Blog
Is a career in Real Estate right for you?
A career in Real Estate can give you the freedom you might crave! You have the flexibility to work your own hours, the potential to earn what you want and the option to keep your existing job. Considering all of the property that changes hands in Canada, there’s always work in the real estate business.
What to Expect from a Career in Real Estate
Flexible hours
A career in real estate provides you with the flexibility and freedom to set your own hours and pace. You decide your hours of work. If you’re a parent, you can work around your children’s schedules and never miss a concert again! If you are considering retirement, part time employment or supplemental income this might be the perfect career fit for you.
That said, real estate agents often work long hours, because the more time you spend talking to clients, marketing homes and taking potential buyers on property tours, the more money you’ll make.
Keep in mind that your salary is primarily, if not entirely, based on commission, so how much you make is up to you.
Spending time outside of the office
If you’re successful, then you’ll be spending most of your time out of the office. Be prepared to keep track of files, sale and marketing paperwork, and contact numbers organized in your car or electronic mobile device. The key to working on the move is staying organized. This will ensure you make it to your showings and other appointments on time.
Meeting new people every day
As you show houses, you’ll meet hundreds or even thousands of interesting people, each with their own tales to tell. In addition to dealing with a wide range of prospective buyers, the real estate industry requires you to interact with brokers, lawyers and many others. If you’re a good conversationalist who has no problem relating to all kinds of people, a career in real estate is for you.
Setting up and showing houses
As a real estate agent, you’ll spend a lot of time setting up open houses and making sure everything is perfect for every prospective buyer. If you like the idea of getting paid to tour beautiful properties, then you’re ready to sign up for a real estate course.
Do I have the right personality for a career in real estate?
You’re very persuasive
At the end of the day, a job in real estate is all about pointing out the features. As you lead prospective buyers through homes, it’s your job to show what is appealing. Most of the time, the properties will speak for themselves. But in some cases, you’ll need to get a little creative. If you enjoy the thrill of looking for the good in everything, real estate could be your ideal field.
You’re social and outgoing
If you’re an independent and social person, then a career in real estate may be ideal for you. You will need to be outgoing and purposeful when you attend social events. It is also important to maintain a pleasant demeanor whenever you’re in public. You never know when you could get the chance to sell someone’s home or find a new client the perfect abode.
Do I need previous experience to become a real estate agent?
Who chooses to become a realtor? Moms, single parents, retirees, high school graduates, bankers, lawyers, airline pilots, farm workers, musicians, actors, school teachers, fire fighters, corrections officers and police officers. In other words, anyone from any background can choose real estate as a career.
Do you just know or have been told you would be great at Real Estate? There’s a reason people tell you that. They can see in you what it takes to be a good salesperson. Are you a self-starter? Do you like flexibility? Do you like to work your own hours, create your own schedules? Then Real Estate is for you!
Successful people in real estate are goal-oriented, persevering, self-motivated, ambitious and people-oriented. But most of all have a love and passion for real estate property and for helping people.
Fast and affordable training
Real Smart makes it possible for you take a 10 week part-time course (or even faster with our self paced course or private tutoring), study productively, write the UBC Exam and pass. You could be in your new career potentially earning 6 figures for a relatively small investment! Compare this to 4 years of university with an average cost of $35,000 per year.
Choose your own niche (or not)
What’s great about the Real Estate industry is that you can choose your clientele. Meaning, you can choose to work with first time buyers, be the condo specialist or work with million dollar listings. It is up to you.
Whatever you choose, remember you have the flexibility to do one or all of them. There is no limit. You are your own boss. You have control over how you spend your time and how much you earn. The possibilities are endless.
Other real estate jobs with your license
Although most people start out as representatives in a Real Estate Company, there are many other areas where the license can be used. Including but not limited to: office administration (either in a Real Estate office or other organization), Land Assembly, Selling Farms or Acreages, working with New Home Construction or Development Companies, Selling Recreation Property, working as a Referral Specialist and more. You can also become a rent to own specialist or sell commercial small or large businesses.
What is the Real Estate Agent salary in BC?
You typically earn a commission, which is a percentage of the sale price or flat fee negotiated with the homeowner when you list a home. You will receive this fee after the home is sold and has completed and transferred title. How many houses you sell directly correlates to how much income you earn.
