Passing My Texas RE License On the First Try

What an relief it was to finally see that "PASS" on both the State and National test! Yea buddy! Do you want to pass the test on the first try and do the Ace Ventura victory dance? I wanted to capture some of my experiences here since I know there are others that may or will want to get their Texas RE salesperson license.

License or No?

First and foremost, you have to decide for yourself on why you want to get your license. Don't just get one just because everyone is doing it. Several forum posts to read if you're figuring out whether you should or not.

Forum post 1

Forum post 2

Forum post 3

Reasons for us to get our licenses:

1. MLS access - Being able to quickly get information without relying on your agent is powerful. Being able to pull your own comps and make the decision based on your criteria helps us submit better offers faster.

2. Save on commission on selling/buying - My wife and I were familiar and comfortable with the contracts/processes that we decided we could submit the contracts and earn the commission ourselves.

There are some organization that is needed and we have no problem with coordinating with other players. If you're disorganized and don't have the time, we'd recommend working with an agent instead.

3. Control - Not relying on anyone else is huge. Being able to submit as many offers as we can, when we can with our terms is powerful. Agents only has 24 hours in a day (did you know that?) and they still have their business to run. No way would they be willing to submit 10 offers in a day knowing that none of the offers maybe accepted.

How to get your Texas RE License?

1. TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission) requires 180 hours of courses which includes:

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

I decided to go with Champions School of Real Estate since they offered the classes online. Costs varies but I did the course plus the exam prep for about $900. If you like the 1-on-1 interaction and have time during the evenings for several hours, take the classrooms. You may finish the courses quicker since you tend to have more distractions at home (ie Game of Thrones) that pulls you away from your studying. I was able to work on the classes during my lunch breaks and evenings until I was done 5 months later. It shouldn't take you more than 6 weeks.

QUICK TIP: As you take your section tests, copy the questions to a word document. This way, you have studying material with questions that you miss to focus on.

2. Go to trec.texas.gov to setup your account to apply for your salesperson license. You'll pay the $163+$10 (Recovery Fund) and need to submit proof that you completed all 6 courses. They said 7-10 days but their response was only a few days for me.

3. Once you have the A-OK from TREC, sign up for your test at PSI Exams and pay your $61 for both the state and national test. If you fail either one or both, you will have to pay another $61. You don't need to worry about this because you'll pass the very first time right?!

There are many test locations around but choose the one that is closest to you. You want to minimize chances of traffic on long distances.

4. Read the Candidate Information Brochure (CIB) from PSI's website. It has lots of information on what you can bring, not bring, etc. I brought my passport, credit card with my signature and driver license since I didn't want to risk losing $61 for not having the proper identification.

5. Get your Fast Pass for your finger prints by going to this website. Only after you have your pass can you schedule your fingerprints which I recommend you coordinate to happen right after your test if possible.

This would have saved me a trip from going back to the same testing center just to do my finger prints.

Studying for the Test

To help you save some time, I'd suggest the following:

1. Use the Exam Prep book that Champion provides as your study guide. This book allows you to quickly go through all the RE concepts/vocabulary. Honestly, this is all you need to pass the test. You don't need to take or pay for any other test prep.

2. Use the flashcards provided by Champions. I would have them in my car and review them in between signal lights. No worries, I was safe and was never honked thank you very much :)

3. Remember the QUICK TIP above? Now you can review old test questions especially the ones you missed.

4. Take the sample test from the CIB. These test questions are very similar to the tests. The ones from Champions helps you understand the concepts but the way the real test questions are written is closer to the sample test. Just warning you so you're not thrown off if you only study the Champion's study material.

5. Write your cheat sheet. Even though you can't use this during the test, it really helps you quickly review the material.

6. Get a good night sleep and ACE it! I've never pulled an all nighter even in college. If you don't think you're ready, reschedule your test at least a few days prior to your scheduled test.

I was scheduled to take my test in mid January but the ice storm shut down Houston. Yes, at freezing temperatures and a bit of rain, we were pretty much shut down. I can hear chuckles from northerners now. Probably a normal day for yall. Texas people freak out when it gets near or at freezing temperatures.

Choosing a Sponsoring Broker

Clay Huber wrote a great article about choosing a broker which you can read here. We decided to go with a Broker that charges only $175/year and a flat fee per transaction (includes Error & Omission). If you're looking to have more hand holding, hook up with an agent that invests himself to help. Otherwise, look to pay a pretty commission splits (ie 70/30 where the broker gets 30% of what you earned. This may/may not include E/O and other fees...ouch!).

Also joined the Houston Association of Realtors for the MLS access. Here is the fee breakdown (*this may change at the time you read this so verify all current costs):

1. $100 HAR application fee

2. $414/year

3. $45 for mandatory orientation but it's given back once you attend

4. $25 MLS application fee

5. $63.96/quarter for MLS fee ($255.84/year)

Total fees after first year = about $850 (broker fee, HAR & MLS)

Celebrate

Well...I can't provide any suggestions here. (Insert your way of celebrating here). I bought Battlefield 4 during Black Friday that I saved for this very moment. :-D

This is how I felt as I walked out of that testing center. Ready for some action!

What was your experience passing your RE license exams? What other suggestions would you give?