What Unlicensed Real Estate Virtual Assistants Can Do in Illinois
The Illinois Bureau of Real Estate Professions has set very clear rules regarding the assignments that can be accomplished by unlicensed assistants that work in real estate. In general, these assignments are related to administrative and clerical activities and are to be carried out under the supervision of a licensee.
Thus, real estate assistants can:
- Pick up the phone, take messages and make phone calls for and on behalf of the licensee;
- Enter listings and changes to a multiple listing service;
- Check the status of transactions after the contracts have been signed;
- Prepare the mandatory documents for a closing;
- Collect public information from different public sources, such as websites of courthouses, water district, sewer district, specialty magazines, periodicals, etc;
- Prepare advertisements and promotional materials and show them to the licensee for approval;
- Place ads;
- Record and keep track of rents, earnest money, and security deposits;
- Under direct supervision of the licensee, fill in contract forms with factual and business information;
- Regularly check personnel files and licenses;
- Calculate commission checks and take care of bookkeeping;
- Schedule inspections and order routine repair works on properties as instructed by the agent;
- Distribute flyers and promotional materials;
- Make phone calls to clients who are late on their rent payment;
- Make appointments on behalf of the licensee – soliciting business for the licensee is excluded;
- Answer questions by citing preprinted information;
- Get feedback after showings;
- Help organize open houses an showings;
These tasks, although not very important or difficult to perform when taken one by one, can mean long hours of work a real estate or broker usually does not have. That is why most real estate professionals follow the trend and hire their own personal assistant.
