Real Estate Virtual Assistant Services: Is This Your Money-Making Niche?

DISCLOSURE: THIS POST May CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS THAT WILL REWARD ME MONETARILY OR OTHERWISE WHEN YOU USE THEM TO MAKE QUALIFYING PURCHASES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE READ MY EARNINGS DISCLAIMER.

Many Real Estate agents lack the systems needed to maintain a high level of organization and manage their time efficiently. This can lead to them feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, which is bad for their business and their clients. Becoming a Real Estate VA is a great solution for you if you want to help Real Estate agents overcome this challenge. Not only will you learn about the industry, but you’ll also get paid to work in it. Plus, you’ll have access to a great network of professionals who can help guide and support you on your journey if you choose to become an RE Agent one day.

Real Estate Industry 101

Becoming a Real Estate VA is a great choice for you if you have any interest in Real Estate. And if you ever thought about pursuing your own license, then this is an excellent way to get paid to work in the industry while learning and networking at the same time.

Most people think that in order to become a successful Real Estate Agent, they need to know a lot about the local community and be able to sell themselves.

While it’s true that Real Estate Agents need to be good at sales and have knowledge of the market, these aren’t the only things you need in order to be successful.

Many Real Estate agents lack the systems needed to maintain a high level of organization and manage their time efficiently. They are busy being the face of their company and helping sell and purchase homes for their clients.

According to the National Association of Realtors, there are approximately 2 million active real estate licensees in the U.S. They also state that in 2019, a realtor worked an average of 36 hours per week.

In America, we have an abundance of residential dwellings. A whopping 5.34 million homes were sold in 2019. After plateauing between 2017 and 2019, house prices in the United States saw an increase in 2020 and 2021. The average sales price of a new home in 2020 was 391,900 U.S. dollars and in 2021, it reached 453,700 U.S. dollars.

As a Real Estate Virtual Assistant, you can help Agents implement and maintain the systems needed to work less and earn more by closing not just more deals every year, but bigger deals.  You can help an Agent increase their visibility and maintain relationships so that they bring more referrals.  And you’ll also have the satisfaction of helping people navigate the chaos involved in selling or purchasing a home.  

Real Estate Virtual Assistant Services

Before you can decide what Real Estate Virtual Assistant Services to offer you have to understand the importance of leads.  Before an agent can list a home for sale, they must have someone contact them and say that they want to sell their home.  Likewise, they must have someone to sell the home to.  These people/clients are called leads.  Leads can come from a variety of sources:

• Facebook ads
• Past client, family, or friend referrals
• Open Houses
• Supermarket cart or bus bench advertising
• A person walks into their office 
• Property inquiries on popular websites such as Trulia, Zillow or Realtor.com

Leads can come from anywhere and everywhere. Essentially services you can offer as a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be broken down into these three general areas. 

1. General Virtual Assistant Services
2. Real Estate Transaction Services
3. Marketing Services 

General VA Services For Real Estate Brokers

Similar to an administrative assistant in an office, general VA services will include calendaring appointments, email, data entry, etc.  

Email management for a Real Estate VA involves looking for client emails and answering questions.  These email conversations often involve the common buyer and seller questions regarding details that don’t necessarily have to be responded to by a busy Agent. 

Here are a few examples:

• Would the buyer be interested in purchasing our grill and patio furniture?  
• What company is the seller currently using for internet service?
• Has the city scheduled a date for their inspection?  
• Can you send me a copy of the purchase agreement?

Prior to COVID-19, when Open Houses were popular, data entry was very important.  One of the biggest tasks that agents typically need help with is entering their leads. So if they hold an open house they may meet 15, 20, 25 home buyers.  Those names, telephone numbers, and email addresses have to make it into their Client Relationship Management (CRM) system.  

Real Estate Transaction Coordinator 

There are limitations per state on what you can and can’t do – whether you need to be licensed. So, it’s important if you’re going to be a Real Estate Virtual Assistant that offers transaction management that you get started in your home state and do your research.   Rules vary from state to state.  Research the requirements of your state when participating in a transaction.

The transaction coordinator is the person who’s in charge of compliance, making sure they get the documents back, that everything is getting signed.  Buying or selling a home involves lots of paperwork and oversight to make sure that everything is in line with City, County, and State regulations.  Ensure that all transactions are on track for closing by following workflows, sending appropriate emails on time, and filling the communication gaps. 

