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Jonathan Storie

13 February 2018

English III

Mr. Alburger

A Career In Real Estate

There has become many new shows about real estate that people rave about. However,

while these shows make real estate seem much easier, in reality, the difficulty tends to become

much higher. As these shows grow increasingly popular, the people that watch start to become

more aware of the level of hard work it takes to participate in the business of real estate.

Becoming an extremely popular career choice for many people, Real Estate takes hard work and

dedication to achieve success.

Real Estate agents duties assist clients in selling, leasing, and purchasing houses

(Nadeau). Understanding trends, property values, financing options, and local tax and zoning

laws (Nadeau). Real estate agents work for a broker. Brokers pay real estate agents a commision,

a fixed percentage of a properties final sell price after the transaction becomes complete

(Nadeau). In their work environment they travel between properties. Many work from home or in

a real estate office and primarily use their phones to research and communicate (Nadeau).

Working 40 hours a week, which seems quite normal, does not happen in the real estate business.

Their work hours depends on the clients. Agents tend to work more in the warmer months of a

region (Nadeau). In order to perform this job, individuals recommend that you have the ability

to work closely with other people. The real estate agent field can become very competitive. The
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many duties and responsibilities that concern real estate agents, such as, they need to divide their

time wisely, and one needs to allot time in the research of properties and meeting with potential

sellers and buyers. Real estate agents always check to see when and if new houses go on the

market. They meet with multiple interested people to discover a desired price range. A real estate

agent will also display the house to theirs clients. Responsible for developing marketing

strategies, agents, for example, perform advertisements and open houses on behalf of the sellers

(Nadeau). Real estate agents become the liaison between buyers and sellers (Nadeau).

Negotiating skills become an important aspect of the job that one needs to possess. The

contracts and paperwork have to finalize before the closing of a property (Nadeau). ​Also, one

must carry out legal inspections; these inspections have to check for termites, lead paint,

hazardous materials, and radon, a radioactive gas (Nadeau). ​Often times real estate agents also

assist clients in applying for loans and mortgage plans (Nadeau). Helping clients with their

mortgage and loans will reflect positively on the agent and make people want them as their

agent.

The different types of real estate an agent can specialize in include; the most common

type, residential, and commercial. Residential real estate primarily deals with housing for people.

For example, this includes neighborhoods, apartments, and rural areas where people want to live.

Residential real estate becomes the most common because it becomes the most needed. Real

estate agents that work in the residential business tend to have more business and make more

money. Another type commercial real estate. Commercial real estate normally works with

business complexes and other large widely known buildings. Examples of commercial real estate

are: hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, malls, sports facilities and many others.
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“After two years as a real estate agent, Kate Austin is doing so well that her husband is

quitting his job to stay home with their three kids (Kanell).” Due to the growing attraction to real

estate, and the fortune people earn from it, makes it an enticing job. “Real estate is absolutely

exciting” (What).Many people pursue real estate as a part time job. Those who become full time,

seem to do really well financially. If an agent becomes popular and skilled they will make a lot

of money. As shown in the quote above, only one spouse has to work and the other can stay at

home with the family. This becomes a very good thing because a couple would no longer have to

pay for daycare and babysitters. This reason, among many others, causes this job to become even

more desirable.

In real estate, people often do not think about things within the job. An agent has to travel

between many property locations. These locations could spread across long miles. ​A person who

does not own a car would ​become​ unable to meet the needs of clients. ​Due to the amount of

traveling from property to property, one would use large amounts of gas. This would also put

many miles on the car. In real estate the hours one work tend to take very long. Some people

within the career only average three days off work every two weeks. Agents have to make sure

the lights in a house get turned on and off, pick up any trash and setup signs and balloons in the

yard (Kanell). “Its like blue-collar labor in high-heel shoes (Kanell).” Making sure all of these

things become done so that it will ensure a highest earning potential (Kanell). The little things

such as this, make all the difference.

Real Estate shows itself everywhere. Neighborhoods where people live, schools, malls

and someone's favorite restaurant. An empty plot of land could soon become the home to an

apartment complex, neighborhood, or shopping center (Middlekauf). Every property has value.
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People will always need somewhere to live, shop, eat, play and work. That said, career

opportunities in real estate will always need for people willing and dedicated to to their job

(Middlekauf). Without this motivation and dedication to the career, it would prove difficult.

Over the past couple years, Real estate business has seem to thrive and do very well.

According to RealEstateExpress.com, the leading online provider of real estate license training,

has seen an increase in people working to obtaining their real estate license in 2014

(Considering). Many people get their license and become an agent because they do not want to

miss out on all of the recovery and potential of real estate. People join the career to participate in

all of the upside (Considering). In the past however, a huge recession happened in the career,

which made many agents quit their job. This also caused for less people to pursue the career.

