How to become a successful realtor from scratch: where to start a real estate business

What do real estate agents do?

Some people don’t know why a realtor is needed if a suitable option for buying or selling an apartment can be found through advertisements in the media or on the Internet. In fact, it is quite difficult to do without the services of this specialist. He acts as an intermediary between the buyer and seller when concluding a transaction, and also monitors the correct execution of documents.

It is worth noting that such a concept does not exist in current legislation. The correct name for this profession is real estate agent. Now let’s figure out what you need to know to become a realtor and make money.

Where to begin?

It is always difficult for beginners to start their own business. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to overcome many difficulties. If you have never worked independently, you should remember that now no one will mentor you or tell you anything. So get ready for free sailing. Before starting your own business, it is advisable to work in a team. Thanks to this, you can gain invaluable experience that will be useful in the future. In addition, clients trust agents who have worked in large companies more.

Realtor is a fairly profitable and successful business. This business can be done in two ways:

Private realtor

A simplified option is a private realtor. To do this, you need to have a desire, a telephone and a recent newspaper with advertisements. In addition, you should familiarize yourself with all laws relating to this area. Seek help from experienced professionals who can tell you what a realtor needs to know. Learn how to draw up sales and purchase agreements and you can get to work. The second option is to open your own real estate agency. Set a goal for yourself and work not for quick profits, but so that your business becomes successful and brings in a solid income. In this matter, a lot depends on connections, perseverance, knowledge and, most importantly, experience.

In addition, you need to decide on the direction of your activity:

Scheme: real estate business

Apartments;
Country houses;
Commercial real estate;
Rental of property.

If you take on everything at once, it is impossible to achieve a positive result. Over time, when you understand how to become a successful realtor, you can gradually expand your scope of activity.

What should a successful realtor be like?

It is easier to succeed in any profession if you have certain character traits.

You can acquire special knowledge, you can learn to do something, but if you psychologically cannot cope with the work, if you do not have those very soft skills that we talked about earlier, then you will not be able to become the best of the best.

To become a successful realtor, you need:

Be sociable, because sociability is one of your main trump cards.
People like to be able to do it.
If clients feel uncomfortable in your presence, then who would want to deal with such a realtor?
Always look beautiful.
Would you trust selling a house worth $100,000 to an unwashed, unshaven creature with dirty nails and hair, wrapped in some shapeless rag?
Speak competently and beautifully.
“Shokannya”, “Gakannya”, surzhik, slang, obscenities (this is extreme, but who knows) literally scream about poor education, lack of culture and unprofessionalism.
Be able to convince.
Some people always doubt which yogurt they should buy, strawberry or peach, let alone real estate.
Often it is the realtor who must find the right arguments to convince a doubting client to make a purchase.
Learn to drive a car, because you will have to travel around both the city and the region, and it is simply impossible to do this on public transport.
Do you have a phobia of driving? Better do something else.
Be confident in what you say.
If buyers doubt your words or manage to confuse you, then you can say goodbye to your percentage of the sale.

How to work independently?

If you have firmly decided that I want to become a realtor, first of all you need to provide yourself with a reliable rear. This could be a husband who receives a good salary or some kind of cash savings. The fact is that the real estate business is a rather complex business, the profitability of which largely depends on luck. At first, you may not earn anything, but only spend money on calls, travel and advertisements. But this will allow you to gain invaluable experience. Rent a small office space somewhere in the city center, register as an individual entrepreneur and get to work. In addition, you will have to purchase furniture, a computer and office equipment.

Don't spend too much money on advertising. It is enough to place advertisements in newspapers or post them in the entrances of residential buildings and at transport stops. This will cost you approximately 25 thousand rubles.

You can open your website on the Internet and place on it contact information, a list of services and their approximate cost. Don't forget to create a feedback form. This will help you attract targeted visitors.

Periodically check free message boards, where new offers appear frequently. If you see a suitable option, immediately call the client and offer your services.

How did my mom's friend become a successful realtor?

I am not very knowledgeable in the issues of buying and selling real estate, so the profession of a realtor has always seemed to me not particularly difficult, but incredibly interesting.

