How Can a Real Estate Agent Get Their License Revoked?
As one of the best real estate schools in Massachusetts, we often talk about how people can get their real estate licenses. But, what about the opposite? How do agents get their licenses revoked? Knowing what to do is great, but you should also know what not to do. So today, let’s go over all the ways
5 Tips for Buying and Selling Historic Properties
Buyer’s and Seller’s Agents Can Make History With Historic Homes Do you have clients who would jump at the opportunity to live in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s house? Or perhaps the very first mansion in the state of Utah is more their speed? As it turns out, successfully buying or selling historic properties like these requires a particularly
The Basics of Digital Accessibility for Real Estate Agents
Why You Should Make Your Website Accessible and ADA-Compliant Most real estate agents know that creating a website is an important way to connect with clients and generate new business. But is your online presence accessible to clients with disabilities? When you work to make your website and social media accounts more accessible, it benefits all of your
Criminal Minds: Real Estate Fraud, Vol.2
Check Out These Stories of Notorious Real Estate Scammers All real estate professionals need to take fraud and unethical behavior seriously. After all, gaining a client’s trust is an incredibly important part of an agent’s job. But what happens when agents decide to scam their clients or otherwise commit fraud? You’ve likely seen national news stories about real
How the Real Estate Business Came To Be
Today’s Real Estate Professionals Uphold a Rich Legacy You might know your way around a marketing campaign or your favorite real estate CRM, but have you studied up on the rich and lengthy history of your profession as a whole? Agents today are the result of thousands of years of societal change and continue to help facilitate
Understand and Master the 7 Principles of Interior Design
Real Estate Agents Can Design to Shine Whether you’re redecorating the office or staging a client’s home, effective interior design can overhaul the space, influence visitors, and paint your business in the very best light. While it’s true that a degree of creativity helps, interior design is actually a highly scientific field. The very best designers actually stick
The Complete Guide to Home Staging
Real Estate Agents Should Stage in Style Home staging, or the process of organizing, decorating, or otherwise beautifying a listing, is a critical step in the home transaction process that is believed to help the property sell at a higher price in less time. The process can be intimidating, foreign, or downright confusing for those just starting
Retail Giants Bet on Small Concept Stores to Lure Shoppers
As Online Shopping Continues to Dominate, Some Retail Chains Experiment Bloomingdale’s, the 160-year-old luxury department store chain, is joining several other national retail chains in experimenting with much smaller versions of their stores that feature heavily curated merchandise — an apparent effort to compete amid the rise of online shopping. The COVID-19 pandemic changed many consumer behaviors, including
Errors and Omissions Insurance for Real Estate Agents
What Is Errors and Omissions Insurance? If you’ve just gotten your real estate license, congratulations — you’ve made it past one of the largest hurdles in your real estate career. Of course, that’s just the beginning of something much bigger. Ahead lies one of the most unique and fulfilling opportunities one can have, but before you start
Luxury Real Estate in the Age of the Social Media Star
What Happens When Social Media Stars Take on Luxury Real Estate? Many of the top names on social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram brand themselves as being relatable. But with many top-earners reportedly making millions per year, they’re not exactly just like us — and neither are their houses. From mansions decorated like something out
Embrace the Heat: Setting Expectations in Hot Markets
Buyers and Sellers Alike Are in for a One-of-a-Kind Housing Market Homeownership can be an emotionally taxing process in the best of times, never mind in the wake of a global pandemic, COVID-19 recession, and period of record-low mortgage interest rates. Luckily, stellar real estate agents are here to save the day, imparting knowledge and wisdom to
Video Calls: Best Practices for Real Estate Professionals
What Are the Best Ways to Look Professional While on a Video Call? Nearly a year and a half after the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the United States, many restrictions have been lifted. But video calls, which quickly entered the mainstream as we all quarantined at home, aren’t going anywhere. For real estate professionals, video calls have become
Millennials: Here’s How to Decorate Your Parents’ Basement
You Don’t Have to Give Up Personal Style to Move Back In With Your Parents While some millennials may be purchasing multi-million dollar mansions in luxe ski towns, the fact is that far more just so happen to be moving back in with their parents. In 2018, Zillow reported that more millennials were living at home then
U.S. Cities Offer Incentives to Lure in Remote Workers
Remote Work Could Change Where People Live Cities and counties across the U.S. have launched programs to lure remote workers to their regions, capitalizing on pandemic-era changes that have allowed tens of millions of people, especially in industries such as technology, to work from anywhere. Read More
Transforming Distressed Hotels Into Affordable Housing
Check Out This Hotel-Based Solution to America’s Affordable Housing Crisis As the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, prompting travel restrictions and stay-in-place orders, hotel stays plummeted. Hundreds of millions of rooms sat empty in 2020. Meanwhile, communities across the country have seen “an acute undersupply of housing,” with renting becoming increasingly unaffordable, the National Association of REALTORSⓇ
Vacation Home Sales Skyrocket During COVID-19 Pandemic
Vacation Home Sales Surge During COVID-19 Pandemic In the months after COVID-19 hit the United States, vacation home sales shot up, likely the combined result of low-interest rates, a desire to escape amid social distancing and lockdown, and an unprecedented ability to work from anywhere. It’s part of a major cultural shift around work and homebuying in the
How Biden’s Jobs and Infrastructure Plan Would Affect Housing
President Biden Commits to Addressing Affordable Housing Crisis President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion jobs and infrastructure proposal includes a $213 billion investment in affordable housing, pledging to “build, preserve, and retrofit more than two million homes and commercial buildings to address the affordable housing crisis.” The proposal, called the American Jobs Plan, has faced significant Republican opposition since
Cryptocurrency Craze: Buying a House with Bitcoin
Bitcoin Is Becoming a Bigger Part of the Housing Market Buying with Bitcoin has never been easier — or trendier. But can your clients use the digital currency to buy a house? Some sellers are warming up to the idea. Similarly, buyers might come across a listing that begins with a message to cryptocurrency fans: “Accepting Bitcoin!”
