Working for a Broker

• A real estate agent works in an office environment. The office or real estate firm is owned by a real estate broker. Real estate brokers often pay for an agent's schooling and license fees so the agent will work from their office. The broker supplies the office space in exchange for a portion of the commission fees the agent earns. The real estate agent will perform many tasks during the course of a workday and may even be required to work in the office during evening hours. Agents are not paid an hourly wage, but need to be in the office daily, if they plan to succeed in this business.
  
  

Office Work

• The real estate agent goes to an office every morning. They may be assigned phone duty for the day, if they do not have any appointments to show houses. A receptionist will route calls to them when someone calls to get information about a home that has one of the agency's signs in front of it. The agent has access to all of the home listings and will describe the property and try to answer as many questions as possible.
  
  If the caller wishes to see the property, the agent will make an appointment with him to meet at the property. The real estate agent then calls the homeowner to make sure that the property can be shown at the arranged time. The goal of a real estate agent is to make several appointments each day.
  
  The agent will also discuss properties with any walk-in clients. The client may not have a particular house in mind. Instead he will tell the agent what type home they are looking for, in what area and for what price range. The real estate agent will then look through the available listings and try to find a home that matches the client's criteria. The agent will take the clients to view the homes that have been selected.
  
  

Paperwork

• The real estate agent must enjoy paperwork, because there is always a lot of it to be done. The agent is responsible for filling out any offers that a client decides to make on a home. These offers can be negotiated several times before a homeowner will accept an offer made by a buyer. The agent must make sure these are all executed in a pleasant, yet timely fashion.
  
  When an offer is accepted, it is said to be under contract. The real estate agent will then help the buyer to set up property inspections, meetings with loan officers and any other assistance the buyer may need to close the sell.
  
  When someone wishes to list their home for sale with the agency, the real estate agent will go to the home and write up a sales contract and a description of the property. The agent will also place a sign on the property that advertises the agency that is selling it.
  
  

Car Tours

• Some agencies have many real estate agents working with them. Each agent will sign up his own property listing. A weekly car tour is scheduled so that all of the agents that work in the office can view each home. They will drive to each home that has recently been listed, and the agent that listed it will give the tour and explain everything about the property.
  
  These car tours can last the entire day, depending on how many new listings there are. The broker that owns the agency goes on these tours as well and may take the agents out to lunch. Car tour days are usually a fun and social day, as the real estate agents trade information about homes for sale and clients they have that are looking for a home.
  
  

Finalizing the Sale

• The real estate agent attends any closing for the homes they have sold. These proceedings may be held at a bank, or a title office. The agent is there to answer any last minute questions the buyer has about the paperwork or the financing. The agent will assure that everything goes smoothly and efficiently.
  
  The real estate agent receives the agency's portion of the fees at these closings. Because they work on commission, the agent only gets paid once the property is actually sold. The agent's commission is only a portion of the entire fee, as the real estate firm gets a portion of the commission as well.