You have a free schedule, you constantly meet new people, visit beautiful houses and apartments, and are always on the move. In addition, it is enough to sell one large house and you can easily live on the interest for several weeks.

But subconsciously I understood that my ideas were far from the truth, so I decided to talk with Aunt Lyuda, a friend of my mother.

She became a realtor completely unexpectedly even for herself, having a philological education. In the 1990s, it suddenly turned out that you can’t really live on a teacher’s salary, especially if you have a small child and a goat husband who ran away from alimony.

Real estate investment!

Aunt Lyuda was ready to get a job anywhere as long as it paid. For some reason, the owner of the real estate agency liked her, and he decided to give her a chance.

Aunt Luda says that at first it was difficult: learning a new profession, having an unstable schedule, competing with young girls who looked warily at their adult aunt, etc. But gradually she got involved and even fell in love with her job.

Over the course of 10 years, she became one of the most successful realtors in the city and still continues to do so.

Rights and responsibilities of a realtor

Let's figure out what a realtor should know? That is, what is included in his responsibilities:

Negotiation;
Consultations;
Search for clients;
Collection of documents;
Conclusion of contracts;
Real estate market analysis.

As a rule, many companies train their employees themselves, so you don’t need any special education.
Many people are interested in how to become a private realtor without any work experience. To do this, it is enough to attend seminars conducted by specialists. You can also take courses in property management. A realtor may disclose confidential information about a client only in one of the following cases:

By the tribunal's decision;
At the request of government authorities;
If he knows that the client intends to break the law;
If a realtor is accused of illegal actions.

To engage in such a business, you need to learn all the rights and responsibilities of a realtor, so as not to run into serious troubles in the future.

And about sales records...

What was the most expensive apartment you sold and/or rented out?

What should a realtor know?

If you are interested in how to become a realtor, where to start is with your appearance. A neat, handsome person inspires confidence among clients, so you should pay special attention to this. It's time to update your wardrobe by adding some business suits.

In addition, you need to learn:

Understand the psychology of clients;
Communicate with different personality types;
Negotiate;
Explain information convincingly;
Inspire client trust.

This is the main thing you need to become a realtor.
Successful specialists can easily analyze the real estate market and find the most profitable options. They know the answers to any questions. For those who want to learn how to become a realtor on their own, we offer some simple tips:

Stay in your office as often as possible. Communicate pleasantly with clients;
Educate yourself. Read specialized literature, and also search the Internet for any useful information;
Listen carefully to all client requirements. Before becoming a professional realtor, you first need to learn psychology;
Try to convince clients that you are a good specialist. They will trust you and bring new clients;
Try to constantly promote your services. Thanks to this, you will not have a shortage of clients.

Secrets of success for realtors

Experienced brokers have in practice identified the basics of successful real estate sales and you will learn the main ones:

