Working in real estate can be both personally and financially rewarding. Not only do you get to put people in their dream homes and find office space for fledgling businesses, you also get compensated based on performance. There are few other jobs where income and performance are as tightly linked as they are in real estate, which means that you get rewarded for your passion. What could be better?
The only problematic aspect of a career in real estate is getting started in the first place. If you are interested in life in the real estate business, then there are a few things you can do that will help you to break into the market. The tips below provide advice on getting started in real estate as well as succeeding in the field once you are in.
Read Real Estate Finance & Investments
Real Estate Finance & Investment, by Peter Linneman, is the perfect reference guide for understanding the real estate market. Linneman is the founder of Wharton’s Real Estate Department, so he knows what he is talking about. From explaining the big picture to revealing the smallest of details,Real Estate Finance & Investment covers almost the entire real estate industry in an accessible, interesting way. The exercises in this textbook are the closest you will get to the real world without, well, being in the real world of real estate.
Supplement Your Training
Whether you have a business degree or you come from a different background altogether, like Kevin Kerekes, you need to understand financial modeling in real estate. Courses on this topic range from basic introductions all the way up to advanced seminars that deal with complex transaction types.
Learning how to properly model real estate transactions is critical to success in the industry and, though you can learn it on the job, you can accelerate your progress with a Real Estate Financial Modeling course. Check your local area for REFM courses or consider an online course.
Brush up on Real Estate Investing
If there is one thing that is consistent about real estate, it’s that it changes. If you want to be able to talk intelligently with colleagues, potential employers, and prospective customers, you need to understand current real estate markets and lending environments both locally and nationally (and perhaps internationally).
The best way to gain the necessary knowledge is to review dedicated publications like the Wall Street Journal or Globe Street. Of course, you’ll need to look at a local publication as well or consider joining your local real estate association. Whatever way you go about it, you need to know how money flows into and out of the real estate market you deal in.
Make Local a Priority
You may make national or even international sales for clients, down the road, when you are well established and trusted, but your earliest business (and your best business in most cases) will be local. Despite the advent of Internet banking and despite advances in communication technology, people still prefer to deal with local agents when it comes to buying real estate.
An invested local agent will know everything about his or her market. Knowledge of things like the best schools, competent lenders, police coverage, local government, city ordinances, and more are all critical to getting the right people into the right piece of real estate. If you understand the market details in your area, it will be evident to your clients as soon as they meet you. It will also be evident to your employer. Your command of local knowledge is an asset that you can use to impress clients and get your job done to the best of your ability.
The Bottom Line Deal
To be good at the real estate game, you have to be invested in every element of your job and you have to challenge yourself to learn something new about your career each day. For instance, read the book called The Real Estate Game.
Even as a seasoned agent, you will probably find a few useful nuggets of advice from the author, Bill Poorvu, who spent 30 years doing what you aspire to do. Be diligent and keep learning. Both will pay off when you become the expert that everyone goes to for their real estate needs.
Kevin writes about real estate and motivation. He also likes sharing information about baseball and investments. When he’s not writing, he’s spending time with his wife and children.