Are You Looking To Break Into Real Estate in Texas? Real estate can be an exciting career path; however, it requires dedication in terms of education and licensing requirements.
Before beginning your licensed career, it is necessary to complete six classes, take and pass a challenging exam, pass an extensive background check and secure a sponsoring broker. We can guide you through all these steps!
Education Requirements
Becoming a real estate agent in Texas can be an incredibly fulfilling career choice. Not only can you earn commission on every property sale made, but first must meet Texas’ education and licensing requirements – which may seem intimidating but are usually straightforward when broken down.
Before applying for your real estate license, you must complete 180 hours of pre-licensing courses – this can be completed online or at physical real estate schools – designed to prepare you for state exams on topics including real estate law, ethics, practices and contracts. Many reputable real estate education providers provide exam prep courses as part of their packages to increase the chance of passing.
Once your courses are finished, submit an online license application with TREC. This process involves providing proof of identity and identifying a sponsoring broker; using TREC’s sponsorship tool may help in this regard. Furthermore, TREC requires fingerprint submission for criminal history record searches; this can easily be accomplished using services like IdentoGO.
To become licensed real estate agent in Texas, both national and state exams must be passed successfully. Both exams are multiple-choice with 150 minute time limits each; 85 questions comprise the national exam while 40 make up the state one; those who fail both sections will be required to take additional education classes before they may retake either examination section.
Once you’ve passed both exams, the next step is submitting an agreement with a sponsoring broker and passing a background check. TREC will activate your sales agent license; their online application tracking tool provides updates as to the status of your application. Once this process has completed, you can begin working in the field!
Licensing Requirements
As a real estate professional, in order to sell or buy homes or land you need a license from Texas. Acquiring one may involve taking specific coursework, passing one or more exams and providing your fingerprints for background check purposes – you may even require aligning yourself with a broker sponsoring broker as part of this process.
As part of your efforts in attaining your Texas real estate license, the first step should be completing and passing 180-hours of pre-licensing courses. These classes are intended to improve your understanding of real estate laws, contracts and addenda as well as any special circumstances surrounding real estate deals. Course providers will issue you a certificate of completion which must then be presented to TREC for approval.
After passing your courses, the next step should be getting fingerprinted and passing a background check. Fingerprinting services are offered through the Department of Public Safety for an associated fee; background checks cover criminal history checks, civil judgments, professional license discipline actions and more that could prevent you from pursuing your license in future.
Once your education and background check have been completed, and you have passed, TREC requires that you file an application in order to receive your license. Along with your application you will need to submit certificates and fingerprints of both of which must be active immediately – or submit the Sales Agent Sponsorship (SSF-2) form signed by a licensed broker; otherwise it must be sent later.
Once you’ve submitted your licensing requirements, TREC typically takes 30 days to review them and make a fitness determination. If all the criteria have been fulfilled, an email will notify you that you have met all requirements and can begin selling homes! Becoming a real estate agent can be an exciting and lucrative career option – with proper training and support, it can become successful real estate agent in Texas! Please follow these steps closely so as not to experience delays during this process – good luck!
Exam Requirements
The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) requires prospective agents to pass an exam administered by Pearson Vue before being permitted to sell real estate. The exam consists of two sections – national and state. The national section includes 85 questions with 150 minutes allotted and 40 questions allotting 90 minutes of time allowance; additionally there are five unidentified “pretest” items that do not count towards scoring of candidates taking part.
Step one in passing an exam is enrolling in a course that gives you the proper foundation of real estate law and practice. VanEd offers a state-approved real estate course to equip students for licensing exams – live as well as on demand so you can study at your own pace!
Once you’ve completed all required coursework, TREC will email a response informing you whether you passed or failed the state licensing exam. If successful, congratulations! Your next step should be finding a sponsoring broker as it’s mandatory in Texas that all real estate agents (sales associates) have one oversee their transactions.
Don’t feel discouraged if you fail the exam on the first try; you can retake it up to three times during your application period, provided each attempt fails consecutively. However, after three consecutive failed attempts you must complete 30 classroom hours of qualifying real estate education before sitting for it again.
If you’re seeking to become a real estate agent in Texas, learning the requirements can help shape your career in an approachable and compliant way with state regulations and provide all of the resources you’ll need for long-term success. From taking required education courses to finding a sponsoring broker – every detail matters for long-term success of your career! By taking these steps outlined here you can launch a real estate career in Texas as an official real estate agent.
Career Opportunities
Real estate presents numerous opportunities, especially with Texas being one of the fastest-growing states. There will always be demand for residential and commercial real estate professionals; however, new agents should keep in mind that it takes time before sales start coming in; in order to do this successfully they must spend much of their time marketing themselves as well as working with potential clients to increase sales – it is therefore vital for agents to have a good support network in place during this period of learning and developing skills.
An agent should understand their income will come from commission, which is calculated as a percentage of the sale price of properties sold. Therefore, their first check may take several months to arrive; as such it’s vital that new agents save enough funds in their savings accounts until sales come rolling in.
Real estate careers can be immensely satisfying and lucrative; an accomplished real estate agent can earn as much as $130,000 annually with commission alone! This salary provides the flexibility necessary for working part time or full time with flexible schedules – ideal for midlife career changers seeking change! Added to which, Texas real estate is currently experiencing phenomenal growth making this field of endeavor an attractive one to enter as well.
Noting the requirements necessary to become a licensed real estate agent in Texas is relatively easy, yet requires meeting some standards. These include being at least 18 years old, an American citizen or lawfully admitted alien and passing both National and State licensing exams; fingerprint verification through DPS must also take place and 30 hours of continuing education courses every two years must be taken in order to maintain quality service to customers.