Become a Real Estate Agent in NYC

Do you need a career change? You never know if your first (or second) choice of a career is going to be the right one. School doesn’t always prepare you for the realities of doing the job you set out for, and plenty of people make mistakes along the way. You’re better off making a career change now than getting stuck in a rut.

Sometimes the mistakes you make in your previous career choices can tell you what it is you really want from your job. If you like independence, the freedom to work around your family life or a second job, or an unlimited earning potential, real estate might be the industry for you. Working as a real estate agent is flexible and getting your real estate license in NY can open even more career opportunities.

4 Steps to Earn Your Real Estate License in NY

You’re ready for a career change and you want to earn your real estate license. But what does it take to get started?

Step 1

The first step toward getting your real estate license in New York is completing the 75 hour real estate course in NY. This course will teach you how to become a New York state real estate salesperson. Be careful where you take the course. It must follow the curriculum required by the NY Department of State. If you want to complete your real estate license in NY course online, check out RealEstateU online courses for New York. You can complete them at home, on your own schedule.

Completing the course online means you’re not stuck with the school’s pre-set schedule. It will help you balance work, life, and your studies. You can complete the course even if you work long hours or night shifts, or if you’re a caregiver.
 

Step 2

The next step is passing the school’s proctored exam. Your real estate practice exam NY prepares you for the state exam where you get your license.

Step 3

Passing New York State’s proctored exam. Start by creating a free account on eAccessNY, an online platform where you can schedule your NY real estate exam and where you can apply for your license. The NY real estate exam takes place every Tuesday and consists of 75 multiple choice questions. You need a 70% to pass the NY real estate exam.

Step 4

Lastly, apply for your real estate license with the help of a sponsoring broker. With a bit of research, you can find local brokers who will be eager to hire you. You will split your commissions with your broker, but many will also support you with training and help getting started. Look up local brokers and schedule interviews with several before you decide. Find out how they split commissions and what kind of support they provide in return.

It may be worthwhile going with a broker who takes a higher share of your commission at first in exchange for their training and expertise, rather than a broker who takes less but also doesn’t provide support. When you’re just starting out, a broker who provides more attention can be an invaluable asset.

75 Hour Real Estate Courses in NY

You can take the 75 hour real estate course with a real estate license NY school online. Taking the course online is the easiest way to make it work around your schedule and it’s affordable.

One of the most affordable and convenient ways to earn your real estate license is with online real estate courses in NY from RealEstateU. The courses we offer are never outsourced. Every course is developed by us and our instructors.

How Much Do Online Real Estate Courses in NY Cost?

The 75 hour real estate course in NY costs just $99 from RealEstateU. The final proctored school exam is free, but there are some other costs once you apply for your license from the state.

Once you complete your final school exam, you must complete the NY real estate exam. There’s a fee of $15 per attempt, so you can save money by studying and making sure you get it right the first time. Next you apply for your license. The license application fee costs $55. All in all, getting your real estate license in New York is an affordable and fast way to change your career. Compared to four years in college and tens of thousands in student debt, earning your real estate license is a lot easier.

How Do You Earn Money with a Real Estate License?

Real estate agents earn their income through commissions. Every time you close a sale or a rental, you earn a percentage of the deal. The average national commission for real estate is 5.4% of the value of the deal. The commission is split evenly between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent.

Generally, a new real estate salesperson will have a 60/40 share of the commission in their favor with the broker. As you prove yourself as a valuable real estate agent, you can negotiate a more favorable share of the commission.

The average house price in New York State is over $380,000. On an average deal with a 5% commission, the total commission would be $19,000, split evenly at $9,500 per agent (seller and buyer). If you took 60% of that in your share with your broker, that’s $5,700 for one deal.

However, becoming a real estate agent is only one option with your real estate license. You could also become a real estate investor, enter real estate appraisal, become a referral broker, or become a property manager. There are plenty of ways to earn money with your real estate license in NY.

Career Options After Your Online Real Estate Courses in NY

Once you’ve completed your 75 hour real estate course online and successfully applied for your real estate license, there are a lot of career options and ways you can earn money from real estate.

#1 Real Estate Agent: The most straightforward career path after earning your license is to become a real estate agent, but there’s more to the job than just selling houses. You can also specialize in rental units, office space, commercial space, or industrial space. You can become a full-time real estate agent or do deals on the side for friends and family. You can also save on commissions when you do your own deals.

