Brokers Blog

A real estate broker license indicates earnestness and professionalism, so if you need a broker to help you sell your house or buy an investment property, hire a property broker with a state license, a certification from a reputable real estate agency association and affiliation with a stable real estate company.

Real estate licensing in states vary but almost all licensed brokers need to pass certain training and experience requirements before they are given a broker license. One proof of the higher level of training needed to pass licensing requirements is the rising number of enterprises offering courses to enable prospective brokers pass licensing requirements in their states.

In some states, lawyers who want to work also as real estate brokers need only to complete part of the requirements.

Additionally, realtor associations also have their own education, training and work requirements before they issue their membership certificates. One of the basic requirements is a real estate broker license.

One great advantage of hiring a broker who is a member of the National Association of Realtors or a state association of realtors is your broker’s access to Multiple Listing Services. If you are looking for a certain type of property, your broker can access various properties for sale listed in the association’s MLS database.

Likewise, if you are selling your property, your agent has a ready network to help him facilitate the sale of your asset.
For a real estate seller, there are a lot of things that a licensed broker can offer. Among these are listing the property in an MLS or other lists, preparing advertising materials, putting up a For Sale sign, advertising the property using various methods, holding an open house, ensuring buyers are qualified, negotiating the price and holding an earnest payment.

For both buyers and sellers, a licensed broker provides various services. The broker facilitates a property purchase by guiding the buyer through the purchase process, completes a sale by guiding the seller through the sales process, prepares the FSBO document, provides real estate consultation, facilitates the marketing of a property, auctions a property, manages a property, prepares lease and purchase contracts, and conducts property appraisals and comparative market analysis if also certified or licensed as a real estate appraiser.

To get the best return from your property or the best result from your home search, hire a property professional with a real estate association certification and a real estate broker license.

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The stock prices of discount brokers, especially E-Trade Financial Corp., increased last week as analysts upgraded their stock ratings because of positive trading trends and the return of investors into the stock market.

The rating of E-Trade was upgraded by Goldman Sachs financial analyst Daniel Harris from neutral to buy because of the improving status of the broker’s home equity loan portfolio and the improving trends in the brokerage business. E-Trade shares rose by 6 percent or 10 cents to reach $1.81.

Harris explained that he increased his estimated earnings per share for E-Trade to a loss of only 3 cents in the July to September quarter from his initial estimated loss of 8 cents because the E-Trade brokerage business has improved substantially.

The share prices of TD American Corporation, TradeStation and optionsXpress also increased, with TD American rising by 7 cents in morning trading to $19.55, TradeStation rising to $7.55, and optionsXpress rising to $17.25.

Meanwhile, the stocks of Charles Schwab Corp. were downgraded by Harris from neutral to sell. According to Harris, Schwab’s core revenue sources, namely interest income and asset management, are not expected to grow substantially because of the expected slowdown in short-term rates. He also added that Schwab will lag other major discount brokers in performance.

Additionally, many stock analysts are advising investors to buy E-Trade now because it may soon be acquired by another major discount broker. They said that at E-Trade’s current $1.84 share price, the offer could reach $3 to $4 per share.
FBR Capital also pushed up its price target for E-Trade from $2 to $2.25, explaining that E-Trade Bank has been improving its capital and credit status and E-Trade has been showing strong signs of recovery.

In the past months, investors have been turning away from E-Trade because of increasing delinquencies in its home equity line of credit portfolio, but in recent weeks, delinquencies in its $8.8 billion HELOC business and in its $11.4 billion multifamily portfolio have been improving.

Total delinquencies in multifamily loans increased by only 0.4 percent to $1.68 billion and loans past due by 30 to 89 days dropped by 6.2 percent to $528 million. Loans past due by 90 to 179 days fell by 9.2 percent by $404 million.

Citigroup also upgraded its E-Trade Financial and raised its price target to $2.30 from $1.50. The interest of other major discount brokers in taking over E-Trade also increased because of its improved financial performance.

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Real estate broker deals with foreign clients have been slowing, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors.
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Mobile home brokers in Michigan, California and other states have been facing various challenges during the downturn, as the demand for mobile homes or manufactured homes have been declining since the late 1990s.
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Home agents can increase their income by helping troubled homeowners in the pre-foreclosure stage. According to real estate associations, the pre-foreclosure market is another big market for real estate agents because there are more than 1 million mortgages in various stages of pre-foreclosure.
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Discount home brokers, fee-for-service brokers and online brokers are now allowed to compete with full-service real estate brokers in South Carolina such as Consolidated Multiple Listing Services Inc. after the U.S. Justice Department agreed to a settlement with CMLS.
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Online brokers have gone a long way from the difficult times when they were restricted from accessing major multiple listing services and were just used for initial information on certain properties but never hired for closing.
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Buying a new house or selling your old property is a big decision. You would not want to invest your money on something unreasonable, right? So, many would prefer having a home broker by their side to help them make the wise choice.
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The possibility of earning from purchasing properties for business purposes or home building is gaining popularity. But an ordinary business-minded individual can not possibly choose the most beneficial property to purchase by his or her own. They must hire a real estate broker.
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The great economic depression began in the late 2006 when housing market crashed and homeowners began defaulting on their loans. The United States’ toughest economic crisis since 1930 has greatly affected the housing industry and the people that make a living out of it— agents, real estate brokers to name a few.
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Continue Reading: Recession, the Housing Industry and Your Real Estate Broker