What Is The Difference Between An Agent And A Broker? Be sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel for all your real estate tips, home tours and advice.
Hi everyone. I just want to take a few minutes today to discuss with you about the differences between a real estate agent, a Realtor and a real estate broker. If you’re not in the real estate industry, then you might don’t know the differences yet. You may use it interchangeably, meaning you think that they are the same. But either way, I just want to share this information with you today so that you know going forward who you’re working with and who may be better suited to help you.
So a real estate agent is someone who’s taken the real estate exam. They’ve done the 60 hours requirement of course, work in order to pass that exam and have gotten their real estate license. He or she has not become a part of the National Association of Realtors, which means that they don’t have to abide by a certain code of ethics. Essentially, they can screw whoever they’re helping out over with little or almost no consequences. Fortunately, almost every brokerage that I’m aware of does not allow someone to fully I want to say, practice or work in the real estate sales industry as an agent, if they don’t belong to a National Association of Realtors.
You’ll find that many people who are only real estate agents, they are someone who’s probably just prospecting for buyers and sellers and they’re passing that client off to someone who is a Realtor who can best suit them and their needs as far as showing homes or writing offers or even listing properties. So that’s what a real estate agent is. A Realtor is someone who does belong to the National Association of Realtors. They belong to their state board, which is for me, it’s the Michigan Association of Realtors and their local board, which for me would be GMAR. So that’s one definite difference between a real estate agent and a Realtor.
By belonging to the board, that means that they have to abide by a certain code of ethics. They’re held accountable if they don’t. So working with the Realtor, they pretty much have fiduciary duty to make sure that they’re abiding by the rules and regulations and best helping their client while selling real estate. So the next step would be the real estate broker. Now the real estate broker, he or she has taken additional 90 hours.
Of coursework, they had to have been a Realtor for at least three years, selling the required amount of real estate for those three years and they had to pass the broker’s real estate exam, which then allows them to get their real estate broker’s license. So there’s a big difference between a Realtor and a real estate broker. Beyond that, a real estate broker now has the ability to open up their own brokerage. So if they want to hire and recruit other Realtors to work underneath them, they’re held accountable for those Realtors that they’ve hired if a Realtor makes mistakes and things like that.
But not everyone wants to have their own brokerage. Some become an associate broker for me, example, meaning that this person may just want to focus more on selling real estate, but they want to be more knowledgeable in their field, so they get their real estate broker’s license. They may have a team, meaning that they don’t have their own brokerage, but they’re still working underneath another brokerage, and they want to hire some other realtors or just a marketing assistance. Like, I have different things of that nature that form a team within a brokerage. Or they may manage an office for another brokerage.
For example, they may be manager for real estate One or Max Broock Realtors, but there’s a broker over them that makes sure they’re still doing everything and they have the accountability. So that’s pretty much the basics between a real estate agent, a realtor, and a real estate broker. I hope this was very helpful for you. If you have any questions or anything, just let me know. Leave a comment below. You can inbox me or shoot me an email at [email protected]. Hope everyone has a great day, and I look forward to helping you. All right, have a good one. Bye.
This has been “What Is The Difference Between An Agent And A Broker? ” by Patrice Henderson of Designed Living Real Estate. Be sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel for all your real estate tips, home tours and advice. Get your FREE buyer’s consultation here or learn more about the home buying process with our home buyer tips. Get your FREE listing consultation here or learn more about the selling process with our home seller tips.