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How To Become A Real Estate Agent

(In Florida…)

Real estate is an exciting career that can be very rewarding, especially in the great {sunshine} state of Florida! So you’re wondering what’s required to get your real estate license and where to start. We can help you out!

First Things First

There are a few prerequisites to becoming a real estate agent:

  • You must be at least 18 years of age
  • You must have a United States Social Security number
  • You must hold a high school diploma or its equivalent.

If you can check those boxes, then we can move forward! Up next, you’ll need to successfully complete 63 hours of approved Pre-Licensing education. A few real estate schools we recommend are Bob Hogue (offering both online and in-person classes), and Real Estate Express (offering online classes). You have the option for an in-person or virtual classroom, so you can go with whichever method you are most comfortable with! At the end of the course, you must pass the final exam with a minimum score of 70%. If you need to, you can retest once within one year of the original exam. So be sure to study up!

Once you have passed the course’s final, you will need to submit your fingerprints to the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation at least five days before completing your application for licensure to the state. This is also where you’ll submit your application!

Your final step in this process is to pass the Florida Real Estate Salesperson Exam. If you happen to fail, you can retake the exam as many times as necessary and as soon as you can make a new appointment.

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Doing Business In Florida

You’ve passed your exam and are ready to go list your best friend’s home! Not so fast though… Just because you passed doesn’t mean you’re a REALTOR®. You are a real estate licensee at this point.

Why? You must hang your license under a brokerage to be considered a REALTOR® – a rule you’ll learn in your Pre-Licensing Education in place by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC).

How to choose the right brokerage

You have so many options to choose from when it comes to a real estate brokerage here in Tampa Bay and Central Florida. Here’s a few things to consider when choosing the brokerage that’s best for you:

How accessible are their locations/offices?

Some brokerages are larger than others and can cover a wide footprint, making it easier for you to best service customers across counties and areas.

Do they have support for you?

If you don’t want to get bogged down doing remedial tasks that someone else could be doing for you, make sure they offer different departments to take care of the back end stuff. Think accounting, administrative, and compliance!

Is your broker competing with you?

Ask if your broker actively sells in your marketplace or if they are there to be a coach and resource for you to build your business.

How can they help you with marketing?

Marketing is the biggest part of your business, so make sure the brokerage offers the tools, resources, and know-how you need to market your business effectively.

What fees do they charge and for what?

Fees are a necessary evil. Yeah, you might think it’s a lot coming out of your pocket, but if you were to add up everything offered on an a la carte menu the cost would be out of this world.

Is someone available to help you?

Whether you need additional training or help with one of the tools offered, ask if they have a dedicated education department. You’ll be able to gauge the support you’ll be receiving if you ever need a helping hand or the amount of google searching you’ll need to do.

Do they offer additional revenue streams for you to earn more money?

If you want to diversify your real estate portfolio, see if the brokerage offers additional specialties such as Broker to Broker Referrals, Asset Management, New Home Construction, Luxury, and Commercial.

Is their brand well-known in the real estate industry?

You want to make sure you associate yourself with a brokerage that has a proven track record of being trusted and loved by their customers.

Do they have partnerships with core services to best serve your customers?

You want to make sure your customers are well taken care of and have a seamless experience with you. Internal core services can help with that! Make sure they have relationships with reputable Insurance, Title, Mortgage and Home Warranty businesses.

What does the company culture look and feel like?

When you walk into an office as a real estate agent the feel in the room can go one of two ways. One, it could be full of energy and camaraderie that leads everyone in the best direction. Two, you could be swimming through the tension of ultra competitive {real estate} sharks.

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Evaluating Real Estate Brokerages

We know choosing the right brokerage is a big decision for a new real estate agent. The process can be overwhelming, and it’s hard to keep track of the benefits, tools, and services each company is offering.

To make it a little easier, we’ve created a worksheet to help you track your pro’s and con’s.

Interested in learning more?

If you’re looking for more information about working in the real estate industry, we’ve got plenty for you to review. Here’s a few pieces we recommend to review.

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Lead Me To The Money

Generating leads is a large portion of your real estate business, and something that we help with! Between our local, dedicated Business Development and Relocation team and the national Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network, we are constantly cultivating relationships with hundreds of lead sources, brokerages and agents internationally. You also hold the power to generate your own leads through a multitude of methods while using the tools and resources we provide you!

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Position Yourself For Success

You may hold the title of REALTOR®, but we all know there are so many more titles that you also carry. Being a real estate agent isn’t just selling homes, you have a business to run! Let us help you with that part… the business-running part. We have all of the internal operational efficiencies in place, the tools to help you do your job, the automation and synergy needed to make your job easier, and finally a global brand with local roots to support you every step of the way. Let us show you what we’re talking about. We can talk the talk AND walk the walk.

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Here For You

When we say we are full service we mean it. We take an immense amount of pride in serving our agents and customers completely. We provide a full education department, accounting department, marketing department, in-person coaching and business consultation. All of these departments, people and resources are simply to support you and your small business. In addition to that we have CORE Services to help you deliver everything your customers need under one roof.

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Have questions? 

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© 2024 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. Equal Housing Opportunity.