Real Estate Schools - Be a Real Estate Agent
Thinking of starting a career as a real estate agent? If so, you will need to take classes at a real estate school, satisfy the educational requirements set by the California Department of Real Estate and get your real estate license. There has been enormous growth in real estate in the last few years, in most parts of the country and especially in California. Consequently, the number of real estate licensees have increased as well.There are now almost 400,000 real estate licensees in California and about 2.5 million in the country.
It might be relatively easy to obtain a real estate license but to have a successful real estate career, it's a different story.
This is a very competitive business so to be truly successful, you'll have to work hard at it - stay on top on legislation changes, understand the real estate laws and contracts, be technologically savvy, etc.
The financial reward for those who succeed is substantial.
Here's what you need to know :
1) Licensing Requirements in California
2) Duties of Real Estate Agents
3) What is a REALTOR®?
4) Show me the money!
5) Real Estate Schools
How to Become a Real Estate Agent in California
1) Real Estate Agent Licensing Requirements in California
In California, real estate agents MUST be licensed by the California Department of Real Estate.
To obtain your real estate license, you must:
- Satisfy the minimum requirements requirements to apply for the real estate exam:
- Age: You must be 18 years of age or older to be licensed.
- Residence: Proof of Legal Presence in the United States is required.
- Honesty: Applicants must be honest and truthful. Conviction of a crime may result in the denial of a license. Failure to disclose any criminal violation or disciplinary action in an applicant's entire history may also result in the denial of a license.
- Experience: None required.
- Education:
Successful completion of the following college-level courses is required to
become a real estate salesperson:
- Real Estate Principles (must be completed or in progress to apply for examination and must be completed prior to applying for a license); and
- Real Estate Practice (must be completed prior to applying for a license or within 18 months of license issuance); and
- One course from the following list (must be completed prior to applying for a license or within 18 months of license issuance):
- Real Estate Appraisal
- Property Management
- Real Estate Finance
- Real Estate Economics
- Legal Aspects of Real Estate
- Real Estate Office Administration
- General Accounting
- Business Law
- Escrows
- Mortgage Loan Brokering and Lending
- Computer Applications in Real Estate
- Common Interest Developments
Note: The minimum time to complete each course is 18 calendar days.
- Apply to take the State exam
- Pass the exam by answering at least 70% and above correctly
- Apply for the Real Estate License
- Submit one set of fingerprints that is acceptable to the State Department of Justice (DOJ)
If you're interested in this career, here are some books to help you get on your way:
Note: Licensed agents must work under the supervision of a licensed real estate broker. Most new agents start out by working for one of the large brokerages like Coldwell-Banker, Century-21, Remax, etc. If you would like to have your own business and work for yourself, you must have a real estate broker's license.
2) Duties of Real Estate Agents
A real estate agent's main job is to assist their clients in the process of buying and selling real estate.
Their list of duties include:
- Submit buyers' offer to purchase to seller for consideration
- Work with escrow officers, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates.
- Interview potential buyers to determine what kinds of properties they are seeking.
- Prepare documents such as listing agreements, purchase agreements, etc.
- Coordinate property closings, overseeing signing of documents and disbursement of funds.
- Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other.
- Determine a property's competitive market price by comparing the property with similar properties that have recently sold
- Schedule appointments to show homes to potential buyers.
- Generate lists of properties that are compatible with buyers' needs and financial resources.
3) What is a REALTOR®?
A real estate agent is a REALTOR® when he or she pays an annual fee to be a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribe to its Code of Ethics.
The agent generally join through the local board or association. For example, in Fresno CA, once you have obtain your real estate license, you may pay a fee to join the Fresno Association of REALTORS® which also makes him or her a member of the California Association of REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS®.
All REALTORS® are real estate agents but not all real estate agents are REALTORS®.
4) Show me the money!
Real estate agents are generally paid based on a percentage of the sales price. The seller will generally pay 4-6% of the sales price as the fee and that will generally be split 50/50 between the seller and buyer's broker.
For example, if the fee for a $100,000 house is 6%, the buyer's broker will be paid 3% or $3000 and the seller's broker will be paid 3% or $3000 as well. The fee is then split further between the broker and agent. Generally, for starting agents, the split is 50/50. So in this case, the agent will end up receiving $1500 for the transaction.
According to the California Employment Development Department, the salary of a beginning real estate agent can vary from $10,000 to over $50,000 a year.
An experienced agent's salary can vary from $20,000 to over $150,000 per year.
5) Real Estate Schools
Real estate classes are offered at most colleges, community colleges and even at the larger real estate brokerage companies. In Fresno, you can also check out Fresno City College, London Properties or Century 21.
Or if you prefer to take classes at your own pace and from the comfort of your home, check out these real estate schools instead:
| School | Phone # |
| Allied Schools | 888.751.2286 |
| Anthony Schools | 800.373.7277 |
| Chamberlin Real Estate School | 800.672.4665 |
Check out the requirements to become a real estate agent in the other states.