This is why it is very important to connect yourself to a company that has successful realtors, excellent training and the best industry reputation.
Here’s an example of what you can earn:
For a sales price of 1 house at $450,000, the commission could be 7% on the 1st $100,000 and 2.5% on the balance, making the commission $15,750.
The listing salesperson typically gets 56% (of $15,750 = $8,820) and the selling salesperson typically gets 44% (of $15,750 = $7,245).
*There is no set commission structure, so look at it as just an example.
Every Real Estate company has different commission split structures. You will find out the company’s structure once you are in the interviewing stage.
But don’t worry. We help our Real Smart graduates with this!
Ready to start your career in Real Estate?
Register for the UBC exam and order your Real Smart course to help you pass!
- Filed Under: General Real Estate, Online Real Estate Course, Real Estate Training
Essential Skills and Qualities of a Successful Licensed Real Estate Agent
The real estate industry is full of opportunities for success. Proper preparation helps new Real Estate agents start their career from firm groundwork. All Real Estate agents in BC must be licensed by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). The following career details outline what it takes to be a successful licensed real estate agent in BC.
- An Excellent Reputation: A Licensed Real estate agent helps clients find homes, offer advice on affordability, and prepare important documentation. Professionals must inspire trust before clients will put their dreams in an agent’s hands. To receive a Real Estate License in BC, prospective real estate agents must disclose their criminal history with their local Real Estate Council during the licensing process. An agent’s personal standing in their community will have a huge influence on their immediate client base. Those with success in a previous service-oriented vocation will find themselves at an advantage in the early stages of a real estate career.
- Exceptional People Skills: Communication is vital for all real estate agents. Clients expect their real estate agent to deftly explain complicated calculations and summarize lengthy policy information. The ability to effectively converse is also necessary to successfully buy and sell a home. After all, great real estate professionals depend on charisma to carry their careers. The air of confidence that comes with great people skills can help you to convince clients that you’re the right real estate agent for them.
- A Comprehensive Education: Agents who stumble, constantly re-explain, or produce incorrect information about the real estate system are will quickly find themselves out of customers. Furthermore, prospective agents will need a solid foundation in real estate basics to become licensed in the first place. They must register and complete the Licensing Course and pass the exam offered by UBC Sauder School of business. The minimum grade for a pass is 70%. Consider utilizing a training program like Real Smart Real Estate Training to guarantee your education is professionally competitive.
Don’t falter in the field. Our course ensures students pass the UBC exam with ease and tackle the real estate market with a great education. Dial (604) 313 4878 for program training details.
- Filed Under: Real Estate Training
Interested in Becoming a Mortgage Broker in British Columbia?
Being a Mortgage Broker in British Columbia is exciting and an ever-increasing profession. To provide mortgage brokerage services, you will need a Mortgage Broker license. To obtain the licence, you have to pass the Brokerage in British Columbia Course offered by UBC. They organize the exam on behalf of the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA)
Go from dreaming it to making it a reality in a mere few weeks!
(Sub) Mortgage Brokers act as an intermediary selling mortgage loan on behalf of individuals or businesses. In other words, an agent who compares the various home loan options on the market for a client. And then arranges loans for them. A Sub Mortgage Brokers’ commission is paid for each mortgage transaction by the lender. They work closely with Realtors, Developers, Lenders, and others.
Once you register online, UBC sends you all their textbooks and 20 assignments to complete. You are on your own to learn the law and math. And complete all of the assignments in preparation for the exam.
Sadly there is a very high failure rate on the UBC Mortgage Broker License exam. Real Smart designed the first and original Fast Track System. It helps you to learn the Mortgage Broker License exam material in simple and easy-to-understand ways, no matter what your background, within mere weeks!
We have taken all the UBC Sub Mortgage Brokers material and broken down the complete course into key information, without losing what is relevant. Wait until you see the math!
Sandy personally designed the Secret to the Math™. Absolutely everyone, even those who hate math, will love it now! You will be taught Math in your very first class, even though math is introduced later on in the UBC manual. We believe it’s far easier to learn a little bit each class. That way you have time to absorb and practice it, so you have a clear understanding by the end of the course.
