Did you know that Illinois doesn’t have real estate agents any more? Well, that’s a slight exaggeration – we still have people who fill that role, but they don’t have a “real estate agent license”. Let me explain…
Most people don’t know it, because it wasn’t exactly trending news, but in 2011, the state of Illinois changed the terminology regarding real estate licenses. What used to be called a Real Estate Agent is now a Real Estate Broker. There were some other minor changes that went along with that, but we won’t get into those for now.
So what about the people who are called “brokers” in the rest of the country? In Illinois, we call that a Managing Broker. A Managing Broker works independently, or has their own agency. In order to become a Managing Broker, you must be a Broker for at least 2 years, then take a class and pass the state test to get your Managing Broker license.
Here’s the bottom line: if you want to represent buyers or sellers, of residential or commercial real estate, being what most people call an “agent”, the basic license you need is a Broker License. This will also allow you to lease residential & commercial properties, and you can also represent yourself in transactions if you are personally buying or selling property.
As you can see, you can’t just search Google for all of the accurate information you need when considering a career in real estate. It’s best to find out from someone who knows Illinois Real Estate – like the Chicago Real Estate School. We hope you found this information helpful, and we invite you to check out our other videos, as well as clicking on the links in the Description. We’re here to help! Thanks for watching!
