Introduction: Getting a Real Estate License and Real Estate License Requirements
The job market in today’s society is increasingly unpredictable. Thousands of young people who have spent years getting their college degree are finding that once they graduate, there aren’t any jobs available to them in their field.
This lack of employment opportunities has led many people into researching the real estate license requirements in their region. Getting a real estate license may very well be a career option if you are having trouble breaking into the job market in your current profession.
Though getting a real estate license can lead you into a profitable career, many people have no idea how to get a real estate license. They may fear that a real estate broker license will require four more years of expensive college education. Fortunately, getting your real estate license doesn’t require extensive schooling, making it easier to enter the industry.
In this brief article, AdvisoryHQ will look at why you should learn how to get your real estate license. We will also look at the benefits of getting a real estate license and what type of work you can do with a real estate license and a real estate broker license.
We will then turn to the real estate license requirements and explain in detail how to get a real estate license. Specifically, we will examine the process of taking the real estate license test, the real estate license cost, how to get a commercial real estate license, and how you can get your real estate license online.
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Why Should You Consider Learning How to Get Your Real Estate License
While certain sectors of the economy may ebb and flow according to different circumstances, the real estate market is usually pretty steady.
Prices may fluctuate on properties and homes, and there may be times when there is less demand and more demand. However, people will always need a place to live, and learning how to get your real estate license can catapult you into a career where you’ll always have work waiting for you.
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Getting your real estate license will present you with an opportunity to either work part-time as a real estate agent or investor, or dedicate yourself full-time to the real estate industry.
If you simply are wanting to add a little extra income through working on the weekends, getting a real estate license can allow you to invest in prime properties or help other clients find their dream homes.
Even if you only make a couple of sales each year, you will be adding important income through having a real estate license.
Furthermore, getting a real estate license allows you to jump into a career where you won’t have to go through four years of college. The real estate license exam can be completed after a few short months of schooling, and the real estate license cost is minimal when compared to other professions.
For comparison, with your real estate license, you may be able to make well over $100,000 per year, similar to what a lawyer makes, without having several thousand dollars of school loans still hanging over your head. While getting a real estate license isn’t free, the real estate license requirements are much easier to fulfill, and the real estate license cost is much more affordable than other professions.
Furthermore, once you pass your real estate license test, you will be your own boss and have the opportunity to set your own work schedule and work goals.
According to Kaplan Real Estate Education, once you get your real estate license “you’re an independent contractor and control your own book of business. You make the decisions. Couple together a good attitude and solid work ethic, and there are virtually no limits for the growth of your real estate business.
Your income isn’t limited by an hourly wage or a corporate-dictated salary range. As a real estate salesperson, your income is largely dictated by the time you invest.”
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Benefits of Getting Your Real Estate License
Once you learn the real estate license requirements and pass your real estate license exam, not only will you benefit from a career without any corporate ceiling and unlimited opportunities for growth, you will also be directly involved in the largest purchases that many people ever make.
If you were to start your own restaurant, for example, you might make a couple dollars from your customer’s lunch decision. By getting a real estate license, however, you will be helping your clients choose how to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is easily the largest financial commitment most people ever make.
Furthermore, getting a real estate license also allows you flexibility in how you will use that real estate license. While you can work with a real estate firm, you can also become an independent investor. By passing the real estate license test and getting your real estate broker license, you will gain access to important information regarding the best properties on the market.
According to Fortunebuilders.com, by getting your real estate license, “instead of waiting on your realtor to alert you of any new deals, you will be the first point of contact. As soon as a new listing hits the MLS you will know about it.
You can quickly see properties in locations you like and make an offer by the end of the day. The access to new deals is the primary reason to get your license.”
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What Can You Do with a Real Estate Broker License?
As we mentioned above, one of the biggest perks of getting a real estate license is that you can use it in so many different ways. By getting your real estate broker license, you will have access to virtually every aspect of the real estate industry.
There are significant differences between a normal real estate license and a real estate broker license. According to Investopedia.com, “a real estate broker has continued his or her education past the real estate agent level and passed the real estate broker license.
