Real Estate advice Colorado Springs, CO

[Chelsea Burdge]

I am currently an assistant office manager at a car dealership in Colorado Springs, CO and I am interested in getting into the real estate field. I am very good at accounting and I am looking for suggestions on some routes or positions I could get into with what I currently know and could put into use in this new field. I do not have any license yet, but would like to move forward with getting what I need. What are some good options in jobs for entering the field? What licenses would be required?

[Jon Holdman]

At the risk of stating the obvious, mortgage brokers broker loans and real estate brokers broker properties.  In both cases this work involves connecting two parties and collecting a fee for putting them together.  For mortgage brokers this means connecting a lender and a borrower.  For real estate brokers the parties are a buyer and a seller.

These two jobs, and many other real estate "jobs" are not W2 paycheck jobs.  They're commissioned sales.  The only time you get paid for either of these jobs is when a deal closes.  Either a loan or a property sale.  If you don't close anything, you don't get paid at all.  I suppose it may be possible to get a job as a mortgage broker with a company that will give you a paycheck that's a draw against future commissions or some such.  I don't know if that's common, and I don't think that happens at all for real estate brokers.

If you're looking for a "job" that comes with a paycheck without having to close deals, your options in real estate are pretty limited.  One that comes to mind would be a property manager or leasing agent.  Property management does require a RE license here in CO and in most states.   But there are jobs where you work for someone else and can do this job without a license.  This of a leasing agent at an apartment complex, for example.

With your accounting background, you might also be able to get a job with a mortgage company or bank.