Real estate is a career that provides multiple avenues toward success. Typically, those entering real estate are interested in becoming real estate agents. This makes sense, because the sheer scale and complexity of the real estate market—whether one is focused on single-family, multi-family, or commercial properties—takes years to master. 

Have you been a real estate agent for quite some time? Have you successfully mentored other real estate agents? Perhaps you’ve assumed a leadership role within Parks Realty and are considering how to propel yourself into a new echelon of opportunity. 

Today, we want to encourage you to weigh the pros and cons of obtaining your broker’s license. By upgrading your real estate license from agent to broker, you’ll find several new professional paths unfold before you.

Q: What is Involved in Being a Real Estate Broker?

A: Make no mistake; becoming a real estate broker should be considered a more complicated line of work than being an agent. A broker brings the years of experience they’ve gained as an agent with them, then adds a new wealth of knowledge.

Once you have obtained your license, Tennessee requires that you complete 120 classroom education hours within the first three years of your licensure. Afterward, you will be required to pursue post-licensing education, as well. This education ensures that you emerge with an expertise clients can only find through a licensed real estate broker.

With this role comes a series of new responsibilities, of course, but the financial and career rewards you can reap will make your efforts well worth your while. 

Steps to Qualify for a Real Estate Broker’s License in Middle Tennessee

To be eligible to sit for the real estate broker’s license in Tennessee, you must be over age 18. You must hold an active license that meets at least one of the following criteria:

• 24 months actively licensed as an affiliate broker IF you were licensed on or before May 12, 1988

• 36 months actively licensed as an affiliate broker IF you were licensed after May 12, 1988

• Those holding a baccalaureate degree with a major in real estate must have been actively licensed for 24 months

Additionally, you must have successfully completed 120 hours of approved classroom real estate education. Thirty hours of this education must have been in “Office/Broker Management.” This education needs to have been completed at a school approved by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission.

Once you have submitted your application, you should expect to wait four months for approval. Once approved, you may schedule your date to sit for your licensing exam. 

Q: How Much Will it Cost to Upgrade My License?

A: In addition to the coursework you’ll need to complete before you’re licensed, Tennessee lays out a transparent schedule of additional fees here. The good news is that TN is more affordable than many other states, so upgrading your license is a somewhat negligible cost compared to how much more you’ll command as a broker.

Q: How Much Can I Expect to Earn as a Broker?

A: As you know, income varies widely in real estate. However, by examining the average comparable pay between real estate agents, we can see what you may reasonably expect.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the mean annual pay for a real estate agent is ($49,040), while the average real estate broker earns ($60,370). 

Like any average wage report, this statistic draws upon those brokers at the top of the earnings scale and those at the bottom. Therefore, if you are a driven, focused, intelligent person who already thrives in the real estate arena, you will find that opportunities abound once you’ve become a licensed broker. 

A broker can become:

• Owner or manager of a franchise brokerage or independent brokerage

• Real estate portfolio manager

• Property manager

• Leader of your own team of real estate agents

Last, but certainly not least, you will be able to command greater commissions by representing clients in transactions of larger, more complicated (and therefore potentially more valuable) properties.

The Takeaway

Like any worthwhile career, becoming a broker will require you to invest your time and your finances into your education and licensing. As most brokers will tell you, though, you’ll benefit from your choice until you retire from real estate. Your reputation will allow you to expand your sphere of influence, resulting in more money, an expansive knowledge of intricate real estate transactions, and opportunities that will never present themselves to real estate agents. 

If you are trying to decide whether this is the year you pursue upgrading your license from agent to broker, invite a broker you know well and trust out to lunch. Ask them to give you some insight into how well you might suit a career as a broker, and whether or not they are still glad they decided to pursue brokerage.

If you decide that you aren’t ready to pursue becoming a broker at this time, keep the possibility in mind as you continue to learn as an agent. In a few years’ time, reassess. By then, you may find that your situation has changed, and it’s a good time to enter the company of our renowned Parks Realty brokers.