Become a Real Estate Broker

The mission

The primary mission of a broker is to defend the clients’ interests and to help them make the best decisions about buying, selling or renting a property.

Being passionate about real estate

The real estate profession is one that can be learned. Over the years, a broker who has the desire to learn and is open minded will acquire a strong expertise in many spheres of real estate. He will often be recognized as an expert and a reference in the field. To do this, he must:

• Know and anticipate the market in which he operates
• Stay informed of the latest developments
• Know the market players

Main tasks

The residential real estate broker acts as an intermediary for buying, selling or renting a house, a condo, a plex or vacant land. He must also:

• Solicit customers and sign mandates for the sale, purchase and leasing of properties
• Apply the rules and regulations relating to real estate brokerage
• Act in a professional manner
• Analyze clients needs
• Evaluate market offers
• Guide, advise and reassure clients to help them make good decisions
• Negotiate and defend the interests of clients
• Advise and assist buyers to select, visit, inspect properties and make a purchase offer
• Assess the market value of properties
• Advertise properties for sale on different marketing channels
• Organize open houses to attract potential buyers
• Inform clients about market conditions, prices, mortgage loans, legal requirements and any real estate related issues
• Explain the entire process of a real estate transaction to clients

Assess motivations and abilities

The profession of real estate broker is demanding and requires specific abilities. If you have all these abilities or think you can acquire several of them, real estate is for you! And it is also a very pleasant career!

• Good organization skills. Be able to manage several files at the same time.
• Entrepreneurship. Solicit new business and maintain current clients’ base.
• Analytical skills. Be able o understand the needs of clients to better guide them and efficiently asses the value of a real estate property.
• Skilled negotiator. Interpersonal and persuasive skills to successfully achieve sales results.
• Make an impression. Inspire trust, be mindful of your image and defend your opinions clearly and concisely.
• Be charismatic. You must have positive energy that pushes people to want to talk to you and be around you. Don’t worry, charisma can be developed.
• Be available. Your clients want to be able to reach you at any time for information.
• Be proactive and disciplined. Quickly returning calls from prospects and existing clients means excellence in customer service!
• Manage stress well. There will be down times with no cash flow and times where you will be in high demand. You must adapt to the real estate cycle and be comfortable with the unknown and insecurity.
• Manage money well. Real estate brokers’ income varies. You must be in control of your budget.
• Love social connections. The basis of this profession is to interact with the public and build a network of contacts (partners and clients). You have to be tactful and empathic.
• Be up to date. Have the desire to learn. Clients are increasingly educated and demanding; therefore, it is essential to know several areas in real estate and be able to offer a level of service that meets their expectations.
• Be authentic. Be honest. You are often the only resource available to clients and they count on you to give them a straight story.

Useful hints

No two months are never quite alike. There will be weeks where the phone won’t stop and others where people are on vacation and contracts will seem out of reach.

When you choose to be supported by a Sutton real estate agency, your agency manager will always be there to motivate you, provide advice for your solicitation activities and support you during transactions. All the benefits of being self-employed, without the inconvenients!

We can’t lie to you on this topic. While one of the benefits of being self-employed is to work your own schedule, it is wrong to believe that you will succeed in real estate by only working 15 hours a week, only when you feel like it - unless of course, you decide to make it just a part-time career.

Each day, you need to seize opportunities to acquire clients and do adequate follow up. A self- employed person does not have a boss to report to. Therefore, success is in your hands!

At Sutton, you self-employed status does not mean that you are left to yourself. You have questions on a transaction? You are struggling to close a transaction? Your franchisee or agency manager will always be available to support you in the transaction process. You want to build a business plan? Your manager will be happy to build it with you. You will feel supported but still feel that sense of freedom that make most self-employed people happy.

Your network

For a real estate broker, building a network is perhaps the most sensitive and important task because it will determine the level of success. You will have to build contacts with all the professionals involved in a real estate transaction whether they are mortgage brokers, notaries, financial institutions, to name just a few. These partners will allow you to stay on top of the latest market trends and therefore, find the best deals for your clients.

The last thing to ask yourself is if you have the skills to prospect clients (buyers, sellers, and renters) to get you started as real estate broker.

Finally, take care of you clients. In real estate, word of mouth works really well, and this, in both directions. If you are good and attentive to the needs of your clients, you will quickly build an excellent reputation and easily get new mandates. If you disappoint them and don’t return your calls, you will have a hard time finding new clients.

Are you up to developing these skills? Don’t wait any longer and become a real estate broker!