Chula Vista, CA · Member since 2014 · 1 post · 0 votes
Hello Everyone,
I am new here on BP and very glad to be here. My Immediate goal is to pass my CA Real Estate Salesperson Exam and start working/training for a good Broker here in San Diego. And my my future goal is to be REI and flip homes. I took all the required RE salesperson courses late last year and after recently going through my books, quizzes and test papers, I will need the extra help to prepare for the exam. Please, need advice on preparation/crash course ?
I am consider either the Real Estate Centre, Allied, or Kaplan.
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 101 posts · 23 votes
11y
@Aris Dizon i took my license in San Diego and the best way to prepare in my opinion is to take the prep course from real estate trainers. I believe they are based in Orange County but they hold a class in Kearny Mesa. I'm pretty sure they have a guarantee on the state test as well. If you fail they refund your money. I took the class on the weekend and I believe I took the test on a Tuesday. I remember the test being ridiculously easy after the Prep class and would highly recommend it. I think it was around $150 for the prep class but don't quote me on that.
Real Estate Agent/Property Management · Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 827 votes
11y
You really should take the exam immediately after finishing your courses. Otherwise a lot of what you learned can slip away, especially if you're not actively practicing real estate in the interim.
Honestly, I think you should re-take the real estate courses online. Kaplan offers an online option for $600+. You can zip through the modules you remember and spend more time on the modules that are a little hazy.
Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2009 · 230 posts · 138 votes
11y
I think I took the Allied course. Do the crash course and listen to the CDs in your car while driving as much as possible, then take the test a week or two after the crash course. The test isn't hard if your prepared, but be ready for a few nonsensical questions. I ran across one question that had me questioning my sanity because it made no sense. I later learned that the test board tests new questions that don't count toward your score. If you prepare adequately its not a hard test at all. Take a crash course though.
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 101 posts · 23 votes
11y
@Aris Dizon i took my license in San Diego and the best way to prepare in my opinion is to take the prep course from real estate trainers. I believe they are based in Orange County but they hold a class in Kearny Mesa. I'm pretty sure they have a guarantee on the state test as well. If you fail they refund your money. I took the class on the weekend and I believe I took the test on a Tuesday. I remember the test being ridiculously easy after the Prep class and would highly recommend it. I think it was around $150 for the prep class but don't quote me on that.
Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
11y
Glad you're taking the route to investing that your are.
Fred is right, folks need to take any state exam immediately after school.
The past week I considered buying a RE school, a very good one, well established, the owner is retiring and has last classes scheduled in the Spring. Mention this only to say that I found that there have been changes nationally and some of the relationships between state commissions and the schools that one would only be aware of if they were running a school.
The pass guarantee mentioned is common, RE commissions approve the schools and materials, they look at the pass fail rate of students to judge the success of the school, so giving free tutoring or additional training if one fails goes to their success rate. If this pass fail rate falls too much, the commission may suspend a license or renewal!
I can't recommend who you should get with for the Cali exam, but I'd bet reading real estate blog and forums on the internet will only fog your learning, there is very little that is correct about the dirt side of RE, the basics and what you'd need to know for an exam.
I'm told now that exams have questions that may only have the best answer, not really the correct answer, those tests require a bit more thinking, there may be two better solutions and you'd be selecting the one that is the lesser sin. Getting into investing type information may really fog that selection. Try to forget about investing matters, dig back into the class material as you have and getting a refresher is a good way to go. Good Luck! :)
If you have already taken all the pre-requisite classes, assuming you passed these classes, you already have all the knowledge needed to pass the RE Exam.
Not to tout my own accomplishments, but I literally took 2 or 3 Real Estate classes at Palomar College and then sat for the Exam. Passed on the first try. If I can do it, anyone can do it.
Definitely take the exam as soon as you satisfy the prerequisites.
Regarding the prep/cram courses, the value from these classes is the "How to take tests" knowledge. For example: answer all the ones you know, skip the questions that you're not sure about and come back to those "problem" questions later. You can find this test-taking knowledge online also.
For specific test questions, you can find practice tests/questions online and some of those were almost word-for-word what showed up on my exam. I recommend downloading some of the online practice exams.
I use Alled for my continuing education. Their online classes are very well organized and easy to navigate. My son used Kaplan a few years ago for prep for his exam, and he liked it. Anthony Schools was one of the original schools, and they were bought by Kaplan. Both of these are good.