Tag: real estate agent

How to Create Accurate Real Estate Job Descriptions

Anne Hartnett Leave a comment

As you plan to bring on new people, evaluate which job responsibilities you should delegate, share and keep in your care. It’s best to start slow, adding one role at a time, while learning what you really need operationally and financially.

In this blog, we will review three of the most common team member titles, job descriptions, and compensation models. This is to help you compare your needs with the current industry standards and hire appropriately.

Team Assistant

Role Responsibilities

This administrative position will help you organize, track, manage and coordinate any area of your business. Your assistant can be licensed or unlicensed, depending on your needs. A licensed assistant can answer questions for clients and even show homes.

An assistant is often suggested as a good first hire because they can free up the time you currently spend on administrative work, allowing you to focus more on profit-building tasks. A team assistant will not directly generate income for your business but may indirectly help you grow by allowing you to serve more clients.Compensation

Compensation

A full-time assistant will require an hourly wage or salary, plus benefits, and will require a larger investment than . Real estate assistants often make between $30,000-$45,000 a year, plus bonuses and benefits, depending on your market. You’ll need to withhold income tax, state taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes.

These payments can add up to 15 percent or more to the cost of their total salary. You’ll also have to report all of this to the IRS. Additionally, you may need to provide office space, workers’ compensation, errors and omission insurance and health care benefits. You may be required to include them on your auto insurance policy.

Buyer’s Agent

Role Responsibilities

Some agents prefer to focus their own work on listings, and need help representing buyers. Since buyers often require more of your time and attention than sellers, hiring someone to manage the buyer side of your business could make a lot of sense.

Buyer’s agents show houses to clients and convert showings to sales on properties of interest to the buyer. A buyer’s agent will also understand the current marketplace and financial implications of investing in various neighborhoods. They will help buyers narrow their search based on needs and lifestyles and can bring new perspectives to your clients.

And though the buyer’s agent only focuses on buyers, the right hire can bring a more diverse understanding to your business as a whole. He or she can serve as an advisor to you and other agents.

Compensation

A buyer’s agent is typically paid a small salary plus commission. The commission for buyer’s agents is typically up to 50 percent, after expenses are paid. Splits may be adjusted to differentiate between team-generated leads, which may generate a 40/60 split, and agent-generated leads, which could be a 60/40 split. The selling point for this position is that a buyer’s agent is more likely to make more money in a team setting while handling the side of the transaction that they prefer.

In order for a buyer’s agent to be successful on a team, the team must have a high-producing buyer’s agent. Buyer’s agents should show properties and close deals, with the help of the team’s lead generating marketing efforts and administrative assistance. Your compensation models should hold agents accountable for their productivity.

Listing Specialist

Role Responsibilities

A listing specialist can either bring in the listing or step in once the listing agreement has been signed. A listing specialist will represent the seller and oversees all aspects of the seller’s transactions, from initial contact through closing.

The listing specialist may prepare all materials and documents for the listing as well, including marketing materials, listing agreements, disclosure statements, market analyses and online property profiles. The specialist will also conduct the necessary research to advise on the sale price of the property, and work with the sellers to take photos, stage the property and make repairs.

Compensation

Like a buyer’s agent, listing specialists may be paid a small salary, but the role is largely based on commission, up to 40 percent of the net profit. Base salaries for your listing specialist should depend on the experience level of the agent and your local market. Salary compensation should be strategic to inspire productivity.

Like the buyer’s agent, generating their own leads and closing deals is a main priority. They should be held accountable for their productivity and compensated appropriately.

Grow Your Team

Plan to start slow as you hire new team members, and grow your team by one position at a time. Pay your team members competitively and based on their productivity to retain them and support your financial success. To learn more about how to fill out your roster and create accurate and useful job descriptions, start your seven-day free trial of AgentEDU today and watch the full course, Team Members Job Description and Compensation.

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AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth. For a 7-day free trial sign up here.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.

Opening Your Own Brokerage in 3 Steps

Anne Hartnett Leave a comment

Increased earning potential, financial freedom and control over their vision of business are the main reasons real estate agents start their own brokerage. However, there are a lot of challenges associated with starting and running your own brokerage. It means more work for you, at least at first, and more risk. So, you have to be certain your reasons for hanging your own sign are the right ones.

How Do You Know If You’re Ready?

But if you plan properly and employ the right business model, owning a brokerage may be right for you. In this blog you’ll learn how to determine if you’re ready to open your own brokerage. If you’re part of the TL;DR crowd then start your free seven-day trial of AgentEDU today and watch the full course, ‘Are you ready to open your own brokerage?’

Before reviewing the steps of the planning and transition process, think about what you can confidently take on and where you may need some help. These are important things to consider before you decide to go out on your own.

Ask Yourself These Questions

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Do you understand the financial and personal risks, and are you willing to accept them?
  • Do you feel confident that you can manage and run all aspects of your own business?
  • Have you put your financial plan together? Do you have enough capital to support your efforts?
  • Do you have the right people lined up to join your business? If not, do you have a recruiting plan?

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, then you could be a good candidate to open your own brokerage. But there is a lot that you need to know before you do.

#1. Have an Exit Strategy

Make sure you account for potential practical, political and emotional issues when leaving your current business. You’ll still need a strong professional network once you open your brokerage, so make sure you don’t burn any bridges during the transition.

Along with an exit plan, you’ll need to write up your plan for the new business.

What will the process be? Who do you need to speak with, and when? How will your current brokerage react? How will you handle any sales that are currently in process? Does your brokerage have your database, and do they have the right to use it after you leave? What if other agents want to leave with you? Where will your new office be? Would your new office be in direct competition with your current office? What are your obligations to the brokerage, the managing broker and other agents in the office?

#2. What Will Your Business Model Look Like?  

Begin by deciding on a business model. What specialties will you offer? How many agents will work with your brokerage? How will the brokerage support them?  Outline the roles you will play, as well as any additional responsibilities you’ll have to take on. Figure out which roles you need to hire for. Use technology to help fill in the services you lose by separating from your old brokerage. Draw up a transition plan for your team that details how workflow will continue through the changeover.

#3. Become an Expert on Your Financials

Nothing can happen until all the financial pieces are in place, so you’ll need to be an expert on your budget. Opening your own brokerage will require a financial investment. Can you fund the start-up costs on your own or will you need to borrow capital? What about investors?

Many businesses fail because they are under-capitalized. Make certain that you have enough capital to manage startup costs. Plan to cover operating expenses with savings for at least six months, including rent and utilities. You’ll need to budget for office equipment and marketing expenses. Make sure to include insurance costs for your business, fees for any online services you use, membership fees and other miscellaneous items.

To learn more about the financials needed to launch your own brokerage as well as your next steps, start your seven-day free trial of AgentEDU today and watch the full course titled, ‘Are you ready to open your own brokerage?’

_________________________

AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth. For a 7-day free trial sign up here.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.