Personal Narrative: A Career As A Real Estate Agent Essay

In my opinion Franklin D. Roosevelt says it best, “Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care… it is about the safest investment in the world. ” To be successful in real estate I have to be able to put my clients’ interests and needs before mine. The benefits of homeownership I want to give people are, the benefit of privacy, the appreciation of the investment, and increased equity. Real estate is my dream job; I have moved around eight times.

My mom is probably one of the hardest clients anyone could have; she knows what she likes and that is what she will get. I have found her a couple of the houses she has lived in. A real estate job sounds amazing to me because I am helping families find home, not just houses, where many memories can be made. Home is not a place to me, it is a feeling that I want everyone to sense when I find them the perfect place. Being able to say, “I. have purchased the ideal home for me,” is a great sense of accomplishment for any individual or family.

There is one thing all people want at some point in their lives; it is to come home. I want to be apart of that great journey for the recently married couple, ready to have a baby, or just being ready to purchase a house, excites me. That feeling makes me want to find them their perfect house that fits all the their needs. Meeting people from different backgrounds makes me look forward to this job. For most, long hours, working on the weekends, a low starting salary, and continuously renewing a license is not something anyone looks forward too; but a career in real estate is something that will work for me.

My various reasons include: the education is not too extensive, I will be challenged to keep my interest, I like the nature of the work, the environment, the outlook in the labor market, and real estate is a challenging field. Anyone that chooses a career as a real estate agent knows that long hours is a must (“At a glance”). With long hours though, real estate offers a very flexible schedule. Although the hours are often irregular and could mean lots of hours on the weekend (“What They Do”). With long irregular hours the chance to make a difference in someone’s life makes up for it(“How to Become a Real Estate Agent. ).

Many professionals spend endless hours studying cities and towns, buildings and neighborhoods, and assessing property values(“Become a Real Estate Broker and Sales Agent – Careers – The College Board. “). According to Mike Weaver, a big positive about real estate for him is that he can set his own hours and work as much or as little as he would like to. Starting out young in real estate has many positives although pay is not one of them. Real estate brokers tend to pay better commission to older more experienced agents(“Real Estate Salesperson Or. Broker. “).

In 2012, the median hourly wage for real estate brokers was $28. 05. The median hourly wage for real estate agents was $18. 82 in May 2012. (U. S. ). Even though you are mostly selfemployed, a real estate broker is still above an agent and any commission a real estate agent requires is split with that agent’s broker(“How Hard Is It to Become a Real Estate Agent? “). Mike Weaver instructed me that “As far as making a living at this job, I would say if you work hard, pick a great area or state to get started in, and put in the time and effort, you could do very well doing this business”.

Since real estate is a commission-based business, having money set aside for you to get by for a few months is a life saving idea mostly because a new agent does not get paid until they sell there first home, that could take months(6 Steps To Becoming A Real Estate Agent. “) It takes quite a bit of work to get a license in real estate. All requirements vary depending on the state. Allstate requires a high school diploma or equivalent and anyone who takes the test must be eighteen years of age(“How Do I Get My Pennsylvania Real Estate License? “). Sixty hours of a master prep class is typically a must with most states.

Also thirty hours of both real estate practice and fundamentals classes. For most states a compilation of just sixty hours of approved real estate education is needed(“How Hard Is It to Become a Real Estate Agent? “). When asking for approval to take the test, a background check must be completed. Once that is taken care of the national licensing exam will be available to take. After that is passed, applying for the license is next; an application that is signed and submitted must be turned into the state, provided by the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission.

A fee is required to attain the license(“How Do I Get My Pennsylvania Real Estate License? “). It is expected that between the tests and the licenses that an aspiring agent will pay at least $200, though prices vary from state-to-state. (6 Steps To Becoming A Real Estate Agent. “). Once I have my license I must take 24 hours of continuing education every three years to keep my real estate license active(“How Hard Is It to Become a Real Estate Agent? “). Real estate licenses expire on June 30th of each year, the deadline for the continuing education courses is June 10th.

All applicants must complete eight classroom hours per year of continuing education in order to renew their license on active status. (North Carolina Real Estate License, Education, Exams and Forms. “) Education varies a lot in real estate, many states have very different requirements and some extra education can put anyone ahead in this field. A high school diploma and coursework in real estate is needed to get a real estate license. In some states, people with bachelor’s degrees in real estate can get their licenses without additional course work(“Become a Real Estate Broker and Sales Agent – Careers – The College Board. ).

In the state of North Carolina there is the largest and most exceptional Real Estate School. The name of said school is The J. Y. Monk Real Estate School with courses offered throughout the state. Since 1975, J. Y. Monk Real Estate School has taught well over 200,000 students in our Broker Prelicensing and Post Licensing Courses, “Exam Prep” Cram Courses, Continuing Education Courses and BICAR Courses. J. Y. Monk courses are offered by J. Y. Monk Real Estate Training Center: Virginia College, LLC, a division of Education Corporation of America (ECA).

ECA is a highly-reputable school, fully committed to investing in the long-term growth and success of you and your North Carolina real estate career. (“North Carolina Real Estate Classes – JY Monk Real Estate School. “). Things agents do in the real estate field to put them ahead of others is get a bachelor degree in business and to also take appraising classes. That is not necessary for everyone going into the field but it could help in the end when it comes to how valuable an agent is to the real estate company.