Don’t wait to take the math partway through or at the end of the course. KISS – Keep It Simple Students!
We offer a Blended (Sub) Mortgage Brokers Course with a Live Instructor teaching the entire course using Zoom Classes and a self-paced online mortgage brokers course that you can start instantly.
This is what we do full time. We are not a Real Estate Company or Mortgage Brokerage. We are not trying to get you to come work for us. Our mandate is to continue being the BEST Training Facility in British Columbia by making sure you pass and have some fun along the way too. Lastly, Real Smart works closely with all the top mortgage brokerages to assist you with job placement & interview questions following your completion of the course and passing grade from the UBC exam! We help you every step of the way.
Learn more about Real Smart’s Mortgage Brokers Course.
- Filed Under: Mortgage Broker Training
How to learn and retain the UBC Real Estate Law!
If you want to become a licensed Realtor in BC, Canada, you need to pass the UBC Real Estate Trading Services Licensing correspondence course which includes UBC Real Estate Law
A great way to retain and recall the UBC Real Estate Law is to make it mean something, make it your own. So any question you are working on pretend it’s happening to you.
This is the same principle we use in UBC Real Estate Math – pretend it’s all happening to you! Cover up the answers first, then read the UBC Real Estate law question word for word carefully. Now, ask yourself what do I know about that? Answer it out loud, to the dog, anyone that will listen. If you can’t answer it, then do not look at the answers (that’s letting you know you are just going to be guessing). Instead,
- Cover up the Answers
- Read the question
- Formulate an answer
- Then look at answer #1 word for word, then 2, then 3 etc.
If however you do not know the topic and have to look at the answers DON’T. To retain the facts and information better we suggest you go back to the UBC Chapter and read up on the topic. Force yourself to search back and find out what you don’t know. This is how we learn, by researching, digging, sweat equity = passing!
#RealSmart Bonus Tip: Want a Quick Easy way to find what you’re looking for?
If you have our Online Course or are in our Classroom, then you would have been told to download to your desktop the ESG, UBC chapters, and assignments. Then say for example you need to discover information on Joint Tenancies.
Open the UBC Chapter PDF hit EDIT then FIND then a box will appear. Now type in “joint tenancy” for example and hit enter. You will be taken to every spot in that chapter that talks about the joint tenancy. You can do this for the ESG and Assignments as well.
How to learn and retain the UBC Real Estate Math
If you want to become a licensed Realtor in BC, Canada, you need to pass the UBC Real Estate Trading Services Licensing correspondence course which includes UBC Real Estate Math
A great way to retain and recall the UBC Real Estate Math is to make it mean something, make it your own. So any question you are working on pretend it’s happening to you.
For example: if you are working on a math question try the question out on your own mortgage (if you have one. If you don’t try it out on a family or friend mortgage or pretend!). Make the question mean something. If it means something to you, then you will remember it.
If I can show you how putting an extra $50 down on your mortgage each month could cut your mortgage in half in 5 years when your mortgage term is up, would that make you stand up and remember how to do that question? I would hope so! Well, this is what you can do all the way through with the math. When you are working on a math question, even on the exam, look at the answers first, this may give you a clue that the answer must be in its periodic state for example.
Real Smart Real Estate Training School has an amazing, easy system that has been designed so you can ask yourself our 3 little questions and be able to get through any of the tricky UBC real estate math with ease.
So here’s what you do:
- You read the math question, no matter how big it is skip through everything and get to the Question in the Question. What are they asking for?
- Once you know what the question is asking for, then you ask yourself the 3 Little Questions
- What am I looking for? (Pmt, N, I/yr for example)
- Are there any Pmts?
- If yes, What Kind? If not “0 Pmt Rule”.
Look for Key Points:
- Do you have to Round the Pmt up?
- Is the Interest Rate in its Nominal or Periodic State?
- Is what you Have what you Need? Do you have to Convert your answer?
- Did the question provide you with the Pmt and the OSB?
But I’m not good at Math, never have been!
Oh, but you are! We are all good at things, once someone shows us how to do it right?