“According to the National Association of Realtors, the number of realtors in the industry

dropped 11% from 1,112,645 to 999,824 between 2009 and 2012 (Considering).” If one lived in

North Carolina or Minnesota during those years, their declines of realtors became even more

dramatic. They reached between sixteen and seventeen percent (Considering). For an agent's

income, the median gross income rose from $34,900 in 2011 to $43,500 in 2012 (Considering).

This ​becomes ​yet another reason the career began to catch popularity again.

On RealEstateAgent.com people can get their pre licensing courses taken care of for an

inexpensive cost (Considering). RealEstateAgent.com, one of the oldest online real estate

license schools in the nation, became established in 1999 (Considering). They have now trained

over 500,000 real estate students in the country successfully (Considering). Online classes have

become an easier and a more popular way for people to get some of their courses out of the way.

Doing classes online becomes convenient and affordable for some individuals.
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Real estate not only has an impact in a community, but also has an influence in

pop-culture and hollywood. Television shows about real estate have become extremely popular

over the years. Viewers all over the United States show interest towards these popular shows.

Many popular shows pertain to real estate. These include shows such as House Hunters, Flip or

Flop and Property Brothers. House Hunters, a series on HGTV, in which a pair of people

(usually a couple) view a series of houses their realtor has chosen for them. The realtor chooses

the houses from a list of criteria given to them by the couple, such as price, location, and

bedroom number. At the end of the show, the couple must decide what house they will purchase.

In flip or flop, the realtors decide to buy a house based on the appearance of the outside. After

being purchased, the house then gets rentivated by the realtors. Once rentivated they put the

house on the market and try to sell the house for more than they bought it to make a profit. In

property brothers, the show includes two twin brothers named Jonathan and Drew Scott. One of

the brothers works in the construction, renovation and decoration of the house. The other works

in real estate. Drew finds houses that have potential and negotiates the price. Once they own the

house, Jonathan then starts fixing up the house to get it ready to sell.

People in real estate have different viewpoints and experiences on what the work life

includes. In an interview with Laura Hlewicki, she states that she decided to pursue her real

estate license three years ago. Since a young age Hlewicki always loved viewing house and had

an interest in the markets (Hlewicki). This became the reason behind leading her to get her

license. Working another job part time, she still decided to take the time to get her license. Her

plan became that she would work both jobs and then eventually only work in real estate

(Hlewicki). She worked three days at each job (Hlewicki). She quickly found out that one needs
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to dedicate their full self time to establish a real estate career (Hlewicki). Spending a lot of time

to make contacts and gain clients becomes a key part of the career (Hlewicki). One needs to

reach out to what one calls a “sphere of influence” (Hlewicki). They become your established

family, friends and other contacts (Hlewicki). One always needs to answer the phone in the

office. She worked in real estate for a year and a half and had some sales (Hlewicki). However,

her other job required her to work full time (Hlewicki). Hlewicki describes her career right now

as stagnant. She still has a valid license and she can sell at any given time (Hlewicki). Her

current plan for the future, to wait until her daughters get out of college, so that she can dedicate

the time needed to build her client base (Hlewicki). This career plan shows best for her benefit.

There becomes many things required to get your license. One needs to take the real estate

courses and fulfill the amount of hours needed (Hlewicki). One also needs to pass the state test

(Hlewicki). “I will say the class was much more intensive than I thought it would be (Hlewicki).”

Memory can help with the amount of real estate laws needed to pass the test (Hlewicki). Many

people fail the test their first time (Hlewicki). Many people she knew failed the test and had to

take the class and test over again. Her motivation while studying knowing she did not want to

have to go through the pain of having to take it again (Hlewicki).

Mrs. Hlewicki lists some basics to the job that she found she needed to do. One needs to

gain contacts, leads, and decide if one wants to represent the seller or the buyer (Hlewicki).

When representing the seller one becomes responsible to know the market area and recommend a

fair price to the clients (Hlewicki). Advertising and informing their clients how they should show

their home needs to occur (Hlewicki). While representing the buyer some of the main

responsibilities includes: listening to the client, find out what they search for in a house or
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property, and then find them a home that meets their needs with their budget.

The first step to becoming a real estate agent one needs licensing. One needs to take

courses. Some courses can occupy in classrooms or online. Thirty to ninety hours of coursework

become needed before the exams (Middlekauf). Online classes have become increasingly more

popular. After passing course exams one has to take national and state board exams (What).

