Hiring a Real Estate Admin: Contract Terms for Unlicensed Assistants

Scaling a real estate business usually doesn’t fail because you can’t generate leads—it fails because the operational load swallows your calendar. Showings, listings, client follow-ups, transaction coordination, vendor scheduling, document management, marketing… it adds up fast. That’s why many agents reach the “I need help” moment and decide to hire administrative support.

But if you’re bringing on an unlicensed assistant, you’ll want to be especially careful about your contract structure and scope of work. The right paperwork protects you, clarifies expectations, and helps ensure compliance with state licensing laws and brokerage policies.

This guide breaks down the most important real estate assistant contract terms for agents hiring unlicensed administrative support. It’s written from the client/buyer perspective (you—the agent), and designed to help you confidently build a real estate administrative assistant contract (or “realtor admin agreement”) that scales with your business.

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Why a Contract Matters When You Hire an Unlicensed Real Estate Admin

An unlicensed assistant can be an operational powerhouse—if you keep their tasks squarely within administrative boundaries. Without a clear agreement, you risk:

• Misaligned expectations about hours, responsiveness, and performance
• Disputes about pay, reimbursements, and overtime
• Confidentiality and data security issues
• Noncompliance with real estate licensing rules (which can create regulatory exposure for you and your brokerage)
• Confusion about ownership of marketing assets, CRM data, templates, and client information

A well-drafted hire real estate assistant contract creates a paper trail showing the intent: your assistant provides admin support, not licensed real estate services.

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First: Know the Line Between “Admin Support” and “Licensed Activity”

Licensing laws vary by state, and brokerages often impose stricter policies than the law. Generally, unlicensed assistants can handle clerical, marketing, and operational tasks—but cannot perform activities that require a license, such as:

• Negotiating prices/terms
• Providing real estate advice
• Showing property without proper rules/permissions (state-specific)
• Hosting open houses alone (often prohibited)
• Soliciting listings or buyers as an agent
• Drafting or completing legal forms beyond permissible “fill-in-the-blanks” admin support (varies by state and brokerage)

Contract tip: Your agreement should include a scope-of-services clause that explicitly prohibits licensed activity and requires the assistant to follow all state laws, MLS rules, and brokerage policies.

Practical move: Add a requirement that the assistant complete brokerage onboarding/training about unlicensed duties before starting client-facing tasks.

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1) Parties, Relationship, and Role Definition

Start your realtor admin agreement by clearly identifying:

• The hiring party (you individually vs. your team entity vs. your brokerage, as allowed)
• The assistant (individual or their business entity)
• Effective date and term
• The nature of the relationship: employee vs. independent contractor (more on this below)

Include a straightforward role definition, e.g.:

• “Administrative support to Agent’s real estate practice”
• “Clerical and marketing coordination services”
• “Non-licensed administrative services only”

This seems basic, but it frames everything that follows—especially compliance and scope.

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2) Employee vs. Independent Contractor: Choose Carefully

Many agents want flexibility and assume an assistant should be a contractor. But misclassification can create tax, wage/hour, and labor law issues. The right classification depends on factors like control, schedule, tools, exclusivity, training, and how the work is integrated into your business.

Contract term to include: A classification clause that matches reality, plus:

• If employee: pay frequency, overtime policy, timekeeping, benefits (if any), at-will employment language (where applicable), and handbook/policy incorporation.
• If independent contractor: invoicing terms, taxes responsibility, non-exclusivity (if true), and a statement that the contractor controls the manner and means of performance—but be careful: you still need compliance with your policies and licensing boundaries.

Best practice: If you need fixed hours, daily accountability, and ongoing supervision, an employee arrangement is often cleaner.

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3) Scope of Work (The Core of Your Real Estate Administrative Assistant Contract)

Your scope of work should be detailed enough to prevent “That’s not my job” moments and protect against licensing violations.

Common permissible tasks for unlicensed admins (examples)

• CRM management (data entry, tagging, reminders)
• Scheduling showings (coordination only), inspections, photos, staging
• Transaction file management and compliance checklists
• Marketing coordination: social posts, email drafts, flyers (with your approval)
• Drafting templates and client communications for your review
• Vendor coordination and invoice tracking
• Preparing listing packets, buyer packets, and internal reports
• Document collection for lender/title coordination (no advising)

Tasks to prohibit (example language)

• “Assistant shall not engage in any activity requiring a real estate license, including but not limited to negotiation, solicitation, property showings, hosting open houses alone, or providing opinions/advice regarding real estate transactions.”

