Are Real Estate Agents All the Same?

Different Types of Agents and their Roles

Most of the time the terms “realtor”, “broker”, and “agents” are used interchangeably because people thought they are all the same. Maybe it is because they all deal with the same set of things and processes of the business. But folks, they are different from each other in terms of their education and licenses.

The Realtor is someone who is licensed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and is bound by a Code of Ethics. The term REALTOR is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. The National Association of REALTORS is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members, including NAR’s institutes, societies, and councils, involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

A Real Estate Broker is someone who has met the state’s requirements to own and operate a real estate company given that he is experienced in the business. These requirements include experience in the industry as an agent, advanced coursework, and passing an exam. Some states accept attorneys as real estate brokers even if they don’t have experience in doing such.

Real Estate Agent is someone who took classes and passed a state-administered exam to get a license to buy/sell properties. Educational requirements include knowing the state’s real estate laws and practices. Agents monitor local market activity to better assist buyers and sellers with their transactions. There are two roles which an agent could fulfill. One is as the Buyer’s Agent where his works will be exclusive for the buyer alone. This includes the processes from house-hunting, closing the deal, creating an agreement, and recommendations of your home inspectors. Another is the Seller’s Agent who works exclusively for the seller. His works include helping you prepare to sell your home, list your home in the MLS, show your home to buyers, and negotiate with the home buyer. But there is also an agent who does both these functions which is called the Dual Agent. It occurs when an agent work for the same broker and represents both parties in a real estate transaction.

Transaction Coordinator  assists a real estate agent or a broker in processing the administrative items for a real estate transaction, including gathering all paperwork, opening the escrow account, making sure the disclosures are properly signed and filled out, and managing deadlines.

If you have trust issues, better review these real estate titles to better assist you with the transactions you would like to achieve in your future transactions.

Sources:

https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar

http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2010/08/different-types-of-real-estate-agents-and-what-they-do.html

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.cbpreferred.com/agent-roles


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