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Real Estate Careers
Are you interested in a career in the real estate industry? The good news is that real estate offers a variety of career options.
Starting a Career in Real EstatePermanent link to this section
Before you leap into a career in real estate, take the time to think carefully, research the opportunities in your area, and find out all you can about this career choice. Make sure you carefully consider the important responsibilities that come with being licensed to provide real estate services in B.C.
Every year many people spend time, effort and money to become licensed real estate professionals, only to discover that the reality of working in real estate is not what they expected. By doing some research, asking questions, and learning more about careers in real estate, you’ll be prepared for your future, and you can be confident that you’re making the right choice.
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10 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELFPermanent link to this section
Is real estate the right career choice for you? Start off your real estate career on the right foot by reviewing these key questions, and the answers.
In order to meet BCFSA’s licensing requirements, applicants must:
- Be of good reputation;
- Meet the minimum age requirement;
- Meet the educational and experience requirements for the level and category of licence for which they are applying, including satisfying the English language proficiency requirement;
- Must not have been refused a licence, been convicted of an offence, or disciplined by a professional body for a reason that reveals the applicant to be unfit as a real estate licensee.
BCFSA requires that all applicants:
- Provide a criminal record check;
- Provide a copy of government-issued photo identification; and
- Disclose information about any criminal convictions and charges, including any conditional or absolute discharges.
At the time of application, licensing applicants must satisfy one of the following employment criteria to be eligible to work in Canada:
- Canadian citizenship;
- Permanent Resident status;
- Hold a valid work permit/visa; or
- Landed Immigrant status.
Work permits/visas must not have any restrictions that would preclude an applicant from engaging in real estate activity/employment.
For further information, please review BCFSA’s Real Estate Licensing Guidelines.
The Real Estate Services Act requires applicants for a licence to be of “good reputation” and not “been convicted of an offence for a reason that reveals the applicant as unfit to be a licensee”. To determine whether applicants are of good reputation, BCFSA requires you to:
- Answer questions on the licensing application about your general business and personal reputation, including any bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings;
- Provide a criminal record check with your application; and
- Disclose information about any criminal convictions and charges under a federal or provincial enactment, or under the law of any foreign jurisdiction, including any conditional or absolute discharges.
Depending upon the circumstances and your recent record, having a criminal record is not necessarily a bar to licensing, but BCFSA will need to review the information carefully before deciding whether you are eligible for licensing. Please also provide a statement explaining the circumstances that gave rise to any convictions or charges as well as copies of sentencing documents. If BCFSA has questions, you will be contacted and asked to provide further information.
In the case of summary conviction offences unrelated to employment, an application for licensing will not be considered until the completion of sentence, parole, probation or payment of fine. Where summary conviction offences are related to real estate employment, application for licensing will not be considered until at least two years after completion of sentence, parole, probation or payment of fine.
Longer waiting periods are imposed for white collar crimes and for indictable offences, whether related or not related to employment. For further information about these waiting periods, please email the education team or review BCFSA’s Education and Licensing Policies.
If you have concerns about your eligibility for licensing, review BCFSA’s Good Reputation, Suitability and Fitness requirement. If you still have questions, you may wish to seek legal advice.
The Real Estate Services Act requires applicants for a licence to be “of good reputation.”
When applying for a licence, all applicants must provide a criminal record check with their application. You must disclose any criminal convictions and charges, including any conditional or absolute discharges. BCFSA also reviews applicants’ general business and personal reputations. Depending upon the circumstances and on your recent record, a criminal record may not necessarily be a bar to licensing.
If you have concerns about your eligibility for licensing, review BCFSA’s Good Reputation, Suitability and Fitness Guidelines. If you still have questions, you may wish to seek legal advice.
A good way to learn more about the income you can expect to make is to talk with people in your region who work in the real estate industry.
How you will be paid depends on which real estate specialty you select. For instance, while rental property managers typically earn a salary, individuals who specialize in real estate sales usually earn commissions.
If you earn commissions, you will have little or no guarantee of a stable income level. Your earnings could be very high one month, then much lower the following month or months, until the next sale. Your sales ability, people skills and hard work will likely affect the amount you earn, along with the market conditions, the area in which you are working, the type of properties you specialize in, and the commission structures.
As you think about whether real estate is the right career for you, keep in mind that there are costs involved in establishing a real estate practice, and that building up a client list takes time. You should make sure that you have sufficient capital available to support yourself if your personal income goals are not met as soon as you would like.
Before you make a commitment to a career in real estate, make sure you have adequate savings to complete the education and licensing requirements. Here are some of the initial and ongoing budget items you should plan for:
- Licensing course fees;
- BCFSA licensing and assessment fees;
- Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program-General (CELPIP-General) Test;
- Applied Practice Course fee (if applicable);
- Criminal record check fee;
- Real estate board fees;
- Brokerage desk fees;
- Advertising costs; and
- Smart phone, computer, printer, website, internet access, car lease and business car insurance, business clothing, etc.
A more detailed list of budget items is outlined on the trading, rental and strata management step-by-step licensing pages.
The real estate industry in B.C. achieves high standards in licensing by requiring individuals to fulfill comprehensive education and experience requirements.
To become licensed you must successfully complete BCFSA’s education requirements. You should expect to take up to one year to complete the required licensing course and examination before applying for licensing.
Individuals with prior real estate education or experience may be eligible for an exemption from the coursework. Please consult BCFSA’s Education and Licensing Policies.
For more information, see:
Before you submit your application for licensing to BCFSA, it must be signed by the managing broker of real estate brokerage who has committed to engage you.
To find a real estate brokerage that is a good fit for you, visit brokerages in your geographic area and talk to the managing broker, to find one with a fee structure and corporate environment that suits you. All brokerages have their own ways of operating, so you should ask each of them what makes them different from the others. A phone call or email to brokerages might be a good first step in approaching them.
- Find real estate brokerages in your area using BCFSA online Licensee Search.
You may change brokerages at any time once you are licensed, but you must tell BCFSA before you make the move, so that your licence can be amended. You cannot provide any real estate services unless you are engaged by a brokerage, and any business that you conduct must be done in the name of and on behalf of the brokerage with which you are engaged.
Most people who hold real estate licences are representatives. With sufficient training and experience, you may be able to qualify as an associate broker or managing broker, with responsibility for the management of a brokerage.
To upgrade your licence and become an associate broker or managing broker, you must first successfully complete the Broker’s Licensing Course at the UBC Sauder School of Business, Real Estate Division. To be eligible for enrolment in the course, you must have been licensed as a representative for six months.
Before your licence will be upgraded, you must have been licensed as a representative for a minimum of two years during the preceding five years prior to changing your status.
If you are thinking about becoming licensed as an associate broker or managing broker in British Columbia, please read the Broker Licensing Guidelines for more detailed information.
The Continuing Education (CE) requires licensees to complete applicable continuing education courses every licensing cycle as a condition of continued licensing.
A number of opportunities are available for further increasing your knowledge, for example:
For more information on these and other courses, visit the Real Estate Division at UBC’s Sauder School of Business.
The BC Real Estate Association, real estate boards and many real estate companies conduct extensive education programs designed to update and improve the professional standards of their members.
You must be at least 19 years of age to be eligible for real estate licensing in BC (see section 10(b)(i) of the Real Estate Services Act).
However, if you are interested in a career in real estate and you are not yet 19, you can still complete the licensing course and examination. You have up to one year after the date of passing a licensing exam to apply for your real estate licence.
You may want to consider exploring real estate-related post-secondary programs, such as: