How to Become a Leasing Agent in Georgia?

Depending on what type of leasing role you are looking to get, some leasing agent roles only require a high school diploma. In practice, a college degree or real estate license will make you a stronger candidate.

What Responsibilities Does a Leasing Agent in Georgia Have?

A leasing agent can be that cheerful person behind the desk in the lobby of an apartment building who takes you on a tour of the property and answers your questions about rent and amenities. But there’s lots more that a leasing agent can do, including:

• Having the first contact with prospective tenants and making a good impression
• Explaining property features and regulations
• Processing applications and deposits
• Performing background and credit checks
• Coordinating move-ins and move-outs
• Managing the property
• Answering tenants’ concerns and keeping them happy
• Planning and executing marketing strategies to procure tenants

Who Can Be a Leasing Agent in Georgia?

It depends on where you want to work. Many leasing agents work for apartment complexes or property owners. Others work for property management companies, which act on the owner’s behalf to handle all of the daily duties of renting the property. Yet another kind of leasing agent holds a Georgia real estate license!

Property Owners and Georgia Leasing Agents

The owner of a property can manage or perform other real estate activities for their own property (or properties) without a license. The exemption also includes full-time employees of the owner. So, if you are working as a leasing agent for a property owner, you do not need a Georgia real estate license.

Property Management Companies and Georgia Leasing Agents

In Georgia, a property management company must hold a broker’s license. A salesperson with a Georgia real estate license can also perform property management activities under the supervision of their broker.

Unlicensed real estate assistants can perform limited property management activities, such as taking rental applications, showing units, and certain clerical tasks.

Community Associations and Georgia Leasing Agents

Another type of Georgia leasing agent works in community association management. A community association is an association of participating homeowners in a specific community, such as a subdivision, a condominium or townhome development, or a cooperative. A community association is sometimes called a homeowners association. Community association managers (or CAMs) are responsible for ensuring the maintenance of the common property of the communities (fitness centers, pools, walkways, etc.), as well as:

• Collecting monthly association fees and assessments
• Employing on-site staff and contractors
• Keeping financial records and generating financial reports for owners

If you want to earn money by managing a place like that, you'll want to get the specific CAM license. People who have salesperson or broker licenses can work as community association managers, but those who hold only a CAM license cannot act as salespersons or brokers (no selling, leasing, or listing property).

Fidelity Bond Requirement

In Georgia, there are special requirements for community association managers to have fidelity bonds. The rules state that any broker who provides community association management services and who collects, maintains, controls, has access to, or disburses community association funds totaling more than $60,000 must be covered at all times under a fidelity bond or fidelity insurance policy.

Georgia Real Estate License Requirements

As you may have noticed, you need to have a Georgia real estate license if you are working as a leasing agent for a property management company (beyond the duties of an unlicensed real assistant) or if you are working as a community association manager. Let’s discuss what’s needed. The prerequisites for each type of license can vary slightly. Still, there are a few basic qualifications that pretty much everyone will need to have if they want to work in real estate in Georgia. Real estate license applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have a reputation of being honest, trustworthy, and competent
• Be a resident of the state of Georgia (unless you're applying for license reciprocity)
• Have a high school degree or an equivalent certificate

CAM candidates have to pass a CAM Pre-License Course from a provider that is approved by GREC. This is a 25-hour course, so it's quite a bit shorter than the 75-hour salesperson course.

Check out the image below. You can also learn even more about the application process from the Georgia Real Estate Commission about the application process.