Reply by Charles_Ca on 1/17/06 6:27pm
Msg #88934
Take the course REal Estate practice, apply for the test,
pass the test, get your conditional license, take two more courses within 18 months and then get you Real Estate Agent license.
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Reply by Anonymous on 1/17/06 9:28pm
Msg #89000
Re: Take the course Real Estate practice, apply for the test
Wow! Only two years in CA? I wish i lived in that state. NJ and PA are three years full time and if you have a part time job it must be one with less that 20 hours per week. In addition you need the certification of fulltime status/recomendation for your previous employer(s)(aka supervising broker of record) for the past three years.
DE is five years.
Im glad I did the time in the trenches and now have it. Actually, I am the youngest broker in the state of NJ. When i went to broker's school the instructor who is a dear freind now asked if I was even 18. Maybe I should apply for the apprentice? ;-) Just a little humor there.
Good luck with the getting licensed in CA!
Have a great evening everyone!
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Reply by newlysmomva on 1/18/06 8:09am
Msg #89043
Re: Take the course Real Estate practice, apply for the test
In Va. you take the Principles class, pass the test and have an office willing to take you on and you are legal...takes about 3 months. Then when you get your first sale, everyone is thrilled when the contract is signed and they are fighting about toilet paper and light bulbs before you get to closing. I sent my license back to the state as "inactive".
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Reply by John Humphrey on 1/18/06 9:35am
Msg #89090
To answer your question simply, no, there is no prior job experience required to become a real estate agent in California. The process is relatively simple - take a California Real Estate Principles course, study hard, apply to take the state exam, pass the test and get your 18 month conditional license. In order to receive your 4 year license you must then take a California Real Estate Practice (required) course and a DRE approved second elective course.
If you're really serious about entering into this field, I would suggest one of two ways:
1) Find a California DRE approved real estate school, or
2) Go to any large real estate firm (Century21, Tarbell, Coldwell Banker, etc.) and ask about becoming an agent.
A lot of the larger offices will sponsor you. This usually entails going to one of their own schools where the education is provided for free (not including the price of books or exam and license fees) or very reasonably priced. The larger firms will give you all of the tools you need to pass the state exam, and it isn't an easy test. Some will require you to work for them for a period of time (6 months or longer).
I did it on my own through Allied Business School which offers a home study course. Either way is a lot or hard work and hours of study.
As a real estate agent I can tell you that you will work long hours, spent a lot of time on the phone, be on the road, and meeting people wherever you can in order to build a potenial client base. It is not an easy field to be in and the competion between agencies is fierce, however with the market as it is today an agent willing to put in the time can make a decent income. Keep in mind that agents making the "BIG BUCKS" (100k+) are few and far between, but an income of 60k to 70k (the average commission check in today's market is about $6000 to $7000) is very doable. Don't fall for the "PIE-IN-THE-SKY" stories about becoming a million dollar producer overnight that are prevelent in the industry, you will work for months without an income if you decide to go into it full time, and that can be a scary start. Trying to be a real esate agent part-time won't cut it, you have to go for it or not.
That being said, if you like to work long hours, be an independant contactor (you will not an employee of a broker, you just hang your license with one), set your own hours, you can deal with rejection and frustration well, and like talking to people who don't always want to talk to you (you are a salesman after all), and spend a lot of time on the phone, this might be right up your alley. But above everything else, in order to achieve any level of success in the business, you gotta love it and be willing to stay the course.
It's also a fun business to be in.
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