Real Estate Broker
One of the most recurring real estate doubts is regarding what is a broker in comparison to what is a real estate agent.
Well, it depends from state to state to tell exactly what a Broker can and cannot do, but it’s safe to say that, in every state, a Real Estate Broker is someone with more real estate education and experience than a real estate agent. To become one, you have to attend a certain number of Real Estate classes and pass the state exam. The duration of those classes is longer than the ones an agent goes through and the exam they take is more difficult to pass too. Summing up: although all Brokers can act also as Agents, not every Agent can act as a Broker.
In general, you could say that a Broker is the person with the certification necessary to list the property and sign the papers and overview the transaction between the home seller and the home buyer. But there is a large variety of other services he/she provides for home sellers and home buyers, like Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), preparing contracts and acting as the guardian of the escrow. Sometimes, the home seller or buyer doesn’t even meet the Broker, but a real estate agent that works under him/her.
The Broker is the one who collects the commission once the sale is made and he/she divides the value to all participating parts like the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent – most of the times an employee of his, but, depending on the type of listing agreement (like an Open Listing) it can be someone independent from him/her.
Popular Real Estate Terms
What does Act of God mean? Acts of God or “force majeure” is typically how an insurance policy classifies peril situations that could not be prevented or defended by men. ...
Rights granted to owners of property restricted to conservation use, historic preservation, or some other low density function to sell to other landowners allowing them to develop their ...
Doing business as, or DBA, means an official moniker for your enterprise or company. Regularly, a DBA is a state certificate serving as a registration name and issued under a ...
Escrow, often known as collateral, is a legal concept. A third party is designated to hold an asset, resource, or a sum of money used in a transaction on behalf of the other two parties, ...
A court order issued to a defendant in an action either prohibiting or commanding the performance of a defined act. A violation of an injunction could lead to a contempt of court citation. ...
Right of any government agency to enact and enforce certain regulations to provide for the health and safety and general welfare of the public. ...
Welcome to the world of magical yet perplexing real estate! Undeniably, there's a lot to learn, but we're here to explain miscellaneous terminology so that you can make educated decisions. ...
Contractual clause freeing a party from personal liability. Foe example, an exculpatory clause in a mortgage agreement provides a mortgagor the ability to surrender a mortgage property in ...
Investments you can hold on to all your life or sell for a profit when they have appreciated in value. Real assets are those investments you can put hands on. Real property includes real ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.