You are who we designed our “Secret to the Math”© for! It’s fun, simple to learn, and it is created for the person that thought they were not good at math. If you can punch in numbers in a calculator and follow the same steps we show you, you can ace the math. Don’t feel bad, we even get Accountants taking our course. Everyone needs a little guidance now and then; don’t be afraid to ask for help. I probably couldn’t do your job without your help!
If you are interested in taking the Real Smart Real Estate course (and finding out more tricks just like this one!) check out our Real Estate Course info. We Offer Online, Virtual Live, and Private Real Estate Training courses
- Filed Under: Online Real Estate Course, UBC Real Estate Exam
How to Prepare to Write the UBC Real Estate Exam
It’s here…the day you have been waiting for! You are finally ready and have scheduled your UBC Real Estate Exam date.
But that now raises the question of how should you prepare yourself to write the UBC Real Estate Exam? What should you bring? Are there certain things you should and shouldn’t do?
Having written the UBC Real Estate Exam multiple times ourselves, all of our instructors at Real Smart have some fantastic tips to pass along to you! Follow these and you are sure to be ready to write your exam (and pass with flying colours!)
What you should do before the UBC Real Estate Exam even begins
- Bring Ear Plugs, but wear them at home so you get used to them or discover at home you are allergic!
- Dress in layers. The examination rooms can be cold or hot, so be prepared
- Bring a Watch! Yes, even if you are going to the Computer Exam. What if the computer breaks down and UBC puts you in a room to do the paper exam? Having a watch will make sure you can stay on track and within the 3-hour time limit.
What you should do once the exam is in session
- Write out all the math formulas that you have been taught. This way you can quickly flip back to and use them as needed throughout the exam. It might take a little bit of extra time but it’s well worth it. Write them in pen and then when you get a math question, you can use a pencil and erase.
- Make a sheet of paper with a Q (for question) on one side of the sheet and an A (for answer) on the other. Now, when you get to a question on the exam that you don’t know, don’t panic, just write down what question # it was under Q then under A write down if you choose answer #1,2, 3 or 4. Then when the exam is complete, go back to those questions on your Q and A sheet. Remember, do not go back and switch out answers once you have them down…even if it is a large math question and you know how to do it if it takes up valuable time and prevents you from answering 5+ other questions, guess and move on!
Following our pre-exam and during-the-exam tips can help to ensure that you are both comfortable and confident when you begin writing. So when your exam date does roll around, take a deep breath, make a checklist, and dive in–we know you will succeed!
- Filed Under: Real Estate Training, UBC Real Estate Exam
Stay Calm and Exam On
Getting ready to prepare for the UBC Real Estate exam takes work and a Plan. Real Estate is location, location, and a little luck; but getting ready to write the exam takes planning, planning, and a little luck.
Review everything all over again. Re-do all of the assignments so you are familiar with the ESG, math and law questions. Are you “Challenging” the exam? You should still re-do everything if you want to pass even if you have years of experience as a Realtor or Mortgage Broker. I know UBC tells you to just write the exam; but, do you really, truly think that being a realtor and writing the exam are the same? Yes, you have great “experience” but unfortunately it usually doesn’t translate into passing the exam.- Create a plan that includes how many hours a day you will be studying.
- Break those hours up into 3/4 Law and 1/4 Math since the focus of the exam is mostly on law. By now you should have a really good handle on the math.
- Write out the Real Smart Math formulas (or the math you learned) every day for each math lesson, so that when you start your exam it will be automatic.
- Re-read chapters 1 and 2 on Study Day 1. Anything you don’t understand — Google, look in the Real Smart Workbook, UBC manual, or email us. Don’t let it go!
- Re-do the Assignment for those chapters. A great way to work on the questions is to print out new copy from the UBC website using your student number (right click, and save to your desktop). Also, in any one question you may have 4 answers to choose from. You must understand why it is not the other answers. It’s not good enough to just know its answer number 2 for example.
- Go to the back of the Examination Study Guide (ESG) and do ALL the questions for Chapters 1 and 2. Take note of the ones you got wrong and do them repeatedly until you get them right and understand the material.
- Work on some Math using the Real Smart Outline. Break it up into lessons; for example, find the Periodic or Nominal Rate, or find the Pmt and N. Do all the Calculator Reviews from your Real Smart Workbook, the ESG and your math Assignments.
