Tag Archives: Texas Pre-License Courses

Five Easy Steps to Get your Texas Real Estate License

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So you decided to become a Texas real estate agent? That’s amazing news! It’s a decision that can put you on a career path where you have more control over your schedule and income, but first, you have to earn your Texas real estate license. Getting licensed for your new career in Texas real estate might seem a bit overwhelming, but we’re here to guide you through the process. This real estate licensing information summarizes the minimum requirements established by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). To begin you must meet the following initial qualifications:

Qualifications

  • Citizen of the United States or lawfully admitted alien
  • 18 years of age or older
  • Resident of Texas
  • Meet TREC’s qualifications for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity.

Once you meet the initial qualifications, it’s time to get started on the path to a great career! Read on for a further breakdown of the path to becoming a licensed real estate agent in Texas!

Step 1: Complete your Qualifying Education

For a Sales Agent: 180 Classroom hours of the following qualifying real estate courses

  • Principles of Real Estate I (30 hours)
  • Principles of Real Estate II (30 hours)
  • Law of Agency (30 hours)
  • Law of Contracts (30 hours)
  • Promulgated Contract Forms (30 hours)
  • Real Estate Finance (30 hours)

Education course completion documents must be submitted to TREC after applying online or with your paper application.

Step 2: File Your Application

Apply Online – Submit your application and fee to become a Sales Agent ($205) using TREC’s Online Services log in now. If you don’t already have a username and password for Online Services, you’ll need to register first.

Apply by Mail – You can also apply for your Sales Agent license using TREC’s paper application. This may take longer to process, and you will need to pay a paper filing fee ($20).

*You have one year from the date your application is filed to meet all license requirements.

Step 3: Get Your Fingerprints Taken and Pass Your Background Check

You are required by law to have fingerprints on file with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) so a background check can be performed.

Step 4: Take the Exam

License exams are administered by PearsonVUE.

You will be sent a notice with instructions for scheduling the exam and obtaining a copy of the exam Candidate Handbook.

Step 5: Find a Sponsor

After meeting the above requirements, you will be issued an inactive Sales Agent license. You need to be sponsored by an active Texas licensed broker to work. You can complete a sponsorship request using TREC’s online services. Once the broker has accepted your request, your active license will be issued, and you can work as a Sales Agent!

  • 90   hours of qualifying post licensure real estate courses, including the following, are required after receiving your license and within your first year:
    • Property Management (30 hours)
    • Real Estate Sales and Marketing (30 hours)
    • Real Estate Marketing (30 hours)

 

We provide: Texas approved qualifying education that meets all of the requirements to take your salesperson exam, required post-license and continuing education courses.
All classes are HD VIDEO or FULL NARRATION or PRINTABLE TEXT

5 Traits That Make a Texas Real Estate Professional

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In Texas a real estate “salesperson” is far more than a person who helps to buy or sell homes for clients. That is merely the tip of the longhorn for what they really do which includes tasks such as: analysist, advocate, consultant, negotiator, media expert, and blogger just to name a few. Being a real estate agent in Texas means making yourself into a one-person show, but for those who are tired of the 9-5 Monday-Friday and have a desire for independence, this is just what your free spirit is looking for.

With that job description how do you know if a Texas real estate career is right for you?  We have compiled the essential qualities and traits that successful real estate professionals have and listed them for you below.

  1. Problem solver mindset
    Do you enjoy coming up with creative solutions to problems or issues? Thinking on your feet and solving issues creatively is sometimes all that stands between you and making a deal.
  1. Hustle and tenacity
    Being a top producing real estate agent requires a great work ethic. You must have the tenacity to pursue every lead and the hustle to aggressively market your clients’ properties in order to have success. It’s not just about putting in a lot of time—it’s about working smart and doing whatever is necessary to close the deal.
  1. Attention to detail
    Paying close attention to the details is imperative for your real estate career. Success comes from identifying and developing a focus or niche in the local real estate market that allows you to distinguish yourself from the competition. If you are organized, follow up with leads, communicate well, and pay attention to the needs of your clients, you will close more deals.
  1. Knowledge is power
    Staying up-to-date on the latest topics in real estate and in the local market will allow you to serve clients more effectively. Continuing education and professional development are doors to opportunity that you can utilize to expand your knowledge and stay at the forefront of the real estate field.
  1. Honesty and integrity
    Your professional reputation is crucial to a long and successful career in real estate. A good real estate agent doesn’t just sell properties—they sell themselves. It’s important to show your real personality. People will respond to you if you have a great attitude, are personable and honest and have confidence in your abilities.

