Tips on Interviewing Your Real Estate Broker

Part of running a successful real estate business is working with a good, competent real estate broker. Additionally, most states make working under a licensed real estate broker a prerequisite of running your own business so hence it is extremely important that you select someone who you are actually able to work with.

So, how do you go about selecting the right real estate broker? You interview them, of course! There are a bunch of things you can ask the brokers you are interested in which can make this selection process relatively easier.

You can begin with questioning them about their market share, the number of agents that work in their office, maybe you can even ask them to tell you a little about the top agents that work in their office. Top agents are those that sell 15 or more houses annually.

Remember to question about the educational opportunities your real estate broker’s office is going to bring you. Every state has its own requirement regarding how many credit hours of certified continuing education a real estate agent needs to complete each year, does the office accommodate that? Or are the agents expected to finance themselves?

Some offices also provide their agents with educational opportunities beyond than what is just required; ideally that is the kind of office you should be working under.

Other than educational opportunities, brokers also provide their real estate agents with other sources and materials like business cards, tech support etc. Is your broker candidate willing to accommodate that?

Commission split is another important aspect that you should be questioning your broker about. Each office has its own commission split schedules and policies which they follow, ask the broker you are interested in about theirs. It is important to remember that if you are just starting out as a real estate agent, you will receive a smaller split since you broker will be helping you more, initially. As you sell more homes and become more independent your split also becomes greater because now you are doing most of the work on your own, without that much assistance from the broker.

Real estate experts advise people to opt for larger national real estate brokerages since they offer more support to their agents. And not only do they provide more support, but they also help you grasp the ins and outs of your business relatively quicker than smaller brokerages would be able to. However, smaller brokerages also have some advantages to their name for example, they have less dues to pay. So technically, whether you go for a real estate broker that works for a big or a small brokerage would largely depend on what are your priorities and what is convenient for you.