If you have ever read a book, watched television, or searched the Internet for the most active real estate market on the planet, you would know that the state of Florida is it! In the last ten years or so many people have been changing careers within the state and even moving to the area to become real estate agents and try to claim their piece of the pie by getting into the game.
The process required for someone to become a real estate sales agent is rather simple and available is multiple formats to accommodate pretty much anyone. The state of Florida has a couple of required classes that you will need to take either in a classroom, on a compact disk at your home computer, or on the Internet. The first class is called the 63-hour real estate pre-license course. In this class you will learn the basic terminology and rules and laws associated with becoming a real estate agent. After passing this class with a mandatory score level, you can apply for a license with the state of Florida, after you receive a letter from them you will be allowed a time frame of one year to take and pass the Florida State Real Estate Agent Exam. This is a computerized test that is offered on a daily basis at selected centers throughout the state.
After you have passed this test (only one in every two passes on the first try), you will be granted an immediate license and you can start to act under the capacity of a real estate sales agent. Within six months of getting your license you will need to take a second course to finalize your license status. This course is called the 45-hour post licensing course. This class takes you further in depth in the career of a real estate sales agent. The class focuses more on the how to do things as opposed to the legal reasons for doing them. Once you have completed this course successfully (there is a test within the course, but no state exam), you are free to handle your business in the real estate game. The only other requirement that you will have is to complete a fourteen hour continuing education course every two years which basically just keeps you up to date on the latest trends and rule changes within the system.
This license allows you to do any real estate related activity under the direction of a supervising broker. You can not for any reason operate as a real estate sales agent without being employed by a broker. If after a year of working as a real estate sales agent under someone else’s direction, you may take classes to become a broker in the state of Florida. Information on that career path will be explained in another of my articles.