At the end of the day, you get out of it what you put into it. There is a certain level investment needed (time, energy, and money) to make any business venture successful. Texas real estate is no different. If you find the idea of going into real estate tantalizing but you aren’t sure how to get started, or you are passionate about real estate and have similar traits to those outlined here, you have a great shot at having a long and successful real estate career in Texas. Why not get started today?

Home on the Range: How to Sell a Texas Ranch

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Texas has its fair share of massive luxury ranches, each highlighting the state’s diverse terrain. The scenic parcels go hand in hand with Texas’ country identity. But for some property owners looking to unload their massive properties, the multimillion-dollar parcels can be difficult to pair with qualified buyers. Some sellers have taken to selling their ranches by auctioning them off rather than listing them at a set price. Typically, folks think auctions are for hard economic times but in reality, the best time to sell at auction is when times are good – there’s more competition. When you are living in the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, selling by auction can change the game for both seller and buyer.

Important Basics for Getting Auction Ready:

Ranches come in all sizes and uses including hunting, hay, cattle, fishing and recreation, high fenced exotics, vineyards, and true working ranches. You need to really get the ‘feel’ of the property, and your sellers are your best resource. After discussing the aspects of the ranch with your sellers, discuss the options to list traditionally or sell at auction. Certainly, we all know that the “basics” are important in selling a ranch and they are more far reaching than when selling a home but no matter how they decide to sell, there is an immense amount of homework for everyone to take on. The data needed to accurately list the ranch can be overwhelming but here is a good place to start:

  • Land surveys
  • Legal descriptions
  • Tax information
  • Property assessments (agricultural, timber, wildlife, etc.)
  • Production
  • Water rights
  • Wind rights
  • BLM leases or other agricultural leases
  • Conservation easement documents (if applicable)
  • Well logs
  • Zoning information
  • Local utilities
  • Inventory list of exclusions and inclusions from the seller.

Once you have this info together for your property, it is a good idea to gather similar information on competitive properties and projects, including sold and closed properties within a determined area.  This could include several states! Collecting regional and local information and articles is also a good idea.

Get Specific: Illustrate Defining Characteristics

You will also want to gather all building descriptions and specs, floor plans, building diagrams, blueprints, etc. Know your boundaries. How much is wooded, how much in crop production, hay production, native grasses?  How many water features? What’s the size and depth of ponds and lakes? Figure the carrying capacity of your pastures, and know the current pasture plans in place. When it comes to hunting and fishing amenities, try to get photos of the wildlife that can be found on the property. Good photography, both still and aerial from a drone, is essential on large properties.

Compare and Contrast the Property for Marketing:

Assembling all of the critical information that makes you as knowledgeable as the seller about your ranch listing is paramount so that you know which marketing strategies will get the best response.  Foremost is determining if your ranch listing is a local, regional or global property in its appeal. Ranches are a niche segment of the real estate business which is why the auction method of marketing allows agents to offer large tracts in smaller pieces or any combination which allows more participation from small, medium and large property buyers. Dividing large lots can make the purchase more approachable for some buyers who can’t afford 400-acre plots or can’t pay for the expensive maintenance. Smaller tracts, especially at a price a buyer bids, can be less intimidating and more marketable. The buying pool for a 4,300-acre ranch is much shallower compared to the pool of 500- to 1,500-acre buyers. The auction makes it possible to increase the number of buyers and sell it all on the same day.

Auctions are more familiar to ranch buyers who have attended similar sales, many of them have attended cattle auctions and equipment auctions since they were kids. They understand markets, competition and the fair value that an auction creates, and they trust the process. The multi-parcel process is unique to the auction method, but sellers really like the opportunity to get more buyers involved and competing for ownership.

Tips and Tricks to Pass your Real Estate Exam

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If you are like me, deciding to get your real estate license is a big deal. You’ve spent time looking for the best exam prep course for the best price and now you’re signed up to take your exam. You’ve circled the date on your calendar and the pre-test jitters are setting in. You have questions like “how much should I study? and “what should I study?” Every state’s exam may be slightly different but the test taking skills you will need are universal. Here are some of the best exam taking tips to help you pass your exam.

Obviously the most important factor in passing the real estate exam is knowing the material. However, don’t lose sight of the goal: passing the test! Learning is great but you can’t use what you’ve learned if you don’t pass.