Legal subtleties . When solving the problems of buying and selling real estate, any agent needs to advise the client on legal issues, be it donation, inheritance, registration at the place of residence, etc. I don’t argue that it’s impossible to know everything, so experienced brokers always know who to consult. Sometimes this issue is resolved by an agency, hiring a lawyer on staff or as a staff member; more often, an agent needs to independently look for an intelligent specialist. But this option deals with complex issues. You are quite capable of learning typical points on your own and demonstrating your competence at meetings with owners and buyers;
Create a good impression . The statement is equally true for both the appearance of the agent and the property being shown. The success of sales depends on the attitude towards you or the housing you are showing, which is why it is so important to be able to disguise the shortcomings and show the advantages. Your colleagues at the agency and various trainings will teach you this. Additionally, read the article on how to behave when selling an apartment;
Price balance. One of the professional secrets of successful sales of realtors is the correct positioning of the value of the property. And the point is not even that you need to find a measure, because an apartment costs exactly as much as you are willing to pay for it. It is important for you to understand this! Those. If you convey to the buyer the value of this particular apartment and specifically for his needs, you will sell at a high price!
Using other people's experience , for example, those who already know how to increase the fee to 150,000 rubles monthly;
Ability to ask questions . Beginners at the beginning of their careers do not know how to communicate at all, and this is the main skill in a broker’s activity and one must constantly work on it. The purpose of communication is to gain trust, establish contact, and identify needs. And open-ended questions will help with this, for example, “why are you looking for housing in this particular area?”
High quality photos . Success begins with an established flow of calls and appointments, and they appear only when high-quality photographs are attached to the advertisement for the sale of an apartment. Practice shows that a photo taken in the correct lighting and in compliance with mandatory requirements increases the number of calls for an ad several times;
Approaches to the apartment . Infrequently, newcomers pay attention to the access roads to the house, the lack of parking spaces, playgrounds or establishments accompanying the residence of family buyers (kindergartens, schools, hospitals, supermarkets, etc.), as well as a freight elevator, air conditioning, view from the window and friendly neighbors. If you learn to identify buyer needs, over time you will notice how important these additional factors are for buyers when choosing an apartment. Therefore, you will be able to successfully use the information received;
Pre-sale preparation . It is important for you to thoroughly study this stage in the sale of apartments. Only you, as an expert, know what to remove, where to tint, whiten, what to show, and what to hide from the eyes of a potential buyer. The goal is to depersonalize the apartment so that when viewing it, it is easier for the buyer to imagine how he lives in it;
Sources of calls . It is important to use all sources to receive incoming calls. Do not be limited to the agency database or the database in which you are registered. Study and test for effectiveness public pages on social networks, advertising in Direct, Target, posting, etc. Gradually identify the tools that work. I recommend reading: what to write about yourself to a realtor;
Impressions based on need . Any showing of an apartment is work with the identified needs of the buyer. Your task is to identify the needs of a potential buyer before showing the property, otherwise you risk wasting time;
Solve the problem on both sides of the transaction . If you are showing a property and the buyer agrees to purchase it, but he has a mortgage and does not have an agent on his side, offer help! Even though it will often be free of charge (although sometimes banks pay affiliate fees for mortgage holders), you will close the deal - this is your ultimate goal.
Surround yourself with successful people . It sets our teeth on edge, but we are often taught to envy other people's success instead of learning from the best! The secret of most successful realtors is that they learned from those who made millions a month in transactions and passed on this experience to them. But it's not just about experience!
Change your way of thinking . Thinking drives us to places we don’t want to go. Especially the subconscious, which has been embedded since childhood and you don’t even realize how it controls you and forces you to make decisions that are unfavorable to you. It’s hard to convey this in a few lines of text, and even harder to change in yourself. Therefore, there are a lot of trainings and marathons on changing consciousness in favor of a change of thinking, which increases your financial income significantly. Let's talk about this in more detail in the following articles - follow the newsletter;
Don't be afraid to make mistakes . Excellent student syndrome prevents many newbies from reaching their potential in real estate. I was no exception either! Therefore, accustom yourself to the fact that you can make mistakes. The secret of success is that you gain experience and you need to concentrate on this, and not scroll through your head like dirty laundry the awareness of your own incompetence or inattention or fear.
Plan . Meetings, showings, calls, lunch... Daily, weekly and monthly planning will give you not only order in your head, but also the opportunity to identify errors in processes and find effective tools for solving everyday problems. More information in the article Realtor Work Plan
Follow the trends . Nowadays there are many channels through which you can build a client base and promote your personal brand: social networks (for example, Instagram), Youtube, etc. At the same time, colleagues can help with reposts and comments. Read more in the article: How to advertise a real estate service

Having listed what needs to be done, I will mention what should not be done:

overload the client with information;
to assert oneself at his expense;
making a fool out of the client;
allowing fear of rejection to guide your actions;
do not specify important points in advance (for example, payment procedures, commission, etc.)

As you understand, all the tricks and secrets of how a realtor can make money when buying and selling apartments are not so difficult to implement. However, not many people know about them. And very few people know how to do it! And even fewer are successfully used in their activities. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why there is such a turnover of staff in agencies.

