Real Estate Broker

A real estate broker is a person who is a go-between for buyers and sellers of property. They have to seek out the people who wish to sell and the people who wish to buy and then become their broker. Being a real estate broker is a double edged sword. When working with a selling party the broker must find a way for the seller to sell their property for the highest price under the best term. But when a real estate broker is working with a buying party they must find a way for the buyer to purchase a piece of property for the lowest price under the best terms. Most real estate brokers working within the United States are required to have a license before dealing with prospective buyers and sellers.

Below is a list of the services a real estate broker can provide to a buyer or seller of a piece of property:

Comparative Market Analysis

Exposure

Facilitating a purchase

Facilitating a sale

FSBO document preparation

Full residential appraisal

Home selling kits

Hourly consulting

Leasing

Property management

Exchanging property

Auctioning property

Preparing contracts and leases

Not all of these services are available in each and every state within the union and a handful of them come with a fee.

Below is a list of the services provided to a selling party:

Property listing

Paperwork prep

Adding a "For Sale" sign to the property

Advertising the property

Running an Open House for prospective buyers to tour

Negotiating the price

Representing the seller at the closing

To be qualified for a real estate agent's license an interested party must attend an educational course that usually lasts 60 hours or more. At the conclusion of the course the participants take a test and must pass before receiving their license as a real estate agent. The new agent must then use their license with an existing real estate firm before going out on their own. If the real estate agent wishes to become a real estate broker they must take another educational course and pass another test to become a broker. This can only happen after the agent has been an agent for a specified period of time, which usually differs from state to state. A real estate broker can own and/or operate a real estate firm and each branch office of a larger firm is required by law to be managed by a licensed real estate broker.

There are four popular groups within the real estate agent and broker profession. They are the National Association of Realtors, the Realtor Political Action Committee, the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers.

The majority of sales involved in real estate involves a percentage. When a buyer or seller hires a real estate broker or agent to aid them in property movement they usually determine a percentage of the sale to go to the agent or broker beforehand. Most agreements net the agent or broker anywhere between 20 to 35 percent of the final sale.