Real estate brokers can work as independent real estate agents or have other agents working for them. The biggest distinction between the three is that a broker can work on his or her own, while an agent or associate has to work under a licensed broker.”
The real estate license requirements for a real estate broker license are more difficult than simply getting a real estate license to be a realtor or agent. Furthermore, once you fulfill the real estate license requirements to become a broker, you will also have more liability since you won’t simply be working for someone else as a realtor or real estate agent.
In order to become a broker, you will first have to pass a real estate license exam and work for anywhere between one and three years as a real estate agent.
The benefits of getting your real estate license to become a broker include having the ability to work for yourself, dictate your own schedule and work goals, and have access to information on the hottest real estate properties in your region.
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How to Get a Real Estate License
If you feel that a career in real estate is right for you of if you simply want to learn how to get your real estate license in order to have access to some income on the side, below you will find all the information you need on how to get a real estate license.
While the process of getting a real estate license will vary slightly state by state, we will review here the basic steps for how to get a real estate license and the unavoidable real estate license requirements that every state will ask for.
Real Estate License Exam
In order to become a real estate agent (which is a prerequisite before becoming a real estate broker), you will need to take pre-licensing courses. Each state will have different hourly requirements for these courses. The good news is that there are a number of courses that can help you get your real estate license online.
Kaplan Real Estate Education is one of the leaders in real estate licenses online. Their website states that their “courses are designed to guide you through your career—from your first real estate agent license through your subsequent renewals many years later.
In addition to traditional live classroom courses, we offer online classes as well as text-based home study. Our distinct education delivery formats, flexible schedules, and wide selection of courses make it easy for you to take what you want when you want it.”
Furthermore, their pre-licensing courses are offered according to the real estate license requirements of each state. Once you finish your pre-licensing courses, which can last anywhere between 6 and 12 months depending on your course of study, you will be ready to take your real estate license test. There are both state and national real estate license exams that you will have to pass in order to get your real estate license.
Real Estate License Cost
The real estate license cost includes both your pre-licensing courses and the cost of your real estate license exam. The real estate license requirements of each state will vary, and this will affect the real estate license cost.
For example, if you have to take more course hours to get your real estate license in one state, that will add significant money to the overall cost.
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In general, getting a real estate license should cost you less than $1,000. Your pre-licensing course
s at any number of online schools should run you anywhere between $99 and $649 depending on the real estate license requirements of your state and the type of real estate license you want to obtain. Furthermore, Investopedia estimates that the cost of your real estate license test and licensing fees should come out to about $200.
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Commercial Real Estate License
If you are thinking about getting your commercial real estate license, you will be able to specialize in marketing and selling income producing properties such as apartment complexes. The real estate license requirements for a commercial real estate license are generally stricter.
Depending on your state’s real estate license requirements, you may have to have several years’ experience as a real estate agent before you can think about getting a real estate license for commercial purposes. Furthermore, you will also have to pass a separate test for a commercial real estate license.
Getting Your Real Estate License Online
The easiest path toward getting a real estate license is through finding an online school that will help you through the process of getting your real estate license online. Trying to learn all of the real estate license requirements of your state can be challenging, but these online schools make it easy to understand these real estate license requirements and they prepare you to successfully pass the real estate license exam.
Two of the top schools to help you get your real estate license online are Kaplan Real Estate Education and Real Estate Express. Both of these schools have quality professors that are published in the real estate industry and have in depth knowledge of the real estate license requirements state by state.
Getting a real estate license through either of these online schools is an inexpensive and efficient way to get your real estate license, commercial real estate license, or real estate broker license.
Read More: How to Invest in Commercial Real Estate | Investment for Beginners & Investors
How a Real Estate License Can Benefit You Financially
Getting a real estate license is a great way to add extra income on the side or to start a new career. With a real estate license, there are a number of different career options open to you, and you can be well on your way to an improved financial livelihood in one of the fastest growing professions in the nation.
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