Job Responsibilities of a Real Estate Realtor: A Guide to the Profession

Renting or renting a home or buying an apartment is always a headache, endless trips to government agencies and problems with documents. Anyone who has bought an apartment at least once knows how difficult it is to choose it, find a common language with the seller and correctly complete the transaction. Requires a lot of free time.

For this reason, the market for intermediary services in real estate transactions took shape on its own and the profession of realtor, or real estate agent, appeared.

Realtor - what is the essence of the profession?

The profession of a realtor is extremely in demand these days, but not everyone knows what exactly he does. Also, many do not understand what the commission is charged for a transaction for the sale, purchase or rental of real estate.

The essence of the realtor profession is the conclusion of real estate transactions and their full support

. A real estate agent takes on all the organizational work for which his client does not have the time, desire or knowledge.

The official name of the profession does not accurately reflect the essence, since a realtor helps not only to sell a home, but also to buy it. Moreover, there are specialists who help with renting residential premises.

Most realtors deal with mass housing – this is where most transactions are concluded. Some specialize in primary offers, while others prefer to work in the secondary market.

Secondary housing includes all residential premises that have already been used by someone

. Since real estate prices are constantly growing, it is often secondary real estate that becomes the most sought-after property.

There is also a small group of realtors who help with the selection of land for suburban construction, the purchase of private houses, or work exclusively with the premium segment. They also have their own benefits: transactions on luxury real estate are carried out less frequently, however, and the margin from them, as a rule, is much higher.

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Responsibility

In addition to rights and obligations, a realtor also has responsibilities. If a situation arises in which the consumer protection law comes into force, he will have to bear it.

Let's say an individual bought real estate for personal purposes, but a specialist improperly provided his services. He may be charged for this:

• interest for late repayment of commission;
• fine 50% of the amount collected;
• the entire commission.

If, through the fault of the realtor, the client lost money and did not receive the property, then the person can recover from the unscrupulous specialist the entire amount that was paid for the property.

But, of course, it is still necessary to prove that he is guilty. And the fact that there really is a causal connection between the loss and the actions of the realtor.

In rare cases, a specialist may be held administratively liable. This is if they suffered property damage through breach of trust or deception. Fine – from 5,000 rubles up to 5 times the amount of this damage. There may even be criminal liability under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

How do realtors make money?

A realtor's salary is a fixed percentage of the transaction. It is important to take into account that a real realtor will definitely draw up a contract for the provision of services. This gives legal protection to both the client and the real estate agent.

When buying or selling a home, the average realtor interest rate is usually around 5%

. If the agent has selected an apartment that the client is ready to rent, then the commission can be 100% or even more of the monthly payment.

Since realtors earn only from commissions on transactions, their future salary directly depends on their efficiency. Usually, beginners rent apartments because it is a more stable income, while professionals can take risks and do more complex things. If a realtor has not made a single transaction, then the agency for which he works does not pay him anything.

Skills

Lastly about them. The skills should definitely be listed, because if the realtor does not have certain skills, then he will not be able to perform the duties that were listed above. The list is as follows.

• Clear, clear speech with pleasant intonation. No fatigue in your voice or uninitiated muttering under your breath! You need to speak clearly, concisely, clearly, and to the point. The intonation should be friendly and businesslike, not ingratiating.
• The ability to listen and hear, to read between the lines. There is no need to interrupt, try to say something smart. You just need to listen to what the client wants and give answers to the questions asked. You cannot argue and impose your opinion.
• The ability to ask. After all, not every client can explain what he wants. But he shouldn’t be subjected to interrogation with bias. It is enough to correctly find out key information about the object. In general, it is better to provoke the client into contact, to establish a trusting relationship. And, by the way, it’s worth starting the conversation with general questions. For example: “How are you feeling? Did you get to the office okay?”
• Ability to solve a client's problem. A person must understand that the realtor he contacted knows exactly where to go, who to find, and how to get everything done quickly. It is necessary to act in his interests, pushing into the background the desire to make money by “cutting off” the commission from a more expensive object. It will bear fruit! A satisfied client will definitely recommend a good realtor to his friends.
• Organized. A realtor must be able to plan his schedule, keep his promises, and motivate himself independently. And remember about all clients! It's better to start a diary.
• Ethicality. The style of a realtor is very important - both in the manner of communication and behavior, and in clothing. After all, first of all, he sells himself – as a specialist. A presentable suit, gentlemanly behavior and professional speech are the key to success as a realtor.

And the last two qualities are honesty and integrity. The best reputation is the one that is nurtured on these two qualities. Perhaps at first it will not be very profitable, but that’s why it’s work for the future.

Responsibilities of a realtor and working conditions

The profession of a realtor is characterized by rather harsh conditions, requiring energy and considerable eloquence. Self-presentation and negotiation skills are a must for any good real estate agent. Our own established client base and connections in government agencies are also important.

