Adulting 101: 8 Types of Brokers You’ll Encounter in Your Life

Between 2010 and 2015, the number of young millennials living with their parents was on a surge. It’s 2018, and there hasn’t been a significant shift.

Not many young people want to leave the nest and officially start “adulting!”

Of course, there are a number of reasons behind this. Today’s economy, for instance, isn’t the leanest.

But love it or hate it, adulting is inevitable. Sooner or later, you’ll leave your folks and pursue an independent life. A life full of brokers!

Read on for a lowdown on the various types of brokers you’ll encounter.

1. Real Estate Broker

One of the first things you must do after leaving home is to find your own nest.

A real estate broker will help you hunt for the ideal property, whether you’re looking to buy a condo, single-family home or a beach house.

Hold on. We know what you’re thinking. “Who buys a house straight after leaving their parent’s home?”

If your pockets aren’t deep enough (and there is absolutely no shame in that), you’ll start out as a tenant. In this case, you’ll have to deal with a tenant broker.

This professional will help you find a suitable property to rent or lease and work you through the lease agreement.

2. Mortgage Broker

You don’t need to have a lot of money to snap up a house. Mortgages exist for this reason.

If you have a steady job, a good or excellent credit score and some thousands stashed somewhere, you stand a solid chance of getting approved for a mortgage.

The problem is there are hundreds of financial organizations offering various mortgage facilities. With no prior mortgage experience, it’s easy to fall for a mortgage that doesn’t suit your financial situation.

Enter mortgage brokers.

These are the scourers of the mortgage world. Find one, give them your personal and financial information, and wait for a couple of mortgage offers that meet your needs. 

3. Insurance Broker

Your car needs insurance. So does your home, health, and life. Heck, even your cat needs insurance, lest a neighbor’s dog hounds (oh, the irony) it down, leaving the cat for dead, and you with a huge veterinary bill.

An insurance broker to find insurance policies with pocket-friendly premiums.

4. Pawnbroker

About 80 percent of American workers are living paycheck to paycheck. If you’re in this lot, you’re living in the edge of financial disaster. An illness, a broken car, or loss of a job can leave you needing money, urgently.

You could go in for a personal bank loan, but those guys take many moons to approve applications and disburse money. Never mind you might not even qualify because of poor credit.

Thank goodness for pawnbrokers.

As long as you’re in possession of a valuable item, all you need to do is find a pawnbroker near you and put up the item as collateral for a short-term loan.

Take note, though, failure to repay the loan on time will result in collateral forfeiture, regardless of the item’s value vs loan amount.

5. Cargo/Freight Broker

An increasing number of American millennials are packing their bags. Destination? Overseas.

Moving abroad gives the opportunity to be an expat, experience new cultures and, importantly, make a good attempt at satisfying your insatiable appetite for travel and adventure.

A freight broker is a go-to pro for all your cargo shipping needs. This broker will connect you with a shipping services provider and negotiate good rates on your behalf.

6. Forex Broker

Most of what constitutes adulting is putting your finances in order. You won’t be a proper adult if you call mommy to bail you out when facing a financial emergency.

As such, it’s essential to look beyond your job as a source of income. Don’t be among the millennials who are only good at saving, but not such much when it comes to investing.

Investments safeguard your future, plus, there are lots of investing options. If you’re scared of the stock market, for example, the forex market is there for the taking.

To get started in the FX market, you will need a forex broker. Broker Forex Malaysia has a brief review of some of the top FX brokers you can work with.

7. Intellectual Property Broker

Are you the proud of owner of a patent?

First, thumbs up. America is a country of inventors like you.

With a patent, you have full ownership of your intellectual property, and you’re free to commercialize it however you like. One potentially lucrative commercialization avenue is to sell it to another party.

But what’s the market value of your IP? Do you want to sell the rights for a certain period of time or hand them over until expiry?

An intellectual property broker will answer these questions, as well as help you put a value on the IP, find potential buyers and negotiate a good deal.

8. Airplane/Aircraft Broker

These birds are quite affordable these days. In fact, some $3 million will get you brand new wings. If you’re feeling sufficiently philanthropic, throw $90 million at a top-of-the-range, custom Gulfstream!

However, buying a jet isn’t like buying a car. You don’t just walk into a jet hangar and book a “test-fly.” This is why you need an aircraft broker.

These brokers specialize in the business of selling and buying of airplanes. Give them a brief of your flying tastes and they will find you the bird of your dreams.

Those Are (Some of) the Types of Brokers You’ll Encounter 

It’s a broker’s world, this one.

Literally at every corner you turn, you’re bound to cross paths with a broker. This isn’t a bad thing, because brokers help us find the products/services we need at the best rates.

Brokers, though, have a rep for swindling clients. If you aren’t careful, you can easily be the victim of a rip-off. The good thing is we have given you a brief on the various types of brokers, so you know who to turn to when you need a certain service.

What’s more, you can find more adulting insights into our consumer resources.