Marketing Virtual Assistant For Real Estate Brokers

Have a passion for marketing and design? Virtual assistants can help agents build their online presence.  Agents oftentimes work for the big brokers like Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Berkshire Hathaway.  These brokers have all of their own brandings but possibly have 5,000 agents. So how does an individual agent branch out on their own, out from under the corporate umbrella? A Real Estate Virtual Assistant can help an agent develop their own personal brand, website, and logo.  

Like to write?  VAs can write listing descriptions, meaning the seller would send pictures of the house for sale and you would write the description.  You can check any of the popular websites.  If the Agent has their own website, you could also create a page on the website to showcase a home for sale and then run Facebook ads to the page.  

Facebook and Instagram management would be something the Agent needs. Agents have zero social media consistency. Maintaining an online presence among the top social media platforms and sending out a monthly newsletter are easy services to pitch to an Agent.

Like to design fliers or postcards? These are still popular!  Canva is a user-friendly app that you can learn how to use in just a few hours.   

What do Real Estate Assistants Do?

Here is a list of 15 services that you can get started offering as a Real Estate Virtual Assistant.  No fancy degree is needed.  No expensive training.  These tasks will vary depending on if you are working with an Agent that mostly represents home buyers or sellers:

1. Coordinate buyer and seller calendars for the home inspection.
2. Check-in with the loan officer on the status of the appraisal. 
3. Remind the buyer and seller to transfer utilities as of the closing date.
4. Order client closing gifts. 
5. Send a post-closing testimonial and referral requests. 
6. Order “for sale” sign installation. 
7. Contact the photographer and schedule a photoshoot. 
8. Create a listing description. 
9. Design new listing marketing flyers for print. 
10. Ensure listing is active on MLS with correct information and photos.  
11. Write “just listed” description for Facebook. 
12. Post local Real Estate news on the Agent’s Facebook page. 
13. Request past client testimonials. 
14. Publish Open House advertisements. 
15. Enter the closing date on the Agent’s calendar. 

How Much Does A Real Estate Virtual Assistant Make?

First, to understand how much to charge your clients, it’s important for a Real Estate Virtual Assistant to understand how the Real Estate Agent earns their salary.

There are several factors involved due to the varying moving parts of buying and selling homes. Let’s put the pieces together, to understand all of the working parts.

How do Real Estate Agents Earn Their Money? 

First, let’s look at how Agents earn a commission upon the successful closing of a transaction.  

Once a property closes, the two Real Estate Brokerages (the companies representing the house buyer and seller) receive their commission checks for the transaction.

The commission amount is usually split 50/50 (this may vary) between the Real Estate Broker and the Agent. Here’s an example:

A house sells for $250,000.   

Assuming a 6% commission (the average commission paid by the seller), the total commission amount is $15,000.  

The seller’s company would get $7,500 and the buyer’s company would get $7,500 

Assuming a 50/50 split between a Real Estate Agent and their Broker, an Agent would take home $3,750.00 before taxes. 

(For more information on Real Estate Agent salaries you can check out an informative article on The Balance here)

Real Estate Virtual Assistant Salary 

Without any prior Real Estate experience, a Real Estate Virtual Assistant could start off charging an hourly rate of $14-$18 per hour.  It’s also totally acceptable to ask for a fixed bonus amount of $100 – $200 when a transaction closes. 

Once you have an established working relationship with an Agent, you could switch to a monthly retainer.   Your Agent would pre-pay you for a certain amount of services or hours offered each month.

For example, if you agreed to work approximately 15 to 20 hours per week at $20 per hour, your Agent would pay $1,600 at the beginning of the month.  

How To Become A Real Estate Virtual Assistant

There are so many skills to learn as a new VA, and sometimes the tech entering into the scene daily can seem overwhelming.

On top of that, there are VAs that know specific industry skills. Some VA’s specialize in Social Media Management, others in Customer Service for e-commerce companies.

And then there is the exciting path of the Real Estate Virtual Assistant!

Our first recommendation is always Abbey Ashley’s SavvyVault. The Savvy Vault is a collection of courses taught by experienced VAs. With a monthly membership fee of $47, you’ll have unlimited access to all of the courses in SavvyVault. And new courses are added every month!

Abbey is one of the most honest people in the VA training/online course business and she offers a seven-day refund. Her refund policy is designed to give you 7 days to try the membership, get acquainted, and learn! If you do the work, put in your best effort, and feel that she hasn’t given you value that will grow your VA skills, Abbey will issue a 100% refund.

The most affordable Real Estate Virtual Assistant Training is the Savvy Vault. Get started today.

What are your thoughts? Is becoming a Real Estate Virtual Assistant a great home business idea? I’d love for you to share your thoughts in the comments below!