The Real Estate Industry is accommodating new salespersons, agents, and brokers. However, in order to take advantage of the career opportunities in Michigan for real estate professionals, you’ll need to consider a few easy steps. We’ll walk you through the requirements of becoming a licensed professional, and offer tips for success in this exciting field. 

Obtain a Real Estate License:

Certification and licensure convey knowledge and familiarity to potential clients. They let people know there are regulatory structures in place to hold you accountable to certain professional standards. People are more likely to trust someone who has checks and balances in place. Without a real estate license, you are not legally allowed to charge for real estate activities on someone else’s behalf.

Michigan’s Department of Licensing Regulations Affairs (LARA) requires 40 hours of prelicensure training (90 for brokers) that can be done all online! See complete package courses offered as distance learning through At Your Pace Online’s Michigan Real Estate School at a competitive price. 

Submit Your Application:

Once you have completed your prelicensure training, send in your Certificate of Completion along with your application for licensure to LARA. There will be an $88 application fee due at the time of submission, but if you are approved to take the exam, you’ll be just one step away from full licensure. 

Pass the License Exam:

LARA will notify you of its authorization to try the licensing exam, and explain how to go about doing it. You have about a year to finish the exam, which is administered by PSI Services, LLC. The cost of the exam is $79 per attempt. 

Once you have passed what is arguably the most difficult portion of this process, you will be issued a license. Photo licenses can be ordered from the PSI exam site. 

Be Sponsored by a Broker: 

Another important requirement for practicing real estate is to be sponsored by a licensed and employing broker. They are responsible for your on-the-job training, ethical decision-making, and overall decorum. Being sponsored demonstrates to clients you have been vetted and it increases your chances of getting leads. You can apply with a sponsored broker or another accredited organization with active employment capabilities before or after your exam. 

Use Social Media to Your Advantage:

Nowadays, almost everyone looking for housing services searches online at some point in their process. Social media pages are great ways to reach a broad audience. Online users prefer to read reviews and see walk-throughs without ever having to leave the comfort of their current home. Aim to create a social media profile that is enlightening about what you do and engaging with customers. Take the time to get it right. Ask fellow coworkers for help, or explore other licensed sites for ideas. Make sure the ads and info you post are true and authorized by the owner. Always display your affiliated broker or firm’s name somewhere prominently on the site, along with the state your licensed in, and your contact details. 

Create a Professional Business Card:

Business cards make it easy for people to connect with you and remember what you do. They are little paper advertisements that people can carry around and refer to for consideration of your services. Without these handy contact cards to help market and network, you would have to rely solely on word of mouth happenstance and cold promotion efforts for new business. Having a little card on hand lets you advertise on the move and react proactively to conversations about real estate.

Your cards should portray you and your services in a professional, but inviting manner. There are customized cards for real estate agents available, if you wish to go that route. Whatever you do, keep it simple and ensure the core identifiers (firm name, licensed state, office address, etc.) are clearly stated.

Use Innovative Marketing Tools:

You probably know already that the real estate is a vast and highly competitive field. The challenge of every professional in the industry is to develop a reputation for quality service and maintain that name. Sometimes this can be accomplished by casting a wide net and relying on the odds of mass numbers, but sometimes it’s about doing something innovative. You could be the one people think of for a given area or specialty because you stand out somehow. 

Find unique (legal) ways to sell yourself and your properties. Creativity brings about popularity and trustworthiness in the brand. Consider virtual tours to enhance your user experience. Hire a good photographer and editor to create beautiful, inspiring, artistic, raw, or gritty live images (depending on what you’re going for). The effort will show. But ultimately what buyers and owners want is knowledgeable, friendly, and thorough agents to help them get the best deals and avoid or solve complications seamlessly. 

Try it out! Enjoy the journey of success.