Fair Housing Act Extends to Protect LGBTQ+ Community
LGBTQ+ Homebuyers and Renters to Be Protected From Housing Discrimination The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making a change that stems from the executive order President Joe Biden signed on his first day in office. It was announced in February 2021 that the Fair Housing Act will now cover those who experience discrimination because
What Is The Impact of Marijuana on Real Estate?
Marijuana and Real Estate: A Budding Relationship As of now, 15 states and D.C. have legalized recreational and medicinal marijuana. There are 36 more that allow for medicinal weed. Other states, such as South Dakota, legalized marijuana in the November election and are set to join the ganja party relatively soon. For an industry that goes through constant
Before and After: What Exposio Can Do for Your Photography
Discover How Exposio Can Help Your Real Estate Practice Excel in 2021 First impressions are everything. It only takes one-tenth of a second to determine if you like someone or something, so making the best of a first meeting means everything when it comes to working as a real estate agent. This theory also applies to the
What Are Qualified Opportunity Zones?
What Is An Opportunity Zone And How Does It Work? Qualified Opportunity Zones fuel tax-incentive funds approved by the Treasury Department that encourage investment in impoverished and underdeveloped areas looking for capital development. Stemming from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the idea of these Opportunity Funds is to move billions of dollars into low-income communities by
4 Ways to Address Bias Against LGBTQ Clients in Real Estate
Learn These 4 Steps to Better Serve LGBTQ Clients LGBTQ homeseekers often face an uncertain journey when going through the home search and buying process. Like most minority identity groups, they are at significant risk of discrimination. Take homeownership - LGBTQ individuals are roughly 15% less likely to be homeowners than heterosexuals. Discrimination can manifest itself in a
Sleep Where You Work: How WFH is Changing the Modern Home
How Will the Modern Home Change With Everyone Working From Home? According to a recent Stanford study, 42% of the U.S. workforce has been working remotely full-time since the initial COVID-19 lockdowns began. A smaller study that surveyed 1,022 professionals claims that, of that number, 29% would quit their jobs if they had to strap on their
5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Become a Real Estate Agent
You Need to Read This Before Deciding to Become a Real Estate Agent Oh thank the heavens, you have found this blog. While you may not know it yet, we have saved you from making a life-altering and tragic decision. We can probably get past all the small talk and pleasantries and assume you’re considering a career
2020: 10 Best Real Estate Facts Agents Need to Know
These Are the 2020 Facts Agents Need to Know for Their Careers Regardless of COVID-19, the residential real estate market has been red hot the past year. Markets around the country have seen record numbers, including a big increase in home value and a drop in average days listed. Much of this can be attributed to an
How to Write the Perfect Holiday Card for Clients
Make Holiday Magic When Writing Your Customized Holiday Cards this Season The written letter has become a lost art for many. When you have other more efficient methods like email, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, text message, and that witchcraft telephone created by the famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell (or Antonio Meucci, depending on who you ask),
Coronavirus: Which Housing Markets Are Recovering?
Tight Housing Inventory & Historically-Low Mortgage Rates Fuel the U.S. Housing Recovery A recent report from Realtor.com indicates that as states slowly reopen their economy, the once-stagnant housing market has begun to surge. Two contributing factors to this rise can be pinpointed to the 30-Year Mortgage Rates hitting historic lows (2.86 percent) and a more competitive housing
Around The World: What Does $500,000 Get You in Real Estate?
When Purchasing a Home Around the World, How Far Does $500,000 Go? As many of us are stuck at home, we could all use a virtual vacation, and what better way to “travel” than to look into real estate in countries outside of the U.S.? Markets across the globe differ in relation to the demand and influences
How Much Money Can You Make Flipping Homes?