  1. Start by only answering the easy questions. Read the entire exam and only answer the questions you absolutely know the answer to. This will give you a sense of progress and your subconscious will begin thinking about the questions you skipped. When you’ve got a timed test, there’s always the concern that you’ll get hung up in a section and not be able to finish the test. Don’t be one of those people–unanswered questions are marked wrong. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the last three questions on the test were easy ones— guaranteed points for you–but you wound up just having to fill in a random answer on them because you didn’t have time to actually read and think about them? By skipping through the questions you don’t know the answers to and focusing first on the questions you do know the answers to, you’re assuring yourself that you get time to answer the questions you are most likely to get right.
  2.  If you don’t know it, wait. Skip questions if you don’t know the answer–don’t waste time on questions you don’t know. For example, if math is difficult for you, skip the math problems until after you finish the rest of the exam. Occasionally, the answer to an earlier question will be revealed in a later question. It is not uncommon on the real estate license exam to have questions that relate to one another, like using the same purchase or sale scenario. These hidden answers are another reason why reading all the way through the exam once at the beginning is a great idea.
  3. Don’t second guess yourself. As a general rule, once you’ve answered a test question, don’t change your answer even if you’re unsure of the answer you selected. It has been statistically proven that you are much more likely to change an answer from correct to incorrect. An easy way to get tripped up on the real estate licensing exam is to misinterpret an answer choice, thanks to complicated wording. Deceptive language is fair game on tests like this, so double-negatives, unrelated conclusions, or red herrings (especially in the math portion of the test) are common. Do your best to puzzle it out, but ultimately move on without answering if you estimate having to spend more than a minute thinking about the correct answer.
  4. There is no penalty for guessing. Once you have gone through the exam at least twice, time may be running short and now would be a good time to start guessing. The worst that can happen when you guess on a question is that you don’t get any point. The best thing that can happen though, is that you have a one in four shot at getting a point. Unanswered questions are marked wrong, and it is far better to take a chance on a wrong answer than eliminate any possibility of getting the correct answer. That being said, you can increase your odds by trying to make an educated guess–there is likely at least one answer that is obviously wrong, so don’t guess blindly: read the question and answers first and choose the most likely answer.
  5. Don’t compete with other applicants. You’re given plenty of time to complete the exam and you should use as much of it as you need. Don’t worry if other examinees finish before you do, most likely they are taking a completely different exam. All types of exams are given in one room. You may be sitting next to a plumber taking his exam or a beautician completing hers. If by chance, there is more than one real estate hopeful, remember that many students who finish quickly… fail.

Real estate licensing exams are pass/fail, there is no extra credit for a perfect score. If you’re like me, the allure of a perfect score on a test is hard to ignore, but in the case of the real estate licensing exam, we must. Remember, your goal is to answer the number of questions correctly that will get you a passing score. Use all your best energy to get to the passing threshold—anything beyond that doesn’t matter.

Bonus Tip: do as many practice real estate exam questions as you can. The test is multiple choice and you will perform MUCH better if you’ve been doing practice tests that mimic the exam. Use a trusted service like ours to prepare for the actual real estate exam.

Why YOU Should Get Your Real Estate License In Texas

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Recently, cities like Austin, Houston and San Antonio have become an alluring option for young Millennials who dream of owning their own home. Young people are looking to Texas’s vibrant culture and lively economy to set down roots.

It is projected that by 2050, Texas will have a population of 54.4 million. As people flood in, the Lone Star state will become more and more urban. With more than 400,000 new arrivals each year, current Texans now have a once in a lifetime opportunity to flourish in a growing real estate market. That means that YOU should consider a career in Texas real estate and cash in on this profitable and highly rewarding career.

Getting your real estate license in Texas is easier than you may think. The Real Estate Training Institute wants to help you fast track to your new career, and our new Texas pre-license course is ready to help you do just that. Our program is fully approved by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC), and it includes every subject you need in order to pass the licensing exam:

  • Law of Contracts
  • Law of Agency
  • Real Estate Finance
  • Promulgated Contract Forms
  • Principles of Real Estate I
  • Principles of Real Estate II

Making a career change can be nerve wracking, but a career in real estate is both rewarding and an opportunity to invest in your future. Our TREC approved courses are  a mix of video and text to help you study how you feel most comfortable. Additionally, our courses are available anywhere, anytime on any internet enabled device—making it simple and time effective to complete your pre-license education and get on the path to a rewarding new career today!