Features of working with clients

To achieve success, you first need to learn how to communicate with clients.
Clearly explain to them all the important points that relate to your cooperation. In addition, the client should be advised on all legal issues. Be sure to conclude an agreement that specifies all the rights and obligations of both parties. Typically, the client pays the real estate agent 5% of the total transaction amount. This clause should also be included in the contract. After that, you must offer different options that fit the specified requirements. In addition, the realtor handles all paperwork. The work ends after the sales contract is signed.

Real estate market and real estate activities

In 1991, Russia began the free transfer of housing into the ownership of citizens by the state. This was facilitated by the RSFSR Law of July 4, 1991 No. 1541-1 “On the privatization of housing stock in the Russian Federation.” This is how private property appeared. A new product was born in the form of privatized housing. In the course of entrepreneurial activity permitted by the state, people appeared who had accumulated certain funds and were able to purchase goods in the form of apartments and other real estate, in other words, buyers appeared. A real estate market has emerged.

It was from that moment that all Russians became participants in market relations with all the risks inherent in them, the greatest danger of which is the loss of property rights as a result of their own legal illiteracy, the professional incompetence of the intermediary, or even his malicious intent. In addition, it was with the advent of privatized housing that people had the opportunity to earn money by buying and selling apartments. Then intermediaries, who also existed in Soviet times, entered the real estate market. In those days they were called brokers, they helped in solving housing issues on the basis of exchanges, building long chains. At that time, their activities were not official; moreover, they were criminally punishable. Remember the wonderful film “For Family Reasons...”, the encrypted conversation between the broker and the customer, those same “buttons”, “sleeves”, a lot will become clear and even funny to you. Nevertheless, brokers existed, and their clients paid them decent fees for those times for providing quality services, which were always valued. The names of the most talented of them were passed on from mouth to mouth. Some are still working productively in the Russian real estate market.

What was the Russian real estate market like in the early nineties? It was information chaos. If sales contracts were already drawn up by notaries, then there were only state notary offices; money was often transferred wherever necessary: on the street, in a car, in apartments, in entrances. The price law practically did not work. No one checked the so-called “cleanliness” of the apartment, the legality of the privatization of this or that property. There were a lot of deceptions, frauds, frauds. But it was precisely at this time that the first real estate agencies appeared, representing a kind of association of “individuals”. The first agencies were small: a director, an accountant, 3 - 4 real estate agents, a secretary (dispatcher). The real estate database consisted of paper records, because it was difficult to purchase a computer back then.

Since that distant time, the Russian real estate market has changed greatly. Numerous laws and legal acts have been adopted that have transformed the primary chaos into a fairly civilized market. This was largely facilitated by large players in the real estate market, that is, real estate agencies that appeared 15 - 28 years ago, exist and are actively operating today. Through discoveries, trials, errors, and innovations, they did a lot so that the real estate market, for example, in the city of Moscow, accepted its current state. It is impossible not to mention such organizations as the Russian Guild of Realtors, the Moscow Association of Realtors, regional communities of realtors, which have contributed to the formation of the modern real estate market in Russia.

Currently, the real estate market is one of the significant sectors of the Russian economy. Being closely connected with the housing issue of the majority of the Russian population, it has enormous social significance.

By virtue of federal legislation, for enterprises and entrepreneurs working in the real estate sector, practically the only regulatory act regulating their legal status is still the Regulation on licensing of real estate activities, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 23, 1996 No. 1407 on the basis of Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 24, 1994 No. 1418 “On licensing of certain types of activities. In 2001, licensing of real estate activities was abolished in Russia. But at least this Regulation describes the legal basis for activities in the real estate sector, which can still be relied upon today.

The word “realtor” appeared in everyday use in 1992, when the Russian Guild of Realtors (RGR) was established. In general, REALTOR is a registered and protected trademark of the US National Association of Realtors (NAR), therefore only members of this Association have the right to use this name. NAR introduced this trademark to three countries - Canada, Jamaica and Russia. According to the agreement signed with the American side, the right to exclusive use of the trademark in Russia belongs to the RGR, and through membership in the Guild, to real estate agencies, and therefore to the agents working in them. All members of the RGR agreed to write the word “REALTOR” with an “O”. Today, the Russian spelling dictionary considers only one spelling, “REALTER”.

