Real estate has taken a different turn over the past decade, as many people seem interested in it. For some people, they want to invest and make money out of it; for other people, they want to make a career out of it and also make money. However, if you belong to the latter, that means you want to become a real estate broker or agent.
Becoming a real estate broker or agent takes a lot of hard work, but you could become one in no time if you are ready for it. What qualifies you to become one or make a career out of the real estate business is the license. It approves you of conducting business and listing properties to clients in different jurisdictions. It is also the one thing that differentiates a legitimate real estate agent/broker from an illegitimate one.
The question now is: how do you get a real estate license without stress?
If you would like to get a license to practice real estate business in a particular jurisdiction, there are three steps you’d have to follow:
When you set out to do something, it is important that you must have read about it and understand what is required. You would save yourself a lot of stress when you know what you have to provide and how to.
You need to meet certain requirements regarding a real estate license, such as age, residency, and education. First, you must be over 18 years and a citizen of the United States. If you aren’t a citizen, you should have other forms of identification that show that you have legal status in the country.
Secondly, you must have enrolled in an accredited school and obtained a degree. You could either use a university education or a technical college certificate. The main thing is to show that you’ve been thoroughly educated in a field and obtained a degree.
Thirdly, you must enroll in a school within your state, where you will be taught different things about real estate management. You may have to complete about 120 hours of real estate education.
When you have this pre-licensing education, the next thing you will be required to do is file an application for real estate license exams. You will have to pay an application fee which covers the exam and other resources you’ll be provided with.
But before you pay, you should know:
After you’ve completed the first stage of getting a real estate license, you move to the next, which involves the real thing – writing the exam and passing it.
Different states have their approach to setting real estate exams. Most of these states often outsource to third-party testing centers. The state hires seasoned testing providers who will set the exams according to the syllabus and also grade them when the time comes.
Some popular testing providers of real estate exams in the United States include Applied Measurement Professionals, ProMetric Assessments, Pearson VUE, and PSI. You should confirm which testing provider operates within your jurisdiction.
Before the exam day, you should register with the testing center if you’ve been sent an email of positive eligibility.
On the exam day, you will be required to provide a form of identification – it could be an international passport, a green card, or a national passport.
For the exam, you need to pass above 70% as there are two sections – the national section and the state section.
If you are one of the lucky people who pass above the required cutoff mark, you are eligible to get a real estate license to start practicing as a broker or agent. You can choose what format you’d like to establish your business when you start practicing. You can either be a solo real estate agent or be a broker who hires agents. What matters, however, is you satisfying your client’s needs.
By going through these stages, you may not have issues with getting a real estate license in your jurisdiction.