The estate agent’s profession can be a very lucrative career. If you apply yourself and learn all you can then you stand a good chance of making those big commissions that set you apart from the rest of the estate agent field.
But it takes hard work to be a good estate agent as the competition is fierce in the city and the rest of England. There are two questions you need to answer before taking a step into this employment area.
One, do you have what it takes to be an estate agent? Two, do you need a real estate license or an estate agent’s license? The first question only you can answer but to get the answer to the second question, just continue reading our article.
In the real world, just about every profession needs a license. To be a teacher, you need a teacher’s license, to be a truck driver you need a driver’s license from the right class and on it goes.
However, for some reason, London and other parts of the UK have excluded estate agents from this broad group. There have been overtures made over the years starting as early as 2010 but in our research, there is no formal estate agent’s license when selling property.
You can check this website that searches out different licenses required in the UK and you will not find one listing for a real estate license or an estate agent’s license.
There is a different path to becoming a real estate or an estate agent in London. That path has many different routes attached to it. You can choose one of the following to become an estate agent in London:
There are different estate agencies and schools that will help you receive this special training and get the qualifications you need to be a professional estate agent.
There are real estate diplomas, and real estate degrees but so far, there is no such thing as a real estate license. This comes from the House of Commons Library publication Regulation of Real Estate Agents by Lorraine Conway which was published on 6 August 2021. In the summary it specifically states the following:
“Estate agents are not currently required by law to be licensed or qualified.” We have found nothing more recent to counter this statement. The best we have seen is a 2018 article stating that estate agents will have to have a professional qualification to be estate agents.
What this means is that you can go to school and get your degree or you can only take a diploma course, become an apprentice, and so on. As long as you have professional training, you are free to become an estate agent in London.
Of course, it is recommended that you get the education as it will give you an advantage over your fellow real estate agents who have taken a different path. Some estate agencies make having a degree or a diploma, etc., a mandatory qualification before they will hire you.
They want nothing but the best people working for them and educated estate agents are among the best. Before you contact an agency, see what courses are available and then enrol.
Being qualified will get you on the right track to being a success and help you start making a decent commission.
There is no cost for the license. If there is no license to have, there is no fee to pay. However, that does not mean you can be an estate agent for free. There are different programs you can enrol in and the cost will be determined by the school or the agency that offers those programs.
For example, Reed Courses charge £119 for a level 5 estate agent’s diploma. Their starting level diploma is said to only cost £12, that is after they reduced the price by 1/3. It was originally £18.
Those two courses are taken online with the latter needing almost 400 hours to complete and the latter only 200 hours. There are no formal qualifications needed to take those classes.
You can also take classes from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Independent Network of Estate Agents (INEA.) But you would have to contact both agencies to find out their current fees.
That is what you would have to do with any school or agency that is offering this training. Talk to them directly to make sure their costs will fit your budget. Prices change all the time so it is best to speak to the agency you want to be trained by.
There is no real estate license online. You can take classes online and in the comfort of your own home or you can do what many other agents have done and become an apprentice.
Being an apprentice still meets the professional qualifications requirement because you are being trained by professionals. You may need to have a sales course under your belt and a little expertise in math but contact the different agencies and see if they offer this path.
Becoming an apprentice gives you practical experience and lets you see if this career is for you.
Even though an estate agent’s license is not required, the different agencies governing the real estate industry and estate agencies want professionals on the job. Call us today, Real Estate Experts, to find out how we can help you get those qualifications you need. We have over 10 years of experience in the real estate field. Our knowledge and expertise will make sure you meet the qualification requirements.
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