Many real estate agents are hiring virtual assistants who act as hourly contractors instead of full-time employees. This contract requires assistants to pay their own taxes and insurance, which means less filing, money and overall effort on the agents’ end.
Read our full report on virtual assistants in real estate.
Many virtual assistants are versatile and can go beyond your business. As long as you’re paying them per hour, they can help with personal scheduling for date nights and family trips, too.
And you don’t need a massive budget to hire a personal online assistant. They usually cost less than $5 per hour, and since they aren’t on a salary, they only bill you for the hours worked and not for wasted face-to-face time.
One important thing to consider is licensing. An on-site assistant with a real estate license can do much more for you than a virtual assistant, including solicit new buyers and sellers. On-site assistants with a real estate license are not as restricted in what they can and cannot do for agents, so think about what you will need your virtual assistant to do and make sure you are complying with your state laws.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct an error involving how real estate agents are paid. Virtual assistants are paid hourly, not agents.