Add a “changes in scope” process

As you scale, responsibilities expand. Include:

• How new tasks are requested (email, project tool)
• When scope changes trigger pay adjustments
• A monthly/quarterly review process

This is one of the most important real estate assistant contract terms because it prevents role creep and compliance drift.

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4) Work Hours, Availability, and Service Levels

A real estate business has peaks and weekend needs. Don’t leave availability assumptions unstated.

Consider clauses for:

• Standard working hours and expected response times
• Weekend/evening coverage (if any)
• Coverage during vacations, holidays, or busy seasons
• Tools for communication (Slack/text/email) and boundaries
• If remote: time zone, overlap hours, and meeting cadence

If you’re hiring your first admin, include a lightweight service-level expectation, such as:

• “Same-business-day response to client scheduling requests”
• “Transaction file updates completed within 24 hours of receipt of documents”

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5) Compensation: Pay Structure, Bonuses, and Raises

Your hire real estate assistant contract should spell out exactly how compensation works.

Common pay models:

• Hourly (most common for admin roles)
• Salary (often requires clearer availability boundaries)
• Retainer-based contractor model
• Performance bonuses (be careful: tie to admin performance metrics, not commissions)

Include:

• Pay rate and frequency
• How hours are tracked/approved
• Overtime policy (especially for employees; follow state/federal rules)
• Bonus eligibility and criteria (e.g., “file compliance score,” “review rating,” “marketing deliverable timeliness”)
• Annual review timing and raise process (optional but helpful)

Avoid commission-like language for unlicensed admins. In many states and brokerage policies, paying unlicensed persons based on commission or transaction value can be restricted.

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6) Expense Reimbursements and Tools

Assistants often pay for small business tools unless you provide them.

Cover:

• Reimbursable expenses (postage, printing, mileage, client gifts—if allowed)
• Pre-approval requirements and spending limits
• What tools you provide (laptop, phone stipend, CRM seat, Canva, Dotloop/Skyslope access)
• Ownership of accounts and logins (keep them in your business, not personally owned by the assistant)

Practical tip: Require all work product to be stored in your shared drive/CRM, not on personal devices.

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7) Confidentiality, Data Security, and Client Privacy

Your admin will see everything: IDs, bank letters, contracts, inspection reports, and personal client stories. Your real estate administrative assistant contract should include:

• A confidentiality clause covering client and business information
• A “need-to-know” standard (only access what’s required)
• Data handling rules (no forwarding to personal email, no unapproved cloud storage)
• Device security (passwords, encryption, screen locks, no public Wi-Fi without VPN)
• Breach notification obligations (how quickly they must inform you)
• Return/destruction of data upon termination

If your state has privacy rules or your brokerage has security policies, incorporate them by reference.

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8) Intellectual Property (Templates, Marketing, CRM Data)

Admins often build systems: email templates, checklists, listing timelines, vendor lists, marketing assets. Ownership can get messy if you don’t address it.

Include an IP clause stating that:

• Work product created during the engagement is “work made for hire” (or assigned to you)
• The assistant can’t reuse your proprietary templates or client lists
• Your CRM data, tags, notes, and pipeline organization belong to you

This is a frequently overlooked section in a realtor admin agreement, but it matters a lot when you scale (or if you ever part ways).

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9) Non-Solicitation (and Why Non-Competes Are Tricky)

Many agents want to prevent an assistant from leaving and taking clients, vendors, or team members. A non-solicitation clause is often more enforceable and business-appropriate than a broad non-compete.

Options:

• Non-solicit clients/leads: They can’t solicit or divert your clients and active leads for a defined period.
• Non-solicit vendors: They can’t redirect vendor relationships you introduced.
• Non-solicit employees/contractors: They can’t recruit your staff.

Non-compete enforceability varies widely by state and is increasingly restricted. If you include one, keep it narrow and get legal advice for your jurisdiction.

