So you are thinking about selling luxury homes for the rest of your life, and are wondering how to become a qualified realtor. A lot of people start off with dreams of easy money. They think that becoming a realtor means avoiding all the written work and exams that other professionals have to suffer though in order to get qualified.
Well, it's true that there is not as much study involved in becoming a realtor as there would be if you were to become a registered hygienist at a dentist clinic for example, but that does not mean you can just slide into a career. Whether you want to sell residential homes or vacation cabins on Prince Edward Island, you need to obtain a real estate license. Real estate practices are highly regulated in Canada, and a potential realtor needs to obtain some basic knowledge before he or she can qualify.
The requirements for obtaining real estate types of licenses differ from province to province. Some, such as Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, are more stringent than others. We'll talk about the requirements for obtaining your license in Ontario here, since that is where the most real estate agents in Canada practice.
First of all, to qualify to be a real estate agent in the province there are a few basic rules. You have to be over the age of 18, a resident of the country, and have a good financial record. If you meet all of these regulations, you are ready to proceed with your first course of study.
The first course required to obtain a real estate license in Ontario is Real Estate as a Professional Career. This is your starter course where you'll learn what selling a downtown condo is all about from the perspective of the realtor. It will also start pushing you in the right direction as far as the mindset of buyers and sellers.
Land, Structures, and Real Estate Trading is the next course up. As with all of the qualifying real estate courses, this one is administered by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA.) Here, you start to learn about pricing for condos for sale as well as the basic paperwork needed to properly transfer real estate. Third and fourth are courses which introduce you to real estate transactions involving first residential, and then commercial properties. Finally, a new agent must article with a brokerage for two years before becoming fully licensed.
The total cost of the real estate training package required by the province of Ontario and administered by the OREA is around $2600. Don't forget that for each one of those course, you are going to have to take a final exam as well as finish various projects.
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