Rental Properties For Sale - How To Get A Constant Income From Real Estate

If you’re looking to switch career paths, you can’t do better than becoming a real estate agent. Especially not right now. The profession has almost passed into the canon of legend among modern Americans, with TV shows like “Flip or Flop” and “Fixer Upper” casting real estate as a profession that embodies the modern-day American dream. Anyone can become a successful real estate agent with the proper information and equipment, these shows proclaim, and the profession’s growing reputation among everyday Americans has encouraged many to get into the business.

If you’re looking to become a real estate agent, there truly is no better time than now: with a real estate market that has stayed strong through the pandemic, established real estate agents are making a killing off their properties. You just need the right tools, as well as a plan that can take you from wannabe to long-term agent, renting out an assortment of properties and earning a steady, constant stream of passive income.

This article aims to give you the essentials you need to prepare yourself to enter the highly competitive, lucrative field of real estate. Read on, and we’ll talk about steps that every wannabe agent needs to take to set themselves up for success.

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Take A Look At Your State’s Requirements For Licensing

Before you take your first steps into the market as a real estate professional, you’ll need to be properly licensed by the state in which you plan to do business. Unfortunately, there is no such thing (currently) as a federally-recognized real estate license, and the licensing process looks a little different in each state. Different states have different regulations regarding things like the age you must be to get a license, any exams or required courses you must take, and whether continuing education is required.

As such, you’ll want to conduct some research into your state’s requirements, as well as whether other states have any reciprocal agreements with yours. Some states allow licenses for other states to count as valid for theirs, and whether you plan on starting your business in your home state or moving to a potentially more lucrative area, it’s always a good idea to have an idea of the full range of your potential.

Online Courses And Exams

Your next step will be to take whatever courses are required in your state. Most states will require not only that you take a particular course before taking your real estate exam, but that said course lasts a certain number of hours. For example, in California, would-be real estate agents must take three classes for a grand total of 135 hours. While in Texas, you must complete the required 180-hours of real estate pre-licensing courses from a TREC-approved education provider.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways that the requirements for each state can be fulfilled. Applicants can take their classes online with a reputable provider or take them inside a more traditional classroom setting through a university. Doing your research on the reputation of whichever providers you choose will help you get an idea if the instructors are truly competent; if not, you may want to seek education elsewhere.

When you get to the end of your term, your instructor should tell you how to access the relevant exam, as well as give you exam prep tips that may come in handy. Most exams are multiple-choice and come in two parts: a federal exam that tests you on federal regulations and a state portion that tests you on local laws. Passing both will earn you your license.

Join A Brokerage

This additional level of state oversight is put into place across a number of states to make sure that once agents get their licenses, they continue to follow relevant regulations. The broker oversees each transaction you make, paying you a portion of the commissions collected from each one instead of being paid hourly.

Joining a brokerage is a bit of a necessary evil, but one that can provide benefits for you as well, keeping you on the state’s good side as well as abreast of any changes in regulations.

Invest In Your First Property

Once you’ve cut through all the red tape, it’s finally time to invest in your first property. Chances are, you won’t have the capital on your own to purchase your first property, so you’ll want to seek out an established rental loan broker to borrow appropriate capital. When discussing the amount needed, keep in mind that you’ll need to budget for renovations as well, not just the cost of obtaining the property: you can surely work that out with your broker, as well as a payment plan that will allow you to cover it stress-free.

After that, it’s just a matter of renovating it appropriately, salvaging what features you can, and removing what’s too far gone to be saved. After the renovations are complete, the next step is to create a listing that shows off the features of your home while minimizing its flaws: it’s a difficult thing to do correctly, but with the right guidance, you’ll get people running to your properties in no time.

Anyone can become a real estate agent, provided they take the correct path. If you follow the above steps, you’ll soon find that you’re wheeling and dealing with Chip and Joanna, and as successful as Tarek and Christina, living out the American dream day by day, turning real-fixer-uppers into beautiful, lucrative streams of constant income.