Is a Real Estate Career Right for You?

We all know that the real estate market has been increasingly busy and successful over the last couple of years. Homes are selling, and good real estate agents are in demand. With buyers anxious to take that next step and sellers testing the waters and listing their properties, it is a great time to be a real estate agent.

Perhaps you have been considering this career path for a while, but wonder if it is right for you. It does take certain basic skills, the right training and ongoing support to be successful. How do you know if it’s the right move?

Here are some basic questions to ask yourself:

1. Are you great about follow-up? The real estate profession is based upon relationships and follow-through. If you say you are going to follow up in a few days, you have to be the kind of person who does exactly that. You should be invested in your client’s needs and treat each transaction as if it were your own.
   
   
2. Does rejection, stress, or people being upset send you running? It’s not all happiness and celebrations. Escrow can fall through, clients can get upset by things like buyers making low-ball offers, and you will have moments of rejection. You have to have the ability to turn it around and work to remedy the situation. And if you have given it everything you have and it still doesn’t work, you must be able to pick yourself up and move on.
   
   
3. Do you like working as a team? The entire real estate transaction requires many people, from mortgage officers to clients, from other agents to lawyers. You all must work together to get everything accomplished, and sometimes it requires patience, compromise and the ability to interact with many different personalities successfully.
   
   
4. Do you require a set work schedule? Real estate is flexible to a point, but in reality you are working when the job demands that you do. You must be able to embrace the fact that your schedule is often fluid.
   
   
5. Do you embrace gaining as much training and knowledge as possible? Quality training is key. Success as an agent goes far beyond just getting your license. Look for a company that has a culture of continued learning, support, and mentorship. It’s important that extensive training is available to you when you need it and in the form you want to access it. For example, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Verani Realty offers multiple workshops and training opportunities for their agents that range from webcasts to traditional classroom training.

Entering into a career in real estate is extremely rewarding, and it could be exactly the job that you were meant to be doing. For some people it is a perfect fit. If you have been thinking about a career in real estate, check out what Verani School of Real Estate has to offer and give us a call.