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
A building having one house hold on the first floor and a second household on the second floor. ...
Tax term describing current and necessary business expenses. Ordinary and necessary business expenses do not include long-term capital losses. For example, the XYZ stationary store deducts ...
Site where mobile homes are located. Mobile home parks are often mandated by municipal zoning laws. They provide necessary utilities to the mobile homes often including recreational ...
A lease requiring tenants to pay all utilities, insurance, taxes, and maintenance costs. ...
The first mortgage on property when other mortgages exist as well, as in the case of a wraparound loan. For example, the total amount financed might be %200,000 of which the first lien is ...
Glass containing wire support to make it stronger. There is less chance of glass being broken into pieces and hurting people. ...
Additional tax liability that the IRS deems to be owed by a taxpayer. A taxpayer can argue the correctness of a deficiency with the IRS. There can be an appeal to the Tax Court without ...
Clause in a mortgage that allows the borrower to pay more than the monthly amount and to retire the loan early without a penalty. ...
Body o law relating directly to condominiums and cooperative developments. Most property law provides vertical ownership of property in the sense that property owners own mineral rights as ...

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