Being a real estate agent in the US is so completely different from what the job entails in the UK or in France that it may be worth a post...and a bit of explaining.
I started in the job in early 2008 (after doing the required training and passing the exam to obtain my Texas Real Estate Licence) and I am happy to report that it is the best job I have ever had. It simply feels right. I look forward to going to work, I like my colleagues, I like the firm I work for, I like the atmosphere in the office, and the vast majority of the time I like the clients I work with. I like being their guide, I like taking them all around Houston and sharing my knowledge. Is it stressful? Oh yes it can be, even very much so, but with experience this can be dealt with efficiently and as quickly as possible.
Here, a buyer or a renter chooses an agent who will represent them in the transaction from beginning to end and do not need to be in contact with any other agent. When I have a new client (most of them are expats relocating to Houston for the first time), I work with them from the first house or apartment they view until after they move in.
All agents have access to all properties on the Houston market thanks to a very clever system of electronic keyboxes, so once my clients have decided which properties they wish to see, I organise the viewings, plot a logical itinerary (including a nice lunch break), take my electronic key and off we go.
Many times I will pick people up from their hotels, as very often they are only here for a few days when they come to choose a home. I find that if we are well-organised a rental can be sorted in 48 hours. A house purchase can also be very quick, especially in the current market, and offers put in immediately after seeing a home.
Now, the viewings are the easy part (and probably the most plesant). After the viewings, here's what I do... I deal with lease applications and all the documents that need to be sent to the landlord's agent, I organise picking up checks and taking them to where they need to go, I write up residential leases and pool and spa addenda, I prepare offers for my buyers, I deliver them, I negotiate them, I pick up more checks, I take them somewhere else, I hold my client's hands while they anxiously wait for a response, I attend home inspections, I renegotiate prices after the inspector has told us that the house is falling apart/the foundation is cracked/the roof is shot/the air conditioning isn't any good/the pipes are leaking under the house/whatever else can go wrong... I write up amendments and get them signed, I write up more amendments and get them signed too, I follow up with lenders, I follow up with bank appraisers, I renegotiate (again) when the appraisal comes in low, I stress out that the deal might fall apart just when I thought it was all in the bag, then everything goes right again, and then, one day, a few weeks later, I finally attend my buyer's closing, they get their keys and sign their life away on a mortgage promise, and I get my commission.
In a nutshell, that's how it goes, and I enormously enjoy it.