A realtor rarely sits at his desk in the office. He either shows apartments, or selects documents, or communicates with officials, notaries, and the tax service. One of the advantages of the profession is a flexible schedule.

But there is also a disadvantage in the form of irregular working hours. An agent often has to work evenings and weekends. At the same time, a realtor, as a rule, deals with more than one order, but manages several at the same time.

A realtor has a lot of responsibilities:

1. Collecting information about housing for sale or rent, maintaining a real estate database;
2. Searching for potential buyers or tenants;
3. Coordination of contracts, completion of all necessary transaction procedures;
4. Assistance in obtaining the necessary documents from government agencies;
5. Drawing up reports on the work done.

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If purchased through a mortgage

Choosing a bank - where to start a responsible and complex business? The bank has its own mortgage loan conditions, and it is often not so easy to understand all the nuances of the offers. You will need an assessment, studying a lot of requirements, making a lot of calls, visiting a lot of offices. An experienced contract professional will always talk about all the details during the transaction and advise on the most favorable conditions, since he is personally interested in the successful resolution of the housing issue and the speedy registration of the transfer of ownership of the apartment.

In addition, a realtor will be able to provide assistance in cases where:

• the borrower does not have officially confirmed income sufficient to obtain a loan;
• there are problems with your credit history, and there is a suspicion that the bank will not approve the borrower;
• the person himself does not understand the intricacies of the issue, or he does not have the opportunity to independently search for a suitable lending program;
• the buyer does not know that an apartment with an encumbrance can be purchased with a mortgage.

Some agents, due to the specifics of their work, have certain agreements with banks, as a result of which transactions with them are completed much faster, and often more profitable, than the customer would process the loan on his own.

What is the salary of a realtor?

Since any realtor takes a commission only from successful transactions, there is no exact information on earnings.

According to information from online job search resources, on average, given that the cost of apartments can vary dramatically in different regions, a real estate agent can expect to earn about 40 thousand rubles at the initial stage

. A professional with an established client base and extensive experience can earn 150 thousand rubles or more.

You should pay attention to the cost of apartments in each region, for example, the maximum salary of a realtor in Astrakhan will be the minimum in Moscow and other developed cities.

Property is sold using a mortgage

A bank that issues a loan of several hundred thousand to a buyer is a kind of guarantee that the owner will receive his funds in full. In most cases, the owner has nothing to worry about; banks with many years of positive reputation most often keep their promises.

However, there are certain risks involved with a mortgage. After registering the transfer of ownership, under certain conditions, the agreement can be challenged in court, and then the previous owner of the apartment is returned back, but already burdened with a loan. Judicial practice shows that then the law is always on the side of the banks, and the latter take their own.

To avoid such unpleasant consequences, you should use the help of a professional realtor. He is able to ensure legal purity and protection of the client, acting in the interests of the owner. The broker has sufficient experience and knowledge to eliminate dangers and troubles. But no one, not even he, can guarantee a positive outcome.

We examined the main options for the acquisition and sale of real estate, as well as the extent to which a realtor’s participation in them is necessary and how much the parties to the transactions need him. I tried to justify the agency’s participation at various stages of the acquisition of real estate. You can add your opinion on this matter in the comments.

Do I need to take courses for realtors?

This profession does not involve studying at universities. For every realtor, training means independently conducting real estate transactions with positive results.

This also includes independent study of legislative acts and the search for trusted persons. For specialists with a legal education, it is easier to work with documents, but the rest of the work improves only with experience. If you have a higher education in real estate construction, you can quickly improve your skills.

Most agents do not have higher education

. Some have not even taken the simplest courses for realtors. This happens because, first of all, this profession is suitable for people who have knowledge of psychology, know how to establish contact with any person and are able to present themselves in an interesting way.

Realtors working for real estate agencies can undergo training at the company. Typically, this opportunity is provided by large organizations interested in increasing the number of professional employees.

This benefits every party, as a trained realtor is more likely to bring in more income.

In the realtor profession, there are many people without specialized education, since personal qualities are much more important here: knowledge of psychology, the ability to communicate and find contacts, high efficiency, resistance to stress and energy. Large real estate agencies provide certain training to prepare their personnel. Then, for independent activities, you will need to obtain a license from a self-regulatory organization - the Guild of Realtors. Well, then everything depends on the perseverance and efficiency of the specialist himself.

You can also take in-person or remote courses for realtors, which will reveal some of the features of the profession and give you more confidence.

General provisions

So, a realtor is a technical executive who works in the real estate department, who reports directly to the head of the department.

As a rule, a person with secondary vocational education who has undergone additional training in the profession is appointed to this position. In most cases, there are no requirements for the job profile and length of service, but this depends on the preferences of the management.

Realtor or realtor - which is correct?

The profession of a realtor appeared relatively recently - in the 90s, when the purchase and sale of real estate became a widespread and commercially profitable business.

It is not surprising that the Anglicism is used for the name of this specialist - realtor. True, the foreign name gave rise to a linguistic incident. How to write correctly: realtor, realtor or realtor in general? Until recently, even official documents used all three names.

