A leasing agent is a real estate professional who assists in leasing their property on behalf of the owner. You may assist the property owner or manager in ensuring that properties are well maintained and record-keeping, among other duties. If you’re interested in this type of job and you like working with people, this might just be the perfect role for you. Let’s get you started with examples of resume formats to help you craft that stellar resume.
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Job duties of a leasing agent
As a leasing agent, your main responsibilities are inspections and property tours. You will also be responsible for maintaining tenant & landlord records as well as participating in creating marketing materials. Let’s take a look at the various roles that you will have when taking up a leasing agent’s job:
Maintaining the occupancy level through leasing activities such as client tours, preparation of leasing documents and compliance with company policies.
Creating marketing strategies , such as advertising and promotion for vacant properties.
Showing properties to prospective tenants through open houses and tours. This may happen during business hours or weekends and you are responsible for ensuring that properties are clean before any of these activities take place.
Coordinating with the supervisor on day-to-day operational tasks.
Completing administrative tasks, such as lease application paperwork and filing.
Reviewing move-in and move-outs and completing required documents such as leases and renewal contracts. These documents must be compliant with regulatory guidelines and signed by the residents. This paperwork will then have to be entered in the property management software that the company uses.
Handling customer service by answering incoming calls and greeting walk-in clients. Give exemplary service to residents, prospective tenants as well as guests on the property. Also, ensure resident satisfaction through post-lease calls, emails or meetings.
Leasing agents median salaries
According to PayScale, as of September 2021, the median annual salary for leasing agents is $36,344. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also projects growth in the real estate industry for the next 10 years of four percent. If you work for a more prominent firm, you might be hired with an annual salary with added bonus incentives based on your progress.
Top skills for leasing agents
Certain basic skill sets are required for any profession. These skills will help you excel in a short time in a competitive and tough industry such as real estate, your progress and success will be based on exceptional skills that will help you long term. Let's take a look at some of these skills:
- Latest trends in the industry: As a leasing agent, information is always what you can rely on, what gets your conversion rates up and what truly helps your tenants. Once you close your sale or choose a tenant there is an expectation to serve their best interest. It is important to constantly be aware of the changing demographics of the region. You can keep yourself updated on your community by researching the cost of utilities and amenities of the surrounding neighborhood . Keeping oneself up to date on market trends such as property value, comparable listing in terms of local market conditions and competitors, through mystery shopping, is crucial. The information should be used and shared as market surveys and analyses for the team.
- Open to feedback: When you enter the real estate industry as a leasing agent you will notice that it entails a lot of on the job training. Along with it comes the feedback and room for improvement. Whenever you face criticism, take it in as a positive note to help you be better since a lot can be learned through feedback and it is a real skill if you can filter the undesired negativity from each criticism and focus on how to better yourself.
- Technologically savvy: Our world is evolving and so is every industry and market around us. You must be able to effectively use current technology to serve your industry-specific needs. Keeping up with technological trends can be managed through following news subscriptions and the National Apartment Association.
- Steadfastness: As a successful leasing agent, you will know to keep trying regardless. You should have the determination to keep going for a ‘yes’. One of the main reasons why many leasing agents leave their job and the industry is because of rejection. Your success will depend on your persistence.
- Ability to build lasting relationships: As a future realtor or investor, your success will depend on the relationship you have with your peers, mentors and your clients. You can find ways to develop, grow and foster relationships with people outside your company and community.
Educational requirements for leasing agents
The basic requirement to begin your career as a leasing agent is a high school diploma or GED. This is also due to the fact that you will be overseen by a licensed broker. However, with the growing industry, employers prefer someone with a college degree or real estate license.
Degree
You may opt for a degree in any field such as finance, business or administration. However, if you are serious about a career in real estate, then you can get an associate, a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in real estate.
Universities and colleges: The University of West Georgia provides business, marketing and real estate degrees. You can even combine a major in business with a minor in real estate. Clarion University of Pennsylvania provides undergraduate degrees in real estate which can help in expanding your career in real estate brokerage, investment analysis or property management. Community colleges usually provide a two-year degree course. The California Community Colleges Real Estate Education Center offers courses by 66 colleges, all approved by the California Department of Real Estate and the California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. From residential, commercial to development, they will help you learn new skills for your career. You can also research community colleges within your state and apply accordingly.Certification
As a leasing agent, you can look to expand your career and there are sure many certifications and designations to help you. Let's take a look at some of these:
Member associations: As a leasing agent, being a Certified Apartment Leasing Professional (CALP) can add value to your professional credentials. Previously known as NALP, this is one of the most coveted designations for a leasing agent. CALP is awarded by the National Apartment Association and is available online. The minimum requirement for this credential is to have at least six months of experience in leasing in on-site property management. You are required to complete the CALP examination within six months of applying. There are seven individual modules in it.
For-profit educational companies: Companies like Coursera and Udemy offer good real estate courses as well for levels such as beginners, intermediaries and experts. Udemy, for example, offers leasing courses for specific topics such as luxury homes and commercial real estate lease modeling.
Leasing agent resume-writing tips
Let’s help you create that perfect resume:
- Identify your level of expertise: If you are new in the real estate landscape, focus more on your potential than your experience. Include skills that let your employer see you as a candidate who is quick to adapt and progress within minimum supervision. For midlevel or advanced career levels, you can let your experience do all the talking. Use a combination/hybrid resume format in this case.
- Keep it straightforward: The real estate industry is very dynamic. Words do speak for you. Therefore, you don’t have to go after a fancy design or color format. The most effective resumes are basic black and white backgrounds. Do not include long sentences and ensure that sections are spaced out so that it does not clutter and is easy to draw attention to you and your profile.
- Do not go overboard: To prove your worthy candidate, you may end up writing about every experience you’ve had. However, an ideal resume should be limited to one page at best, or two pages maximum. Thus, to ensure your resume is crisp, list your objectives, skills and experience. Next, match your resume with the job profile. Take a look at the keywords included and use these to narrow your resume down to the relevant skills and experience.
FAQ
In what way is a leasing agent different from a real estate sales agent?
A leasing agent can be a salaried employee whereas a real estate agent’s earnings are commission-based. A leasing agent works in an office as many administrative tasks are part of the job. On the other hand, a real estate agent enjoys the freedom of creating a schedule for his tasks every day. This is the reason why a large percentage of real estate agents are self-employed. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 56% of real estate agents are self-employed.
How is an apartment leasing agent any different from a leasing agent?
An apartment leasing agent specifically works for apartment owners. Your responsibility toward other management activities increases, which makes your work similar to that of a property manager. You will oversee apartment maintenance and will be interacting more with tenants.
How can I advance my career in property management other than brokerage?
The advantage of being a leasing agent is that you can either choose to move toward other areas of real estate. You can advance to become an administrator or a team leader in the same profile, an assistant property manager, an account manager, a customer service manager or a staffing manager. Always keep in mind that as you advance in your career, there will be certain license and certification requirements that you will need.