Agents pay a small fee per transaction, which gives them the ability to take home more money per deal than if they paid the company a percentage of their commissions, which is common practice at other firms.

Acknowledging the vast opportunities that real estate does offer, a former Los Angeles wedding planner, a Chicago Mercantile Exchange trader and a suburban Chicago millennial all launched their real estate careers just before the onslaught of the worldwide deadly virus.

Everyone starts somewhere. We polled our readers — fellow Chicagoland agents — to find out what advice they would give their rookie agent selves! Have a look at what they said.

A new report by the Consumer Federation of America reveals that referral fees paid by real estate agents result in higher commission rates and reduced customer service.

Under the new Real Estate License Act, new licensees have a post-license education requirement of 45 hours dedicated to professionalism.

Professionalism is more important than ever these days. See what Chicago-area brokers have to say about professionalism in the industry.

When it comes to professionalism in residential real estate, Frances Simons, designated managing broker at Baird & Warner’s Lake Zurich office, doesn’t pull her punches.

Though brokers help their clients invest in real estate every day, many don’t have their own portfolios set up yet. Learn from real estate professionals who have done this successfully, whether purchasing rental buildings, flipping homes or serving clients who want to expand their stake in the market.

It’s been about two years since the National Association of Realtors launched its financial planning and assistance wing, the Center for Realtor Financial Wellness, and just in time to find its footing for the coming global recession.

See what readers have to say about changes they’ve made in response to COVID-19.

An experiment that was expected to last a few weeks has now become a transformational moment for Dream Town Realty.

If you want to build your business around first-time buyers, you would do well to follow the lead of Ryan Gable.

“We need to remind ourselves that we are all in this together. We’re in a bad spot as a country, and we need to get through this together.” — Tim Brigham, branch manager at Union Home Mortgage

Learn how a proactive attitude can solve contract cancellations, as well as uncertainties looming over your clients and the market overall.

Running a business during a pandemic isn’t easy. So what if you’re responsible for multiple people’s businesses all rolled into one entity? Leaders of several Chicagoland real estate teams share their tips on how to thrive under pressure.

Whether it’s explaining how real estate transactions work under a disaster proclamation or just being a good listener, Chicagoland brokers are finding communication to be the key to keeping their business running.