So you want to list your house with a REALTOR. You figure this person is a professional, much like an accountant or an attorney, right? They must have tons of education to help you buy or sell a piece of real estate, help you negotiate your way through home inspections, title insurance, crafting an offer, 
negotiating the offer, etc. Not so fast...
In Pennsylvania, you only need 60 hours of education to become a a real estate agent. A real estate salesperson's license does not require a high school diploma. Recently I saw a Groupon for all the online classes required to be a real estate agent for $180. If you were an aspiring real estate agent and worked hard you could easily knock out all 60 hours of education in a full week, maybe even less. 
After that, it requires a test for $56 which you need to score 75% or higher. After you pay the fee to the Commonwelath of Pennsylvania for $107 and you're a licensed real estate agent. One week of your time and $343...that's it. You can opt to become a REALTOR but thats not required to do business as a real estate agent.
Most consumers don't even interview the agent they select to help the buy a home. Most of them end up making an inquiry online about a property and end up with that agent. That agent could have just gotten their license last week. They may have never even shown a home before. Some agencies have great training programs...some of them have NONE. I've heard horror stories of agents that got hired right after getting their license and their broker told them, "Here's your desk, here's your phone, now go make me money."
These types of agents are the ones going out and "committing real estate" with no idea what they're doing. I understand their dilemma, they don't know any better. It's really up to those of us with experience to teach these agents the best practices in the industry.
Comments (9)Subscribe to CommentsComment