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10) Compliance: Brokerage Policies, MLS Rules, and Advertising

Even if your assistant isn’t licensed, their actions can still create risk for you.

Your contract should require:

• Compliance with brokerage policies and training requirements
• Compliance with MLS rules (especially around photos, remarks, showing instructions)
• Advertising/branding approvals (no posting without your review)
• A prohibition on representing themselves as an agent or REALTOR®

Include an indemnification or responsibility clause carefully (and realistically): you can require them to follow policies, but you may still be accountable as the supervising licensee.

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11) Quality Control: Review, Approval, and Error Handling

Admin work touches deadlines and legal paperwork. Set a clear review process:

• What needs your approval before sending/publishing
• How you’ll handle mistakes (corrections, training, repeated errors)
• File audit cadence (weekly compliance check, transaction milestone checklist)

You can also include performance standards like:

• “Maintain accurate transaction status updates”
• “Meet contract-to-close timeline milestones”

This turns your agreement into an operational tool, not just a legal document.

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12) Term, Termination, and Transition

Real estate is dynamic. You need an exit plan even for good hires.

Include:

• Initial term (e.g., 3 months) with renewal
• Termination rights: for convenience (with notice) and for cause (immediate for serious issues)
• Transition assistance (e.g., 2 weeks of handoff support)
• Return of property, access revocation, and password transfer
• Final invoice/pay timing

Also clarify what happens to:

• ongoing projects
• marketing accounts
• transaction files and compliance items

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13) Dispute Resolution and Governing Law (Don’t Skip This)

Even simple admin agreements benefit from clarity on:

• Which state’s law governs
• Where disputes must be brought (venue)
• Mediation/arbitration options (if you prefer)
• Attorneys’ fees clause (optional but common)

If your assistant is remote (another state), this section is especially important.

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Sample Clause Ideas (Not Legal Advice, But Useful Prompts)

When you draft a real estate assistant contract, these clause headings commonly appear:

• Scope of Services (Non-Licensed Administrative Tasks Only)
• Prohibited Activities (Licensed Real Estate Services)
• Confidentiality and Data Protection
• Intellectual Property Assignment
• Compensation, Invoicing, and Expenses
• Tools and Account Ownership
• Term and Termination
• Non-Solicitation of Clients and Staff
• Compliance with Brokerage Policies and Applicable Law
• Dispute Resolution; Governing Law

Take these to your attorney or use them as a checklist while building your agreement.

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Implementation Tips for Agents Scaling Fast

• Start with a 30-60-90 day plan: The contract sets rules; onboarding sets success.
• Build a written SOP library: checklists for listings, under-contract, close, post-close.
• Use permission-based access: give the assistant only what they need in your CRM and transaction platform.
• Over-communicate approvals early: marketing posts, client emails, and MLS entries should be reviewed until trust is built.
• Schedule a monthly scope review: prevent gradual drift into prohibited licensed activities.

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FAQs and Related Questions to Keep Learning

Here are other questions agents commonly ask after reading about real estate assistant contract terms:

1. What tasks can an unlicensed real estate assistant legally do in my state?
2. Can an unlicensed assistant communicate with clients about scheduling or contract deadlines?
3. Is paying a transaction bonus to an unlicensed admin allowed?
4. Should my admin be an employee or independent contractor for tax and legal purposes?
5. What confidentiality language should I use for client financial documents?
6. How do I structure a transition plan if my assistant leaves mid-transaction?
7. Can my assistant manage my social media and advertising, and what approvals should I require?
8. Do I need a separate NDA, or can confidentiality live inside the main agreement?
9. What’s a reasonable non-solicitation period for a real estate admin role?
10. How do I create SOPs and checklists that align with brokerage compliance requirements?

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Final Thoughts: Put the Agreement in Place Before You Delegate

A great admin hire gives you back time; a great contract keeps that growth stable. When you hire real estate assistant contract terms are clear—scope, compensation, confidentiality, compliance, and exit procedures—you’ll move faster with less risk and fewer misunderstandings.

If you want a faster way to create a solid starting draft for a realtor admin agreement or real estate administrative assistant contract, you can generate one using Contractable, an AI-powered contract generator, and then review it with your broker or attorney: https://www.contractable.ai