Commissions - How You Get Paid as a Real Estate Agent
Once you have passed the PSI exam, you are qualified to apply for your license. A Virginia real estate sales person must work under a licensed Virginia broker, usually a real estate company. Licensees are usually independent contractors with that broker. After passing the PSI exam, interview with local brokerages to find the one that is the best fit for you. You and the broker will then fill out the license application form and send it to the Virginia DPOR (Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation), along with the $170 application fee.
You get paid by your broker, not the client. The client, whether seller, buyer, renter, etc. is the client of the broker. You work on behalf of the broker and get paid by the broker on the transaction. The broker may receive a fee as a percentage or a flat fee. The broker's commission charged to the client is negotiable and many brokers have a policy to charge the same percentage or flat fee on all sales or rentals. A broker representing a home seller (listing broker) will have a listing agreement where the broker receives the commission. Out of that total commission, the listing broker may offer to pay a portion of that commission to any broker on the buying side (called the selling broker).
Your commission is based on your agreement with the broker. Often this is called your "split". Your split can be a percentage such as 50, 60, 70, 80% or whatever the agreement calls for. If you have a 60% split, you get paid $600 for every $1,000 of commission. So if the commission were $10,000, the commission paid to the sales person would be $6,000 on a 60% split. Some brokerages work differently and may pay higher splits to a sales person, but that would usually be provided that the sales person pays a monthly fee to the broker.
This is the general concept. Sales persons are paid by the broker based on the agreement when you join the company. Everything is negotiable, although brokerages may have their own policy, whether strict or with exceptions. The key to understanding how a brokerage structures its commissions payable to a sales person is to actually contact the brokerage and interview.
Salespersons should check on more than commission rates. The brokerage, its people, location, support, training, fees and especially any hidden fees, the potential for company provided leads and the the physical attributes of the office may all be factors that affect who you would like to affiliate with. You may also consider whether there are franchise fees or other office charges. A visit to an office is worth a thousand words. Sometimes you just get a feel for what clicks by making that visit.
Why consider National Realty, Reston, Virginia...
National Realty is an owner-managed company specializing in residential and commercial real estate in Northern Virginia, also licensed in DC and Maryland. The owners are brothers and many other family members work in some aspect of the company. As an independent company, there are no franchise fees and the commissions start high and grow higher. In fact, the "100% Incentive Program" allows an agent to earn 100% after reaching a certain level in sales. The owners and brokers provide excellent hands-on support. The office is right off the Dulles Toll Road at Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive. There are over 70 free, open parking spaces. The office is a high-end office with modern features, 2 wide-screen HDTVs with computer access and many private, semi-private and group offices. The company decided not to expand to multiple locations in order to concentrate all our support, training and top quality office equipement in one location. National Realty has a team atmosphere, where the owners and agents are friends. Beyond the training and support, the owners provide free events for their agents such as their annual Beach Party on Lake Audubon, river tube trips, bowling, happy hours and other group events.
View our videos to see what our agents have to say about joing our real estate firm. Then, enjoy some of our lighter side as we have fun in our videos to entertain others. Then contact us online or call (703) 860-4600 to learn more.
If you’re interested in joining our Team, please fill out our Confidential Short Form and we will respond to you via e-mail or phone if you request. We understand the importance of Confidentiality and will respect your privacy.
