Need Advice About Getting Real Estate Lincense

I have a 5 week old and am planning to get my real estate license as well. Please let me know what you find out on the requirements, easiest, and quickest way to get the license. I would like to have this done by summer. Maybe we can take a class together.

K.

I personally did my real estate training thru Champions School of Real Estate www.championsschool.com . I had no problems and it prepared me well enough to pass my Texas license exam for salesperson and later broker on the first try. My salesperson exam score was in the 90's. They are very reasonably priced and you can order the coursework and take your exams online. I got my textbooks and went into their Dallas office to take my exams. It took me less than a week to finish all of the Texas required courses. They do have regular classroom training if that works better for you.

You also need to start researching what company you want to work with. Some charge outrageous fees for new agents ($3200 or more). I started out 4 years ago with Keller Williams and have loved it. They offer great training opportunities for little or no expense and they do a great job of supporting newbies. The startup cost varies by office but is less than $100 (badge, cards, technical setup). After that, the office fees are usually less than $50 per month. If you want to rent an office desk, it will cost a little more depending on what office you join. I personally always used a laptop and my home office for most of my work. I use the "MLS Room" for any work I do in the office. My office doesn't even charge for copies or faxes. You will have to join the local realtor association and MLS and rent a digital key card. The fees for this are the same no matter what brokerage you join.

You also need to check into what the commission split will be. Many brokerages take between 50 and 70 percent of your commissions as a rookie. As you gain experience they drop to just 40 to 50 percent. At my office, we give the broker approximately 30 percent. Another unique thing about Keller Williams is that there is a cap on the amount of commissions that you have to split with the broker. KW offices do not split commissions for the rest of the year once you have reached your cap.

All in all, I love the setup at KW. You can email me at ____@____.com and I will be glad to email you some details and tips about the business and about KW.

I think you will like the business. It costs quite a bit to get started, but as a parent it has worked out great for me. I schedule my clients and my office time the way I want. I can make as much time for my kids as they need and I get to see them every night and take them to school every morning.

Good luck,
Frank (L.'s husband)

R.,

I just got my license a little over a year ago. And I'm wishing I would have done it 5 years ago, it was a move for the BEST!

I would love to go to lunch with you one day next week if you are available to talk about the ups and downs of the real-estate business. There is so much to talk about I couldn't give you a good answer via email.

Best Wishes,

C. Roeschen
The Trinity Group
Keller Williams
###-###-#### Direct
____@____.com
www.TheTrinityGroup.org
www.ValueMyNeighborhoodOnLine.com

I recently activated my license and it seems like it's been a long road. I have my first listing soon. When you first start out you incur alot of expenses to start out. It's proabably just about $800 with board fees, MLS, digital key, bus. cards and other misc. expenses. It's been tough with scheduling babysitters to take all the introuductory and orientation classes. I know it can be very rewarding but you have to committ to putting time into. It's tough because you are a independant contractor.

S.

Check into Collin County Community College

Hi R.,

I also recieved my license through Champions. www.championsschool.com. Doing the classes online and printing the books at the library worked well for me. I would definitely recommend taking the prep class in the classroom though.

Good luck to you in starting your new business!
R. Trevino
Van Poole Properties
Keller Williams Realty
###-###-####

Hi R.!

Not sure if four years ago counts as recent but here's my two cents...

Everyone's different but I tried to do mine online initially and just was not comprehending. I ended up switching to an actual class and it was SO much better! Be sure to take Principles 1 & II first - that made everything so much easier. Best of luck to you! Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

I got my license a little over a year ago. I did home study courses with Champion's School of Real Estate. You can either do them at home or in an actual classroom. I did all of them at home in about 6 weeks. The great thing is, even if you do them at home, you can go to the prep class to prep you for your exam. They are really great and help you with every step along the way.

I have done this online and its GREAT! I haven't finished (because I haven't been disciplined) but I have gotten 4 certificates of completion. Go for it!!