How to become a real estate agent

Be aware that each state has different requirements, for example some states have a residency requirement before you can even take the classes from an accredited school teaching real estate licensing principles. Some states allow you to study for your real estate principles and practices online, as well as take, and hopefully pass, the school’s online test prior to even making application to the state to sit for the state test.

Each state also has a different level of difficulty to the school exams as well as the licensing exams, however in most they will require you to be proficient in reading and understanding English, as well as have some aptitude toward being able to figure out some math problems. The math is considerable in some states, and not in others, but regardless of the amount of math that will be required of you, it all deals with simple addition, subtraction, division and multiplications while following a certain conduit or formula, and applying it properly.

The amount of classroom hours you will be required to take differs greatly from state to state, for instance you will need to sit through a range of 45 classroom hours of training, up to 160 hours. The cost of schooling will vary intensely too depending on the state that you wish to get a real estate license from. You may save considerably on the cost of such schooling by attending the local community college.

Once you have passed the school training and fulfilled those requirements you will be required to make application to the state’s ruling board of real estate, not to be confused with the Board of Realtors, which is a private group of real estate licensed people. Most states require you to be at least 18 years of age, and have a high school diploma or the equivalent. Nearly all states also require you to be fingerprinted, and the fingerprints put through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Some states also require that you have a Social Security number to make an application.

If your application is approved by the State governing body, you will sit for the state exam. In some states, after you have passed you will need to find a broker who sponsors you. You should also be aware that this is not the only schooling required of nearly all states, many of them have legislated continuing education courses that need to be accomplished periodically. Licensing fees differ in each state, and you may be required to join the Board of Realtors depending on the broker involved. All together you should not need to spend over $3,500 to receive a real estate license.