- Complete a weekly mock exam. Review the study material by answering 100 “timed” multiple choice question exams. DON’T sit in the comfort of your home, texting, eating, or answering the phone. Go somewhere new where there are distractions so you can get used to working under pressure and when there is noise. You may sit beside someone on the day of the exam who tap their pencil, clear their throat, or talk to themselves. It’s annoying but it happens.
TIMED MOCK EXAMS MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
You can use your ESG and take 100 random questions where you have to constantly refer back to check your answers OR you can purchase the 3 Real Smart “timed” mock exams and see your results instantly. Visit our learning resources page to access the timed mock exams.
Plan out what, where, for how long and with whom you are going to study. Map backwards from when you plan on writing the UBC exam and work towards your goal.
BEFORE YOU GO TO THE FINAL UBC EXAM:
Make sure you are achieving scores in the 80’s on your mock exams. If you are getting in the 60’s and think the UBC exam will be different you are only fooling yourself. The UBC exam is sneaky, tricky and is meant only for those who truly have worked hard, put in the time, sacrificed and are willing to do what it takes to pass.
It really hurts not only your ego when you fail; but your pride and your pocketbook. You could be in your new career making money and enjoying the freedom it provides. But instead you are back studying the entire course over again for 3 long months. Sacrifice now and enjoy later.
Sandy Brown,
President & Founder of Real Smart Inc.
BC’s #1 Real Estate School for the last 14 years
- Filed Under: UBC Real Estate Exam
When is the BEST time to get into Real Estate and sell?
Oh, if I had a nickel for every time I heard people tell me they are waiting for the Real Estate market to change, to get busier and then they will get in and get licensed. All the busy, focused, realtors right now are dancing on the streets hoping you do wait. More work for them, less competition.
You need to think this through. Of course you are the only person that knows when the best time to enter this career for you is but… if you are waiting for the market, don’t quit you day job. The Real Estate market goes up, goes down, flattens and down right can drive us crazy trying to figure it out. One day its a buyers market and the next the sellers are driving the market.
So how do you position yourself? Well, take advantage of the quiet times. This is the time in life and business to reflect, to expand and grow. Its very difficult to find the time to accomplish what you want when you’re working off your feet right? This is the time to study, learn and train. By training I mean, this is the time to become a Realtor and be part of the companies training program. Take the time now to learn how to really write a contract, how to negotiate, go out on listing appointments with coworkers, take notes. Go on offers and watch others negotiate or at least watch them text it. Boy the world has changed there! Does anybody present offers in person any more?
Imagine the market changed tomorrow and interest rates are still low. Everyone is buying and selling and we are in a booming market. Cha Ching! You now decide to get in a Real Estate class pass and get licensed. Well….so does everyone else. Now the Real Estate offices are busier, phones are ringing off the hook, training is less, no time for help…. gotta catch the market as it happens right!
You will not have the opportunity to take your time. Offers will be flying and you might just be writing up your first contract slowly, as seasons realtors will consume the market.
Of course anything is possible and you can walk into a busy active market and show the season realtors a thing or two. In this world we take what we hear and take what we read and think about what is right or wrong for us and then the move that suits our needs.
So if you are waiting for the market to turn hot, think about why.
My father once told me to don’t believe everything you read and half of what you hear. Could be true or not, but just make a career move when YOU think it’s right, not when others say it so.
- Filed Under: General Real Estate, Mortgage Broker Training, Real Estate Training
Exam Anxiety!
Exam Anxiety
Exam anxiety is a fairly common experience that involves feelings of tension or uneasiness that occur before, during or after an exam. Many people experience some kind of anxiety associated with exams, but sometimes it can become so intense that it leads to disruptive symptoms and therefore negative impact on ones performance. In this case, it is important to try recognize these symptoms and find an effective way to cope, so that it will not influence your results.
Symptoms of Exam Anxiety
Everyone can be affected differently, but there are several symptoms that are very common.
