California Real Estate License – Why Even Have One?
First off, let me say that I too, have been where you are right now. You’d like to make some money in real estate, or you’d like to save some money on selling your current home and buying a new home. So you are looking at getting a California real estate license in order shave off at least 3% on your next deal, or to start making a part time or full time income.
And California tends to have higher property values on average than most of the rest of the country. So it only makes sense to get a California real estate license, when you can easily pay back all of the costs and more of obtaining it with just one real estate closing.
But let me share with you my specific situation.
I really began my quest with real estate investing. I had a good friend who was an agent and wrote and submitted my contracts for me. But it came to a point where the deals that I was working on wouldn’t pan out nearly as well for me, unless I could cut down on my closing costs. Further, I wanted to have access to the MLS system, in order to be able to shop for deals myself, and not have to wait on an agent to produce them.
Have you ever just wanted to browse all the listings, and not have to consult an agent?
This is a huge benefit that having a California real estate license will enable you to have.
But let’s just take a quick example. Let’s say that you will be selling your first home for $500,000. So if you were to get just 3% of the sales price, and you split that 50/50 with your broker, you would end up making $7,500! Not bad for a month or two of work. And with your pre-licensing education starting at just $149 and your examination and licensing fees with the state being just $305, you would only be out $454, which is a gain of $7046 on just your first deal.
Not only that, but you can write off your education and fees from your federal income taxes!
California Real Estate License Requirements
Ok, so here’s the icky part. But let me just real quickly run down the California real estate license requirements for you. Before I do, just keep in mind that once you have your California real estate license, you have the potential to make a great living, or at least some good part time money. I’m working on a deal right now that even after all the splits and everything, will end up making me almost $7,000.
You can do this too!
Alright, so here are the general requirements:
- You must be 18 years old.
- You must be a US citizen.
- You must be honest. Criminal convictions can result in denial of license. And failure to disclose any criminal violation or disciplinary action for your entire history could result in a denial of license.
So bottom line, be an 18 year old US citizen, and just be honest.
Now to the specific requirements:
You’ll have to have at least 3 college level courses to qualify for a California real estate salesperson license. These course are…
- Real Estate Principles
- Real Estate Practice
- And your choice of the following:
- 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
One nice thing is, if you are a lawyer, if you provide them with the proof (like a front and back copy of your California State Bar Membership Card), you can be exempted from the educational requirements.
If you have already taken the college level courses, you can submit your transcript to fulfill the requirements. Otherwise, you’ll want to get the training from a pre-qualified California real estate license school. I highly recommend going with online education versus offline, just due to the fact that you can work at your own pace, and in the comfort of your own home in order to satisfy the requirements. This is exactly what I did to fulfill my own pre-licensing requirements.
California Real Estate License School
When it comes to choosing the right California real estate license school, there are some things you need to consider.
First and foremost, you’ll need to decide whether you want to take the courses online or offline. I highly recommend the online courses, because you can go at your own pace, which means you can finish up the courses as quickly or slowly as you wish, and also that you can do the whole thing in the comfort of your home.
Second, you’ll want to make sure that the school you choose is a qualified California real estate school, because nothing would be worse than taking courses from an institution that is not recognized by the state, and therefore you’ll receive no credit for the course work, and end up having to take the whole thing all over again.
Third, and probably most important for many of you out there, is cost. There are a lot of offerings out there, but if you can find one for a couple hundred bucks or less, you really are getting a good deal. And again, there is a price advantage to taking courses online, because online education companies don’t have as much printing costs, they don’t have to employ full time teachers, and can generally operate at a much lower cost, and therefore you can get the course work done at a much lower price!
So those are just a few reasons that you need to consider when you are looking at California real estate license schools. So don’t put it off any longer! The sooner you get the pre-licensing education done, the sooner you can apply, take your exam, get licensed, and start doing real estate deals!
California Real Estate License Exam Tips
OK, so now you are down to the brass tacks. You have completed the California Real Estate pre-licensing requirements, you completed your application, paid your fees, and you have an exam date all setup. Now comes the tough part – you have to pass the test, and I want to give you a few pointers on exactly how you can make sure you are able to do just that.
Now remember, I am a license real estate salesperson, and I only had to take the test ONCE! A lot of people told me that the test was really hard, and that being able to pass it the first time was next to impossible.
That’s just not true!
Look, the test is very likely going to be standardized. That means multiple choice. And often, it is very easy to eliminate answers that don’t make sense! So here’s a few tips:
- Wake up early, and show up to the exam location early. This will help you to stay calm, and be well ready to take the test.
- Take a deep breath. If you are stressed, you won’t be able to think clearly.
- Ask the test administrator how many questions are on the test, and exactly how much time you will have to take the exam. Use the information to calculate exactly how much time you have for each question.
- Be conscious of this time line. If a question is taking much longer than the time you calculated for each question, just choose an answer and come back to it later.
- Read each question carefully. Little words like “not” can totally change the meaning and the appropriate answer. Don’t get caught by these subtleties!
- Use the process of elimination. If you have to guess, try to eliminate as many answers that don’t make any sense as possible. If you can get it down to 2 possible right answers, you have a 50% chance of getting it right!
- This is the most important, yet simple tip of them all. ANSWER EVERY SINGLE QUESTION. An unanswered question is wrong 100% of the time. If you at least guess, you have a chance to get it right.
So use these tips when taking your California real estate license exam. I know they’ll help you, and remember, I passed my real estate license exam on the very first try! You can absolutely do the same thing. So good luck, and let me know how it went by leaving a comment in the comment section (should be below, or at least a link to the comments area).
California Real Estate License Verification
I know how exciting it gets when you have completed your California real estate pre-licensing requirements, taking the exam, paid the state fees, and now you are just waiting for your results.
Don’t get discouraged! They will come in, and there is an easy way to check online.
But just to be sure, have you completed your pre-licensing education? Have you taken the state exam? Have you paid the appropriate fees? Have you done the required finger printing?
If you are not 100% sure, then I would recommend contacting the California Department of Real Estate. You can reach them toll free at (877) 373-4542. It will just take a few minutes, and they’ll be able to tell you if you left out some small part of the process.
Also, you can use the online service to make sure that your broker hasn’t allowed his/her license to lapse. It can never hurt to check in here or there just to make sure everything you do in California real estate is on the up and up!
About Me
Hi, I'm Jeffry Evans, and before I got my real estate license, I sure was getting hit for a lot of money on my real estate deals. And I didn't know exactly what to do to get my real estate license.Lucky for you, I've taken the time to write down all the tips and information you'll need to easily get your own California real estate license so you can start making (or saving) money in real estate...
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