In English, the word realtor is pronounced [ˈrɪəltə]. However, for the Russian-language tradition, when using borrowed words with the letter combination -ie, it is still customary to use the letter E. Despite the fact that the linguistically correct option would be the word realtor, the vast majority of real estate agencies use the option with the letter E.

Summary

Within the framework of the topic under discussion, it is necessary to highlight one more important nuance. Namely, how to write down the job responsibilities of a realtor for a resume?

It's actually simple. After filling out the blocks regarding personal data and education, you need to talk about your work experience. The name of the company, the position held, as well as a list of previously performed duties of the real estate realtor are indicated.

For a resume, you need to include everything. After reading this document, the employer must understand what the candidate can do, what he is capable of, and whether he will need to be trained.

So the realtor will need to write down everything that he did at his previous place of work. And also what he is still capable of. You must not forget to indicate your personal qualities (punctuality, perseverance, efficiency, etc.).

How to distinguish a good realtor from a bad one

If you have an issue with real estate, the main thing here is to choose a smart realtor. But, unfortunately, the qualifications of many specialists are such that participants in the transaction prefer to buy apartments directly, without realtors and other intermediaries. New agents may not even take the most basic realtor courses to improve their competency. Not the most correct approach, especially if you lack time or legal literacy. And when dealing with real estate without intermediaries, a person always faces an increased risk of fraud and delaying the process.

However, when hiring an intermediary, it is important to remember a fundamental point: the realtor should minimize your transaction costs, and not increase them

. This is the main difference between a good specialist and a bad one.

A competent and intelligent realtor at the same time:

1. He delves into the essence of the situation, is ready to listen to all wishes and offer the best option;
2. Study courses for realtors, improve their legal literacy;
3. It works strictly on a contractual basis and immediately indicates the percentage of the transaction without hidden conditions;
4. Accompanies the entire transaction from start to finish, warning the client about all force majeure;
5. He is well versed in the law and knows how to find all the pitfalls when buying real estate. The simplest thing is that when buying an apartment, he will find out the number of owners and whether it is encumbered;
6. Never puts pressure on the client in his choice, but only advises him, offers options and explains the consequences of decisions;
7. He values ​​his reputation and is ready to make concessions to the client.

What should he know?

Since we are talking about the job responsibilities of a realtor, we need to talk about what he needs to know. This list includes:

• regulatory legal acts, instructions, regulations, as well as other governing documents and materials that govern real estate transactions;
• current prices for services for processing all transactions;
• specifics of a market economy;
• contact details of those agencies that work in the real estate market, as well as the services provided by them;
• features of taxation of both individuals and legal entities;
• specifics of all operations related to real estate;
• features of the analysis of information from this market, as well as the collection, processing and further transmission of information;
• everything related to the preparation of documents related to the rental, purchase and sale of real estate;
• price lists and price tags;
• requirements and standards for real estate;
• features and rules of advertising;
• real estate market conditions;
• labor, housing and land legislation;
• basics of sociology and psychology, business communication skills, ethics.

If a specialist does not know all of the above, he will not be able to perform the duties of a realtor.

Stories about black realtors

Stories about so-called “black realtors” often appear in the media. They received their name due to numerous frauds during transactions, as well as outright deception of citizens. The basis of their “business” is to ingratiate themselves and, under one pretext or another, take possession of the property rights to real estate. They choose as victims the most legally illiterate: pensioners and people leading a marginal lifestyle.

This phenomenon does exist, but it is not on such a terrifying scale as the press describes. Most realtors still value their reputation, since reputation is the best advertisement in such a business.

When notarizing the sale

The participation of a notary in the transaction is necessary if one or more shares are being sold, or when one of the owners is a minor citizen.

In any other cases, the law does not oblige the parties to notarize all actions, but, if the parties wish, the notary takes part in the registration. If the owner wishes to seek notarization, the agent can only provide assistance without affecting the result in any way.

However, under no circumstances will the notary be involved in the process of selling the apartment; he is assigned other responsibilities. It only confirms the fact of transfer of real estate, while all preparation for it is the responsibility of the realtor.

Control methods

In practice, there are three control options:

• An agency agreement is practically a real estate activity. The challenge is to find tenants and get them to agree to the required terms.
• Lease agreements with the right to transfer - for example, an office center is rented entirely from the owner by one large tenant, and then he is looking for entrepreneurs to sublease. Accordingly, trying to make money like this.
• Trust management is a complex service that requires a manager in its original sense. That is, you will have to not just look for tenants, but take care of the maintenance and modernization of the building, think through marketing, and rental policy. You could say, develop commercial real estate as a business.

By the way, the big advantage of transferring real estate to trust management is that it becomes a separate object of law. A separate bank account is opened for it, independent accounting is maintained for it, and it cannot be considered as an object for other debts (collections). Of course, unless this is a complete bankruptcy of the owner of the objects, in accordance with Art. 1018 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.