Estate agents – the newcomer’s guide
Becoming an estate agent isn’t an easy task. As well as competing against other agents, you’ll be crossing your fingers that a property bubble doesn’t come along and bring the economy crashing around your portfolio.
But these are only the start of your concerns. Like a ship heading towards an iceberg, you’ll only realise the complications of becoming an estate agent as they draw nearer.
That’s no reason to back out of your property-ladder dream. Along with a long list of difficulties comes a whole host of rewards.
If you’re successful in your endeavour, you’ll make incredible profits. Alongside this, you can enjoy the satisfaction of giving buyers an amazing home to live in.
The creative aspects of the job are also routinely ignored, but this is a career path in which your design skills will be put to the test. You’ll have to make interior design decisions daily, and shell out money to create the ideal show homes.
The sheer number of headlines on the property industry should be enough to illustrate how alchemical the process of buying and selling houses is. So if you’re scratching your head, here are a few top tips on how you can understand the industry more fully.
Check with the law
Property law is a confusing mass of legislation and legal jargon. You’d probably need a law degree simply to understand some of the terminology used in these wilfully convoluted documents.
But the truth is, most estate agents don’t know much about property law. Instead, they leave the complicated stuff to solicitors.
A prime example of this is Switalskis Solicitors, which has a dedicated property law division. Hiring a firm like this is a necessity if you want your transactions to be above board.
Check financial blogs and news
Newspapers are crammed with property advice, as are blogs dedicated to the subject. And these articles are invaluable for keeping up with the latest news on the market.
The property market is particularly prone to fluctuating health, so keeping up with the news will allow you to make changes to your business plan that could protect your finances.
Start small
You’re buying properties, an expensive commodity. Do you really want to mass-purchase these exorbitantly priced buildings only to have them linger unsold for years?
Start small and learn the ropes of your industry before you think big. This is a marketplace that can reward baby steps, so tread lightly.
Know the lingo
Buyers can smell an amateur as soon as they walk into your joint. If you don’t have your lingo nailed down, you’re going to look about as clued up as dunce at a Rocket Science Convention.
There are many resources online to help you perfect your ‘estate agent speak’, but we’d recommend chatting regularly with your peers to get the terminology just-so.
That’s our list! Got any tips of your own? Then let us know in the comments below!
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