How to Become a Real Estate Agent in Connecticut

Planning to start a career as a real estate agent? To get your real estate license, you will need to take classes at a real estate school, and satisfy all the requirements set forth by the Connecticut Real Estate Commission.

Here's what you need to know to become a real estate agent in Connecticut:

1) Licensing Requirements

2) Duties of a Real Estate Agent

3) What is a REALTOR®?

4) Income Potential

5) Real Estate Schools

How to Become a Real Estate Agent in Connecticut

1) Real Estate Agent Licensing Requirements

In Connecticut, real estate agents MUST be licensed by the Connecticut Real Estate Commission. To obtain your real estate license, you must:

Satisfy the minimum requirements to apply for the real estate exam:

Character: Must show honesty, truthfulness, integrity and competency.
Experience: None.
Education: 60 hrs of pre-license courses, or proof of equivalent education or experience.

Apply to take the State exam.
Pass the exam.
Pay the appropriate fees.
Apply for Real Estate License. License expires annually.

Newly licensed agents must work under the supervision of an employing real estate broker.

Most new agents start out by working for one of the large brokerages like Coldwell-Banker, Century-21, Remax, etc.

If you would like to have your own business and work for yourself, you must upgrade to a broker's license.

2) Duties of Real Estate Agents

A real estate agent's main job is to assist their clients in the process of buying and selling real estate.

Their list of duties include:

Submit buyers' offer to purchase to seller for consideration
Work with escrow officers, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates.
Interview potential buyers to determine what kinds of properties they are seeking.
Prepare documents such as listing agreements, purchase agreements, etc.
Coordinate property closings, overseeing signing of documents and disbursement of funds.
Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other.
Determine a property's competitive market price by comparing the property with similar properties that have recently sold.
Schedule appointments to show homes to potential buyers.
Generate lists of properties that are compatible with buyers' needs and financial resources.

3) What is a REALTOR®?

A real estate agent becomes a REALTOR® when he or she pays an annual fee to be a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its Code of Ethics.

The agent generally joins through the local board or association.

For example, in New Haven, once you have obtained your real estate license, you may pay a fee to join the Greater New Haven Association Of REALTORS®.

This also makes you a member of the Connecticut Association of REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS®.

All REALTORS® are real estate agents but not all real estate agents are REALTORS®.

4) Income Potential

Real estate agents are generally paid based on a percentage of the sales price. The seller will generally pay 4-6% of the sales price as the fee and that will be split 50/50 between the seller and buyer's broker.

For example, if the fee for a $100,000 house is 6%, the buyer's broker will be paid 3% or $3000 and the seller's broker will be paid 3% or $3000 as well.

The agent is paid by his or her broker, according to their previously agreed-upon commission split.

This is often 50/50 for beginning agents, so in that case the agent in our example would receive $1500.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the Median Sales price for an existing single-family home in the New Haven area was $252,600 for the fourth quarter of 2004.

5) Real Estate Schools

Here are some approved real estate schools offering the pre-licensing courses for the state of Connecticut:

Greater New Haven Association of REALTORS® 203-234-7700

University of Connecticut College of Continuing Studies 860-486-3231

Continuing Education at Capital 860-906-5143

Also check out information on how to become a real estate appraiser in Connecticut