Real Estate Brokers

Real estate brokers, or agents, provide several important services to the real estate buyer or seller. Most often associated with the buying and selling of homes, these agents present offers to the buyer or seller, negotiate a settlement price, assist the buyer in obtaining financing, and represent each party at the settlement. In addition to these direct services, real estate brokers may also recommend various other professionals like lawyers, insurance agents, appraisers and mortgage companies that may be of help in the process of buying or selling a home. In the United States, a Realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), an organization that regulates real estate brokerage. There are two levels of real estate professionals in the United States - namely real estate brokers and real estate salespeople. When an individual first becomes a real estate agent, he obtains a real estate saleperson's license of the state in which he intends to practice. After a few years of experience in real estate transactions, a real estate salesperson can obtain a real estate broker's license. Residential brokers focus on the buying and selling of residential property, most often houses. Commercial agents deal specifically with transactions surrounding commercial property, or that which is to be used for business ventures. This most often includes land on which to build office buildings for a company and land that is to be developed by a company for a specific purpose. Commercial brokerages typically have their own in-house attorneys, but may also recommend other professionals to their business clients.