Are you a ‘people person’, would you enjoy controlling your own schedule and are you willing to roll up your sleeves to achieve a salary you can be proud of?
If so, a profession in real estate just might cater to your talents and interests.
As with any profession, you’ll need to do some homework to learn the facts regarding what it takes to become a real estate agent in your state.
For those who are fueled by a passion for becoming an integral part of the real estate profession, your dream can turn into your reality!
Pre-licensing Classes:
Pre-licensing classes vary from state to state, in terms of scope and depth. One state could require 63 classroom hours while another state would require 180.
The spectrum is quite varied. Also, most states have two main types of class requirements: a course in general real estate knowledge and a course in state-specific real estate law.
It’s important to realize that once you’ve taken the necessary classes, passed any course tests and passed the state test, your journey will just begin.
The pre-licensing school you decide upon must be state-approved, otherwise, you will not be permitted to take the state exam.
Two great resources for pre-licensing classes are brokers-in-charge at local real estate firms as well as new agents.
Brokers will have seasoned experience to accurately answer questions and new agents can offer insight with experience still fresh in their minds.
Class Options:
Many community colleges offer pre-licensing classes in conjunction with their usual curriculum.
These are usually semester-long studies and they allow a little extra time to absorb the influx of information. State universities and real estate schools, of course, offer classes as well.
Many specialized real estate schools, such as Purvis Real Estate, offer convenient course schedules.
If your state requires 60 classroom hours of instruction, you can complete your course in ten weeks by attending classes, 6 hours a week.
Generally speaking, one should plan on 60-75 classroom hours, which is the average time it takes to complete a salesperson’s pre-licensing education.
If easily digesting vast amounts of information is easy for you, you might want to consider cram classes which have long sessions, but cover only a few weekends.
Then, there are the options of taking classes via on-line or by correspondence, depending on state guidelines.
On-going Education:
Everything you glean from your pre-licensing classes will be the tip of the iceberg.
You’ll have valuable head-knowledge to ‘prime’ you, so to speak, but that head-knowledge will need to be continually built upon with required, on-going education to keep you abreast of the many changes that predictably take place with real estate laws.
The number of hours of on-going training will vary from state to state as well as the timing of them.
For example, in some states you have two years from the issuance of your license to take and finish additional classes.
Other states dictate a portion of any on-going classes be taken annually.
For many real estate professionals, the most organized method for meeting the on-going education requirements is to take a class a month.
Again, depending on the state, as a new licensee you might be allowed to forgo the first year of continuing education requirements, but for some first-year agents, the state-regulated, on-going studies will be uninterrupted.
Head knowledge and experience will, most definitely, be a part of your success.
More than that, however, will be your professional and personal commitment with your clients and customers—from that first handshake to the last signature at closing. Good Luck!
Karen continues to be a great resource for those who are looking for a career in Real Estate.
Considering her capacity to inform prospects on contemporary issues, it is no surprise that she spent decades as an educator in Nebraska.