Making Money Flipping Homes Can Exponentially Increase Your Yearly Income If you’re trying to become or currently are a real estate agent, there’s probably a good chance you’ve stumbled upon one of the millions of home renovation shows and thought to yourself, “Heck, I can do that.” You probably have most of the skills you need to
Big City Exodus: Where is Everyone Moving To?
People Are Trading the Big City for a Better Quality of Life. Where Are They Moving To? Back in March, major cities like New York City and San Francisco saw an outflux of residents leaving the pandemic-riddled mega metropolises for more cozy and quiet places offered by smaller cities and the suburbs. Some temporarily moved in with
Choosing The Right Vehicle For Real Estate Duty
How Much Time Do Real Estate Agents Spend In The Car? Real estate professionals spend a lot of time behind the wheel, oftentimes logging 20,000+ miles per year on their vehicles. That’s quite a bit more than the 13,476 miles per year that the average person drives, so it’s important that you drive a vehicle that fits
How Can Real Estate Agents Become Residential Property Managers?
Follow These Steps to Become a Residential Property Manager As a real estate agent, there are many opportunities that you can pursue outside the realm of helping clients buy and sell homes. One such opportunity is to become a residential property manager. Whether you are looking to make extra income in a low-inventory environment or want to
5 Reasons Why Real Estate Agents Should Use Virtual Reality
Discover the Benefits of Inserting Real Estate VR Into Your Practice With the onset of COVID-19, technology in real estate has quickly gained traction, including real estate VR. Over the past few years, many brokerages and individual agents have incorporated new technologies, but adoption was few and far between. Now, as people stay at home and rely
The Comprehensive Guide to Getting Your Real Estate License & Starting Your Career
Why Should I Get Into Real Estate? Obtaining your real estate license is a challenging and rewarding experience that consists of more than just a few real estate courses, an exam, and meeting your state’s requirement for real estate licensure — it’s an investment in a career that lets you set your own schedule, be your own
How to Find the Fun and Keep the Boredom at Bay in Real Estate
Embracing “Don't Go to Work Unless it's Fun Day” April 3rd marked the annual celebration of Don't Go to Work Unless it's Fun Day. Theoretically, if you don’t enjoy your job, you can simply skip it on April 3rd. We’ve all had those days when it’s a struggle to get out of bed and head into the
How to Choose the Right Broker for You
Selecting a Broker Can Make or Break Your Real Estate Career As you go through the process of getting your real estate license, you will need to find a sponsoring broker before you can begin practicing real estate. Choosing a broker is one of the first big steps of your real estate career because your managing broker
5 Tips When Prospecting For FSBO Listings
Follow These 5 Steps For Successfully Prospecting FSBO Listings Finding new leads or prospects can sometimes be the hardest part about working as a real estate agent. One of the ways to combat this problem is to develop your own real estate agent “niche.” A niche or target market provides you direction in finding the leads
How is Coronavirus Affecting Commercial Real Estate?
Commercial Real Estate Has Been Affected Tremendously by COVID-19 In 2008, there was a cloud of uncertainty regarding normal people paying off their mortgages. The economy was in ruins, new jobs were sparse, and the market had shrunk by over 6 percent at year’s end. Fast forward to 12 years later, and a new problem has arisen
What Makes A Home Luxurious?
Determining What Constitutes a Luxury Home is More Complex than You Think Have you ever mindlessly daydreamed about what it would be like to own or sell a luxury home? Yeah, well us too. These magnificent mansions bewilder our imaginations: Olympic-sized indoor swimming pools adjacent to basketball courts next to professional kitchens suited for a chef. Who thinks
The March Madness of Real Estate
Get Ahead This Open House Season With Our 5 Tips It’s that time of the year again when everyone drops everything important and makes their wild, absurd predictions. They’ll study the board, pedantically choosing (and rechoosing) their prized winner. Some people will favor the same choice, but in the end, only one will realize the dream.
Government Policies on Real Estate
The Relationship Between Policies and Housing Real estate's a highly regulated industry, which is why you have to have a license to practice it. There are all kinds of regulations in place that protect consumers when they buy or sell a home, and there are also many policies to protect you, the agent. As Mallory Meehan put
10 Ways Real Estate Agents Are Essential
Real Estate Agents Are Pillars of the Community Real estate is a uniquely impactful profession. One that allows individuals the opportunity to form bonds and create communities through simply buying and selling slices of land. Because of this, the need for real estate agents and brokers will never go away. We partnered with the California Association of REALTORS®
Top 3 Social Media Platforms For REALTORS®
When it comes to the continuously changing real estate social media landscape, it can be hard for real estate agents to navigate through uncharted territories. Social media marketing for real estate agents doesn’t have to be a major production. Marketing ideas for REALTORS® can be simple and genuine, yet still wield powerful results. Read More