#2 Property Manager: Property managers are third parties hired by landlords to manage rental, commercial, or office buildings. They collect rent, find tenants, maintain the property, balance budgets, and more.

#3: Real Estate Appraisal: Real estate appraisal is always in demand. Home buyers and sellers want to have properties independently appraised, while municipal governments across the country depend on real estate appraisals to set property taxes. Home appraisal is also an essential part of qualifying for a mortgage.

#4 Referral Broker: You can refer clients who come to you for help buying or selling real estate to another agent and you will earn a referral commission. This is a more passive way to earn money, but if you’re successful at attracting clients, it could work for you.

#5 Become a Real Estate Investor: Real estate investing can mean many things, from investing in rental properties as sources of cash flow to renovating houses and selling them at a short-term profit. Real estate investing comes with risks, as any investment will, but it can transform your lifestyle and income.

Get Your Real Estate License in NY to Invest

Acting as your own real estate agent when you invest in real estate can save you a lot of money on commissions. When you’re investing, you want to reduce your costs and improve your returns. You may not be able to act as your own stock broker, but with the low cost and time commitment involved in online real estate courses in NY, it makes a lot of sense to become your own agent as an investor.

Becoming a real estate investor can transform your income and your life. People used real estate to build up and maintain their wealth long before stocks and bonds were ever invented. There are several ways to invest in real estate you may want to consider:

#1 Real estate as income investments – One of the most common ways to invest in real estate is to generate cash flow. Rental properties deliver stable, secure returns in cash. Income properties become especially important as part of a retirement portfolio, when you need to make investments that will generate a regular income.

#2 Buy and hold – Development can be slow, but if you can afford to wait, the pay-off is enormous. If you can buy undeveloped or underdeveloped land near future infrastructure projects like a highway or mass transit line, the pay-off when you sell can be enormous.

#3 Short-term gains – In some of North America’s hottest real estate markets, “flipping” houses can generate a lot of short-term gains. Buying outdated residential properties and renovating or rebuilding can significantly improve property values in overheated markets.

#4 Leverage – If you’re investing in rental properties, paying down the mortgages on those properties gives you a lot of equity and at any time you can cash out or leverage that equity to make further investments. Getting started is the hardest part to real estate investment. Once you get the ball rolling, you can build up your wealth with real estate.

Switch Gears with Online Restate Courses in NY

Not convinced that making the jump to the real estate industry is the right move? Your real estate license is an easy way to earn new professional qualifications that can help you get out of a job you hate. There are three sure-fire signs that it’s time to make a career change:

#1 Energy depletion and boredom – Everyone has tough mornings when it feels like you’re dragging yourself to your job, or days that go on forever and nothing you do seems interesting. When it becomes a daily occurrence, it’s time to start thinking about a change. The wrong career can leave you depleted at the end of the day with nothing left to give for your family, friends, or hobbies.

#2 Apathy about your work – Don’t care about your work anymore? It’s time for a change. Your passion and ideas can get lost, especially at large companies that are more interested in protocol than innovation. Even the most passionate employees will check out after awhile. If this is the case with you, it might just be a change of companies you need, or a total revamp of what you’re doing.

#3 Jealousy about what your friends or family do for work – Feeling resentful or jealous of your friends’ careers can be a sign that it’s time to move on and explore something else. Everyone experiences the odd twinge of jealousy, but if the feeling becomes persistent, it’s worth exploring what you’re jealous about. Is it the work itself, their independence, or their income?

If one or all of these signs are familiar to you, it’s time to take your future into your hands. Once you’ve qualified for your real estate license, you can become your own boss, earn your own way, and pursue a wide range of careers.

Online Real Estate Courses in NY Designed for You

When you sign up for online real estate courses in NY from RealEstateU, you get access to affordable online classes that cater to differentiated learning modes. There are several different ways people learn best. That’s why our courses are offered in video and audio, plus PDFs and transcripts of the course. This makes it easier to absorb information and study for your NY real estate exam.

Complete the 75 hour real estate course in NY on your schedule. Do it while you’re working another job and taking care of your family. You have up to a year to complete the course. Online real estate courses in NY should be affordable and designed to help you earn your real estate license. None of our course content is outsourced, and you learn from talented real estate professionals. You can visit our support center to find out more about signing up for our courses.

Start your NYS real estate license course online today. Change your career with classes you can afford that work around your schedule.