When I wrote my books for agents in Russian there were spelling options: realtor, realtor, realtor, I chose the first. So forgive me, dear colleagues, for my commitment to such writing. I save time when editing a book by not editing huge text because of a couple of letters. It is expected in electronic form.

At the IX National Real Estate Congress, the RGR approved a program to protect and promote the realtor profession.

In Russia there is no official concept of “realtor”. There is no law regulating this type of activity. For now, real estate activities are regulated within the framework of general legislation on business activities. Although I note that in the fall of 2007, the RGR proactively began developing a draft law on real estate activities. Of course, such a law is necessary primarily in order to limit access to the real estate market by non-professionals who have a superficial understanding of the work of a real estate agent. It is precisely because of the incompetence of individual intermediaries in the realtor profession that serious damage will occur from time to time.

Russian real estate agents have Realtor Day. By decision of the National Council of the RGR dated March 21, 2008, February 8 was declared Realtor Day.

Real estate activity is understood as the implementation by legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, on the basis of an agreement with an interested person (or by proxy), of work to carry out on his behalf and at his expense or on his own behalf, but at the expense and in the interests of the interested person, civil transactions with land plots, buildings, structures, residential and non-residential premises and rights to them.

The following follows from this:

– Real estate activity is mediation in the commission of legal actions (conclusion of certain civil transactions), the meaning of which is to obtain the opportunity for a participant in property turnover (seller, buyer) to act as a party to the transaction through an authorized person (real estate agency). This type of activity can be carried out both on the basis of an agency agreement and on the basis of a commission agreement. In this case, the intermediary (attorney or commission agent), acting on behalf of someone else (agency agreement) or on his own behalf (commission agreement), but in both cases in the interests of others, ultimately creates, changes or terminates certain rights or obligations for his client (principal). or committent).

– Real estate activity is entrepreneurial, that is, independent, carried out at one’s own risk and aimed at systematically generating profit. This allows us to conclude that the provision of a one-time service to complete a real estate transaction cannot be recognized as real estate activity and, accordingly, does not require compliance with the requirements imposed by law on persons engaged in it.

– This type of activity is associated with real estate, which includes land plots and everything that is firmly connected to the land, that is, objects whose movement without commensurate damage to their purpose is impossible (buildings, structures, etc.). The status of a real estate property entails the need for state registration of ownership and other real rights to this type of property (rights of economic management, operational management, use, etc.), as well as registration of all types of restrictions on these rights, their occurrence, transition and termination in a unified state register real estate.

Professional activities in the real estate market include:

– Operations with residential premises:

– sale of residential premises at auctions and on a competitive basis;

– activities in transactions of purchase and sale, donation, exchange, exchange of residential premises (including intermediary), for the resettlement of communal apartments, resettlement of residents from houses subject to reconstruction;

– concluding contracts for the sale and purchase of residential premises with lifelong residence;

– provision of services for assessing the value of residential premises;

– activities (including intermediary) for leasing residential premises owned by both legal entities and individuals;

– Operations with non-residential premises:

– sale of non-residential premises at auctions and on a competitive basis;

– purchase and sale, barter, exchange, donation of non-residential premises;

– leasing of non-residential premises owned by both legal entities and individuals;

3. Operations with land plots

, including leasing of land plots owned by both legal entities and individuals.

How much do realtors earn?

Now it's worth talking about money. If you manage to conclude only one deal per month, your earnings can be up to 150 thousand rubles. A successful agent receives more than 300 thousand rubles monthly. You can also earn additional income by offering clients advice and assistance with paperwork. It doesn’t matter what a realtor does, the main thing is not to chase a quick profit, otherwise you can harm yourself.

When thinking about how to become a good realtor, you need to understand that such a specialist must quickly navigate any situation, understand prices, and also be able to properly conduct a conversation with a buyer or seller.

