The contents of this article were contributed by K. Soma Sundram, Registered Estate Agent with 36 years of experience.
Everyone has different reasons why they think becoming a property agent is the correct career choice for them. They enjoy helping people buy the perfect home, reaping from the benefits of earning large income or exploring the real estate market’s excitement.
But one question consistently comes from people looking to enter the real estate industry: “How do I become a real estate agent, and what do I need to know?”
How to Become a Property Agent in Malaysia
1. Real Estate Practitioners
The word ‘Agent’ or ‘Real Estate Agent’ or ‘Property Agent is a generic or simplified term used by the public to refer to a ‘real estate salesperson’.
A Real Estate Agent or Agent means lot more than it meets the eye. It is a professional term designated to a person who has undergone a minimum 5 years study and practical training before being registered by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Malaysia [BOVAEP].
Let’s try to understand ‘who is who’ and what they do in the profession.
There are three types of practitioners and a career path that you can choose from in Real Estate:
i. Real Estate Agent (REA)
A person who has passed the Real Estate Exam, underwent 2-years of practical training and passed the Test of Professional Competence (TPC).
On completion they will be registered with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVAEP), as a Registered Real Estate Agent.
He is the only one allowed by law to operate a real estate firm and employ RENs to assist him. It will take an average 5-6 years to be a registered agent.
ii. Probationary Real Estate Agent (PEA)
A person who has passed the Real Estate exam and are undergoing a 2-year practical training before they are registered as agents.
iii. Real Estate Negotiator (REN)
Any person who has completed the 2-day Negotiators Certification Course (NCC), certified by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers and issued with a REN tag is called a Real Estate Negotiator (REN) in English or Perunding Hartanah in Bahasa.
Negotiators are employed by real estate firms to assist an REA (the boss of the form) in acquiring listings (property for sale or rental), to market the property and to close the sale or rental.
There are approximately 30,000 RENs in Malaysia.
More importantly, the days of ‘Brokers’ are gone and it must be understood that estate agency practice is governed by an Act of parliament and regulated like any other professions in the country.
So, getting into real estate cannot be regarded as a business but as professional entrepreneurs.
2. Motivation to be a REN
Each has his own motivation and why they want to be in the Real Estate profession;
- Some enjoy helping people,
- many wants the big dollars they can earn,
- a few wants the freedom of time
- Others want to be their own boss.
By doing so one can reap from the benefits of exploring the real estate market’s excitement.
3. The Career Life of a Property Agent
a. Do you like chatting with people and visiting houses?
You love talking to people about real estate, their lives, and family by becoming an agent.
They love meeting people, bringing people together, and getting what they want – resulting in a lot of negotiation and relationship building.
b. Do you enjoy a bit of flexibility and color variety?
You do not need a physical office to return and leave every day.
Your office has many possibilities, from a coffee shop to your favorite Kopitiam, with most of the necessary tools you need being on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.
c. Do you enjoy helping people from all walks of life?
Many real estate consumers don’t know much about the industry – as a property agent, who can provide advice for packing and moving, cleaning and repairs, inspections and appraisals, financial assessments, and property analysis.
d. Do you enjoy being your own boss?
However big or small, the growth of your business is in your hands.
By being your own boss, you decide how many clients or transactions you want to handle, how to market yourself and your listings, and how to serve your clients.
e. Do you want to be a wholesome person?
The real estate profession isn’t just about real estate.
It also involves economics, regulations, construction, design, psychology, strategy, appraisal, environmental issues, marketing, negotiations etc.
The learning and growing will help you become a better person.
4. How Do You Start Your Career in Real Estate?
To be a Real Estate Negotiator, one must adhere to these requirements;
- One must attend a two-day Negotiators Certification Course. The course is approved by BOVAEP and conducted by real estate associations throughout the country.
- Upon completion of the course, you will be issued with a certificate of attendance. With the certificate, one can seek employment with a real estate firm [all firms are registered with BOVAEP].
- When choosing a firm, consider the support they can give, the technology that drives sales, the training one can get, the commission structure payout, your growth potential etc.
- The firm may employ you on a ‘Contract of Service’ – they are employees who are paid a fixed salary with lower commission on your sale or rental. Those under ‘Contract for Service’ are regarded as contractors and not paid a salary. They are usually remunerated with a higher commission on a sale or rental.
- Once you have been appointed [the contract signed] with the firm, they will apply to BOVAEP for a REN Tag. The tag will contain the name of the REN, his designated REN no, the firm he is attached with and the expiry date of the card.
Only then the REN can act on behalf of the firm to represent sellers, landlords, buyers & tenants in selling and marketing properties.
5. Choosing The Right Firm
The process of picking an agency is critical as they alone can ‘make’ or ‘break’ you.
Legally, no one can sell real estate on their own and as such it is compulsory to join a real estate firm.
Choosing the right firm that suits your need may be intimidating but after considering the following factors, it may not that difficult.
a. Type of firm
There are three main types of firms. Sole proprietor [E (3)], Partnership [E (2)] and Sdn Bhd [E (1)]. Choosing the right firm will help your growth in the firm on a long-term basis.
- Understand how they operate,
- Know who the management team are
- Understand the support they give
- How big are they and the value system they adopt
- What is the networking presence in Malaysia and overseas,
- The type of technology platform they are using to help in sales
- The organization structure and how it can help build your career
b. Structure
Understand the company’s commission structure:
“What percentage they start with? How it increases based on sales? Any overriding structure? Does the commission payout come on time? how fast the commissions for project sales are paid?” etc.
c. Training and Support
In the real estate market, you need to ensure you continue learning and improving yourself to become the ‘Top Dog’ of Sales.
Finding a firm that provides a wide range of training courses, modules will help you grow as a person and as a REN agent.
Real Estate training also includes building self-confidence, self-grooming, mastering successful sales skills, and exploring digital marketing.
d. Growing Environment
When you find a firm with a positive vibe and a happy and motivating environment, it can encourage the REN to challenge themselves and provide the impetus and momentum to achieve a better result for a better future for themselves.
e. Momentum, Drive and Growability
The most important part for any firm is knowing the firms ‘momentum to grow’, ‘the drive to achieve the best’ and the ‘growability of the firm’.
These three combined will provide the power of acceleration to add value to all.
Conclusion
Real Estate is not a business but an entrepreneurship to earn as much as one desires and who works for it.
It will be natural to start as a REN and work yourself to be a REA as you grow in the profession.
Real Estate is long term and one needs to understand the challenges in real estate.
After some 6 months to a year, one will be in a better position to decide the path to take.
FAQ
Property Management is defined as, “the management, maintenance and control of any land, building and any interest therein, excluding the management and maintenance of property-based businesses, on behalf of the owner for a fee”.
To do this one must be registered with BOVAEP as a registered property manager.
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others.
Property development is the process of real estate development to develop buildings or land into higher use-value.
Property valuation, also known as real estate appraisal, is the process of determining the price tag or market value of a property. In other words, how much is your property worth?
Valuation in Malaysia is a meticulous process executed by qualified professionals registered with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, and Estate Agents & Property Managers (BOVAEP).
These experts utilize a comprehensive range of factors to accurately determine the value of a property to provide reliable and informed property valuations to assist buyers, sellers, and investors in making well-informed decisions.
This article was written by K. Soma Sundram.
Soma is a Registered Estate Agent with 36 years of experience, a pioneer in Project Marketing in Malaysia and has trained over 200,000 real estate people. He specializes in sales skill training, and singlehandedly wrote the National Certification Course (NCC) module for real estate negotiators nationwide.
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