Selling real estate can be just as much work as buying. There are so many things to worry about as you prepare your home to list on the market. Then you have to worry about the real estate agent you will hire to help you get the house sold. After that, you have to worry about who will be coming in to tour your home throughout the week. Will you hold an open house? Do you take the first reasonable offer you are presented with? Our blog was designed to assist you through the selling process a little bit easier.
Clients are often surprised to hear that there are many different levels to real estate professionals. It is not simply "real estate agents vs. realtors." There are many other professionals and professional levels involved here. Who are you going to talk to when you first meet one of these professionals, and how can you tell the difference or understand what the differences are? Here is the real estate professional hierarchy that helps you understand the who's who in this business.
Supervising or Managing Real Estate Broker
If you have a real estate agency or brokerage (whatever title the owner wants to use and is applicable), you have a "head honcho." This is the supervising or managing real estate broker. He/she may or may not speak to clients directly, or he/she may only handle high profile clients. The rest of the time, this person manages the entire business, and everyone working for him/her.
Real Estate Broker
A broker works under the owner/managing real estate broker, but over and above other real estate professionals. He/she does just about anything and everything most other real estate professionals do, with a few minor exceptions. A broker brokers a deal for you like no other, and he/she can help you find financing in places you would never have known or thought to look yourself. To be a broker, an agent has to become a realtor, and a realtor has to get a broker's license.
Realtor
A realtor works for a broker, or a realtor can work independently of a broker. A realtor might have originally been a real estate agent, but through the many-stepped process and licensing has now become a realtor. If an agent is a realtor and is working for an agency or broker, he/she can still use "realtor" as part of his/her professional title, and often he/she has to actually list this as his/her official and professional title regardless of the capacity in which he/she works. Ergo, if you walk into a broker's or agency's office, and you meet with someone that has "realtor" on his/her desk nameplate or office door, you know that he/she has a realtor's license.
Senior Real Estate Agent
A half step below realtor and a full step above agent, the senior real estate agent supervises and manages the other agents. It is possible to not have a senior agent in a real estate firm. However, that leaves management duties up to the realtor or broker.
Real Estate Agents
The beginning rung of any real estate career starts here. Real estate agents may be agents for six months to decades, either choosing to remain in this career intentionally, or just not opting to get additional licenses and certifications. An agent can still do almost anything any of the above professionals can do for you.
Share14 September 2019
