If you are an estate agent or are thinking of becoming one, you might be looking to buy an existing real estate agency. Buying your own business is a good way to leap straight into a brand with existing customers.
You will need to consider carefully what it is that you are going to need from the business that you buy. With technology changing how the industry in Canada is shaped, you will need to find a business that can work with these changes and find its own niche.
The industry is full of different businesses that cater to different customers and types of properties. Finding the right business to buy will mean deciding on the kind of estate agency that you want to run and the kinds of skills that you have.
Types of agencies
In general, real estate agencies are businesses that facilitate the buying and selling of real estate. This sounds simple enough, however, under this umbrella, there are different kinds of businesses. You will need to consider the kind of business that is right for you.
Identify whether you want to buy a business that deals with commercial or residential property. This will be somewhat dependant on where your skills and experience lie.
Residential
Running a residential real estate
There are different specialities that you can go into within this category such as first-time buyers, senior buyers, relocations or sellers specifically. However, most residential real estate agents will cover more than one of these specialities if not all of them.
Commercial
A commercial real estate agency will work alongside businesses in the buying and selling of land or property that will be used for commercial purposes. If you buy this kind of business, you will be assisting in the buying and selling of offices, retail space, industrial space and the like.
It is usually slower to sell this kind of real estate. You will need, therefore, to be prepared to work on a project for a longer period of time.
If you are looking at a commercial real estate agency, be aware that industrial real estate is a subset that exists within this.
An industrial real estate agency will work with finding the right location and labour pool. This type of business will also need to be familiar with regulations involved with the buying and selling of industrial property.
Estate brokerage
Another type of real estate agency that you could look to buy is an estate brokerage that helps clients who want to buy property as an investment. In this case, you are required to have a good knowledge of the areas that the properties are in so that you can know what properties will increase or decrease in value.
The type of real estate agency that you buy will have to be one in which your skills lie. You will need to be qualified in real estate if you are going to be involved in the buying and selling of properties.
Other considerations
Once you have narrowed down the type of agency that you are going to buy, you will need to make other considerations. You will need to find out the reputation of any business that you intend on buying.
Buying and selling properties often comes down to trust between the customers and the realtor and, therefore, you should know what the brand reputation of the business is before you buy it.
It can also be beneficial to know that the real estate agency that you are going to buy has taken steps to update the way that they run to include technological advancements in this sector.
Searching for the right real estate agency to buy can be a long process, however, it is worth taking your time in order to ensure you make a good investment.