– Emotions such as fear, disappointment, anger, depression, helplessness
– fidgeting, pacing, substance abuse, or other self destructive behaviours
– Fast heartbeat, feels of nausea, headaches, light-headedness, sweating
– Racing thoughts, negative thinking about oneself
– Memory blocks or “blanking out” on things that you have studied
– Fear of failing before the exam is even written
– Lower reading comprehension
– Poor attention and inability to concentrate
Tips on how to cope with Exam Anxiety
Some strategies for coping with exam anxiety are quite practical and easy to implement. Avoid people who speak negatively, arrive early to the exam, read your exam directions carefully. You can always contact a tutor to help with exam material.
Be prepared!
The most common cause of exam anxiety is lack of preparation. Avoid cramming! Set up a schedule for at least a few weeks in advance to study, and stick to it!
Sleep!
Regular sleep patterns are one of the best ways to control stress. You need to get enough sleep so that your brain get perform optimally. This can increase your performance by more than 30%.
Caffeine & Sugar
During your exam, do not increase or decrease the amount of coffee, tea or pop that you would usually consume. Keep things in your life as stable as possible, try not to change anything.
Breathe!
Use relaxed breathing to calm yourself down. Inhale and exhale, especially when you feel anxiety before, during, or after the exam.
Night before your exam
Do not study the night before your exam. It will increase your anxiety levels, and affect your sleep. Relax – watch TV, see a movie, or read a book.
Have a plan
As part of your studying, think about how you will go about the exam – what you will do when you run into problems, breathing techniques and focussing on the task instead of your own emotions and negative thoughts.
Follow these tips, and hopefully it will make studying and your exam experience a little easier!
Good luck!
- Filed Under: UBC Real Estate Exam
Real Smart Exam Tips
Exam Tips!
- Don’t cram the night before. You know what you know so get a good night’s sleep. An over exhausted mind will not perform well.
- Don’t listen and involve yourself in other student’s chatter as they wait to go in the exam room. What they say could be completely wrong and get you anxious.
- Have a talk with yourself on the way to the exam and before you go in to the exam room. Tell yourself to follow the rules below, and you can do this.
RULES
- When they say “Start”, take out a piece of paper, (or if you don’t have one, write on the back of the exam) and Put “Guess Sheet” on the top, then under that on the left hand side put Question # and leave some space and put My Answer. Now as you go through the exam even if its answer #1, and you are not sure of the answer or you may get it but you just know it will take too long at the moment, GUESS an Answer, Write the Question # down #16 and the ANSWER you GUESSED #3. Now carry on and do that throughout the exam. Don’t feel any pressure, just guess, mark your guess down and carry on. Then once the exam in complete, go back to the Guess Sheet and revisit those questions again. Chances are you have calmed down, thought about them and have an answer now. BEWARE…. don’t go back to any other questions in the exam and make changes. It’s not a good idea. Stick with what you chose and work on the Guess only questions.
- Take a minute and write out the Math Formulas (if your course has math of course). I don’t mean you have to write them all out, but the basics, Convert and T, N (have & need), I/yr with or without Pmt, Market Value, Bonus, PIG, OSB and Final Pmt – just the 3rd step, Interest only, cost, accruing, adjustment – just what is key in the formula. Can’t remember? Then you are not ready for the exam, only fooling yourself. No one is going to be there to help you but you, so let’s get you fully prepared for anything.
- Bring a watch and check it at question #50 to see if you have 1 ½ hours left on the exam. Check again at question #75 and 85 and 95. If you are about to run out of time, GUESS!
Even do this on the EXAM:
LAW – Cover up your answers. Read the question, formulate and answer. If you can’t then you don’t know it, so back to the books or online real smart videos and learn it. If you know what the question is asking, then uncover each answer, reading every word carefully…. then choose the right answer.
MATH – Read the answers! Often the clues in the answer. Look for the tricks
- Ask yourself: this answer is what I “HAVE” is this what I “Need”?
- I come out with a Nominal Interest rate in the math question, but do I change this to Periodic?
- Is the Interest rate in the question in its Nominal state or Periodic. Ex: 4% interest quarterly. Periodic: 4 x 4 = 16 so J4 = 16%
- Is there a Pmt in the question? If so, chances are you do not need to Convert T.
- Filed Under: UBC Real Estate Exam
Connect with us
Prepare for the UBC exam
Categories
Recent Posts
Be Confident. Be Prepared.
Pass The Exam. Get Started Now!
Got Questions? Give us a call at 604-597-8925