertips is a distinct advantage to the savvy investor for several reasons. First, such access allows the investor to locate properties easily and quickly, in some cases the moment they become available. Second, in many cases the MLS will contain remarks generally unavailable to the public. These remarks can provide insight in to the seller's motivation or other pertinent aspects of the property. Additionally, data from the MLS allows for a thorough market analysis of the property. Control The investor can gain more control over the transaction. Without having to rely on the services of a third party, the licensed real estate investor will be able to exercise more control over the entire transaction. There will be no reliance on anyone else to search for properties, execute documents, or generally guide the transaction. The licensed investor can operate at a pace that is suited to his particular need. Exit Strategy Investment properties can be listed for sale under the control of the investor. When the time comes for the licensed investor to dispose of a property, he would not need to rely on another person to list a property on the MLS. That gives the investor greater control of the property description, timing of the listing, and conditions under which the property will be shown. The vast majority of properties are sold through the MLS, and there are clear advantages of having control over that process. Of course, just as with a purchase, there would be a tremendous commission savings as well. Broker versus Salesperson The real estate world makes a distinction between a real estate broker's license and a real estate salesperson license. Typically, a real estate broker may exercise autonomy throughout a transaction, while a salesperson must be under the supervision of a broker. A real estate broker's license will offer confer upon an investor the benefits as described above. A real estate salesperson would have some of the same advantages, but he would not be able to exercise as much control over the transaction, and would have to give up a portion of the commission to the supervising broker. In most states, a real estate salesperson license can be obtained after completing a short state-approved course and passing a written state-administered examination. A real estate broker's license will involve additional course work and a more comprehensive written examination compared to a salesperson license. Some states will also have some type of college education requirement or work experience to obtain a broker's license. The best approach to investigating how to obtain a real estate broker or salesperson license is to use an Internet search for the Department of Real Estate in whichever state you are located. The effort in obtaining such a license will be rewarded with the very first transaction in which you earn a commission. To learn how to generate wealth through real estate, go to www.realpropertymillionaire.com