As a real estate agent, it’s your job to know everything you can about a particular area. People are counting on you not just to find them their perfect home, but to help find a neighborhood or city where they can feel at home. As a neighborhood expert, it’s your job to know about schools, places of interest, commute times, the local economy, and other statistics to help people seamlessly transfer from one place to another. Knowing these things makes it easier to do your job.

But what if a client is looking for more? What if they need someone to help coordinate moving services, real estate services, and storage services? What if they need assistance furnishing their new home, or getting their vehicles from one place to another? People are willing to pay for these extra services, but these usually don’t fall under a real estate agent’s job description. That is where a real estate relocation specialist comes in.

What is a relocation specialist?
A relocation specialist is someone who helps a client manage all of the details of a move, especially internationally, so that the client can focus on their work and not on the details of a big move. A relocation specialist has connections with a wide range of professionals, including moving companies, storage facilities, and local service providers. It’s a lot of work, but some real estate agents find that since they’re doing a lot of the research about a particular area anyway, they may as well make a little extra money by helping with the relocation logistics. 

What do they do?
Relocation specialists are hired by companies and corporations to help their employees transfer from one place to another. They’re in charge of selling the client’s current home, finding them a new home, and handling the paperwork and details involved with purchasing a new home. They handle the travel logistics (flights, getting a visa, buying travel insurance, etc) and make sure all of your belongings (including pets and cars) arrive safely. 

If the client has kids, the relocation specialist will research schools or daycare in the area and handle all of the details in getting them set up and enrolled. They’ll be the contact person for contractors if there is work to be done on the new house, and arrange moving and packing companies to pack and ship all of the client’s personal items to their new home. 

While the job of a relocation specialist is to make relocating easier, there are some things they will not do. They aren’t responsible for running errands, babysitting, or finding your spouse a new job in the area. 

How Much Do They Get Paid?
Many real estate agents step into relocation services as a side business. It can help them establish themselves in the industry while making a decent living doing what they love. The salary for a relocation specialist varies by location, but on average, relocation specialists in America make an average salary of $43,555 per year. 

Pros of Being a Relocation Specialist
Most real estate agents genuinely like helping people and are good at what they do because they are people-people. They enjoy building relationships. This attitude makes the job of relocation easy because it’s all about connecting with and helping people. Some of the benefits of being a relocation specialist include: 

  • Working with and meeting lots of different people
  • Flexible hours
  • Ability to branch out and start your own relocation business
  • Great job for extroverts
  • No continued education needed
  • Helps build a strong real estate network
  • Can work from anywhere

Cons of Being a Relocation Specialist
As with any job, there are drawbacks to consider. This career may be too much to juggle on top of a full-time real estate career, and it requires a lot of time and effort for the benefit of someone else. Some things to consider before jumping into this career path include:

Before jumping into this new adventure, real estate pros should weigh the pros and cons carefully to determine if this is the right job for them. 

How to Get Started
Most companies require relocation specialists to have experience in the real estate industry. They want to make sure their specialists have taken the courses and classes to earn their license, and like to see evidence of continued education and secondary licenses and certifications. Some big companies don’t require this experience and are open to those who have worked in customer service, business administration, or human resources. 

To earn your relocation certification, relocation specialists will be expected to pass an exam that covers topics like “policy development and administration, home sale programs, U.S. tax and legal compliance issues, relocation appraising and trends in relocation”

Final Thoughts
When you expand your business to include relocation services, you open yourself up to working with a wider range of clients. You can focus on international real estate, which can be very profitable. If you’re currently a real estate agent and looking to expand your services, you have a lot of options. Start by checking out Mbition’s online courses and classes.