After passing, one will have a few days to become associated with a brokerage. Then they will

work in sales for a few years before working with a brokerage (Middlekauf). It becomes very

important to find a good brokerage to associate with. For choosing a broker it becomes important

they transpire at training and transaction assistance (What). Some brokerages make one pay an

extra fee in order to work with them. Another important thing, finding a brokerage where the

fees remain fair and oneself does not pay more than they should be. Next you need to look into

the commision and salary. Working hard and developing skills can help an agent earn an

abundance of money. An agent can make between two point five and three percent in a

transaction side of a sales price (What). Depending on the cost of the house one sells, it can

amount to a lot of money. The next thing to decide, how many hours to work. In the real estate

business having a nine to five job, where the work gets left in the office, becomes an

unreasonable schedule. (What). An agent needs to ready themselves to work any hours that best

fits the client. The most convenient times for clients often become weekends and evenings

(What). Weekends stay busy.

The key to real estate becomes growing your list of clients. “​The thing most likely to

hamper your real estate career in its first few years ​is​ convincing people to trust you with the

largest investment of their lives while you learn the ropes (What).” With the trust of clients, they
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will get you to do more for them. It helps to work with a team when first starting out because

buyers will ​stay​ more likely to trust the new agent. It also ​proves​ very important to work as many

hours as possible when first starting out. After learning the ins and outs of the real estate

business, it will ​prove​ easier to find clients that will trust you. Customer service ​becomes

importants.​ In order to keep the list of clients growing, oneself needs the clients raving about

them.

Arguably the greatest aspect of real estate, the ability to create relationships and work

with your clients through one of the biggest transactions of their lives (What). Creating

relationships ​become​ important. The client needs to feel like a friend. If they​ act​ like a friend,

they will trust decisions and agree with ideas.This job becomes very difficult if one lacks public

speaking skills. It also helps if oneself ​works well with people. ​Always​ stay ​positive and

optimistic attitudes no matter what. Telling the client about what goes on proves as a key to

staying informed.

In choosing real estate as a future career, one needs to pick the right college to get the

best education possible. Choosing a good school will further learning and excell the individual

for success later in the career. Some of the best colleges for real estate agency include: Indiana

State University, $8,416 in-state/ $18,346 out-of-state (Indiana), Penn State, $17,900 in-state/

$32,382 out-of-state(PennState), University of Florida, $6,381in-state/ $28,659 out-of-state

(University), and Liberty University, private $22,000(Liberty)(Best). The schools listed ​show

just a few top schools to attend on campus, or to which take online courses through.

Real estate popularity seems to be growing. This shows because of the increasing amount

of shows that depict this career. Although it may seem like a very simple career, it takes hard
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work, people skills, lots of training, and a good education. If you do this job correctly, you can

do very well financially. You can also create great relationships and partnerships through this

career. In the business of real estate, takes a lot of hard work but if one becomes determined they

will become successful.

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Works Cited

"Best College Reviews Names Top 10 Online Bachelor's in Risk Management and Top 10

Online Bachelor's in Real Estate." ​PR Newswire​, 2017. EBSCO​host​,

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgsr&AN=edsgcl.513528430

&site=eds-live&scope=site​>.

"Considering a Career Move? Real Estate Express Says the Timing Might Be Right to Become a

Real Estate Agent." ​Prweb Newswire,​ 2014. EBSCO​host,​

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsggo&AN=edsgcl.36257022

1&site=eds-live&scope=site​>.

Hlewicki, Laura. Personal Interview. 13 February 2018.

<​https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bGotF-uFDframWpe53vj7mwCXGHozTZJfdfsZ

x2Bra4/edit?usp=sharing​>.

Indiana State University Tuition.<​www.indstate.edu/+​.>.

Kanell, Michael E. "A Hot Career Path; Rise in Real Estate Agents Reflects Market." ​The

Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, GA),​ 2005. EBSCO​host,​

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsggo&AN=edsgcl.13486219

4&site=eds-live&scope=site​>.

Liberty University Tuition. <​www.liberty.edu/+​.>.

Middlekauff, Tracey. "Get Real." ​Career World​, vol. 35, no. 4, Jan. 2007, p. 12. EBSCO​host​,

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=23452943&site=eds-

live&scope=site​>.
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Nadeau, Briana. "Real Estate Sales Agent." ​Salem Press Encyclopedia​, 2013. EBSCO​host​,

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=89550454&site=eds-l

ive&scope=site​>.

PennState Tuition. <​www.psu.edu/+​.>

University Of Florida Tuition. <​www.ufl.edu/​.>.

What You Need to Know Before Considering a Career in Real Estate." ​Usnews.Com​, 2016.

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<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsggo&AN=edsgcl.48954835

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