Professionals with extensive experience are in no hurry to enter into transactions with a minimum commission. They try to find a client from whom they can immediately make a large sum. Such people can serve as motivation for aspiring professionals. A small real estate agency with a staff of about 10 people pays for itself in a few months. Of all the newcomers who want to enter this business, only 20% manage to stay in the market and are in no hurry to make a quick profit.

Start with an agency

Without work experience and a comprehensive understanding of the activities of a real estate agent, it is pointless to open your own company. You should work as a hired realtor in a good agency for six months or a year. The latter should be popular, with a large number of clients, so that you can see the full scope of the work and understand its essence.

When choosing an agency, you need to consider the following factors:

Location. As a rule, agencies located in the city center have the most clients - there is a lot of traffic, the location is visible and convenient.
How long has the company been on the market? Clients prefer more “adult” agencies.
Don't pay attention to the number of employees. The agent receives money as a percentage of completed transactions, so the company can have a huge staff.

conclusions

Clients who need to buy or sell real estate want to work only with professionals.
Now you know what the job of a realtor is, how to start a business and how to make it successful. Constantly improve your professional skills and don’t stop halfway. This will help you achieve success. Business ideas for students in 2021 List of business ideas for students in 2021. What can attract young people in business today? What kind of help can a new entrepreneur expect in 2021...

How do you understand what profession you want to become?

Advice from a psychologist on how to understand what profession you want to become if you are not attracted to anything. How to choose the right future profession for your child and not make a mistake with the choice. ...

About the relationship between clients and realtors

Why does the tenant pay the commission for renting out the apartment?

It is not always so. It often happens that the owner pays. It's worth paying the renter if he doesn't have the time.

What percentage of apartment rental transactions occur when the owner formalizes the relationship?

From this year it will be so tough that most likely up to 80% of the owners will figure it out. The tax service is committing atrocities.

Source: fb.com/groups/flats4friends

If the owner sets an unreasonable price, do you try to reason with him or don’t argue?

The main job of the agent is to justify the price of the transaction, and not the imagination of the owner. We don’t just argue: if the owner doesn’t hear from us within 7 weeks, we terminate the contract.

Is there really a practice: realtors promise the owner to rent out or sell an apartment at too high a price in order to win the client away from their colleagues, and then reduce the price for several months.

No. All these lamentations of owners on the Internet are an empty cry. An agent is not a magician. He cannot force the buyer to buy a product that is much more expensive than its analogues. The world is transparent, there are no idiots. Everyone can count. The task of a quality agent is to defend the maximum price during bidding.

What are the most common sins of your colleagues?

They're lying! Lies are constant. This is precisely the task of a good expert - to distinguish where he is being lied to. My agency has a code of ethics. Signed - don't lie. If I catch you lying, I'll kick you in the ass. It's a total lie, unfortunately. But 70% of owners lie like gray geldings.

Have you encountered negativity from others because of your work?

Every day our agents receive 2-3 “fuck you, you freak” in their direction. This is a side effect of the job.

Real estate transactions are close to crime: has this ever happened in your practice?

Yes. There was a professional criminal who re-taped passports so that she was caught by prosecutors throughout Russia. We had a problem with her in the Krasnodar office.

But most often the owners themselves ask for crime: to lower prices in contracts in order to evade taxes, to arrange an apartment in such a way as not to take into account maternity capital, to help throw a relative out of a deal. There are sooooo many of them.

Again, I spent 16 years building my reputation, if an agent in my network gets caught doing this, he’s screwed: I won’t just break the contract, but I’ll also try to prevent him from working on the market.

Has the real estate market in Moscow become more civilized in recent years?

No! Only worse. Portals allowed trash to work with objects. Untrained clowns can pretend to have experience and start scamming people.

Source: fb.com/groups/flats4friends

How do you mitigate client risks? What are you looking at?

A database of indirect signs of fraud, constant exchange of experience with colleagues. Requests through your channels with the involvement of employees. There are also banks and insurance companies that participate with you in checking objects. There is a lot here; you can’t tell it in one interview.

Tell us about the dangers in the profession. How do you protect yourself?

Don't trust anyone. Here's the basic recipe.