The Ultimate Guide - How To Get The Real Estate License in Florida
Before starting on how to get your real estate license in FL, a small clarification is required regarding the title. A real estate agent is a broad term for a licensed real estate professional in the USA.
However, various designations are often attached to them. For example, in Florida, a real estate agent is called a Sales Associate. An Associate with a few years of exper ience is called a Real Estate Broker.
A Realtor is altogether different. A real estate agent who is a member of the National Association of Realtors is called a realtor. However, an agent and a realtor are often used interchangeably, but a realtor, as a member of a professional body, carries more credibility.
In this post, we will refer to a newly-licensed real estate professional in Florida as a real estate agent, though it is a Sales Associate.
Benefits of A Real Estate Career
Before getting down to the brass tacks of how to obtain real estate license in Florida, let us examine whether it is worth your time and effort to go through the process.
The answer, as we shall see, is a YES on all counts.
Earnings of a real estate agent
Let us first understand the mode of earnings of a real estate agent. Unlike typical jobs, real estate agents do not get a regular salary; instead, they earn a commission for every deal closed. It works out to 6% of the sale price of a property, the amount shared equally between the buyer’s and the seller’s agents.
For instance, for clarity, let us consider the median price of a house in Florida, which is $410,600. On average, then, an agent will earn $12,318 for every successful real estate transaction.
Even 8 deals in a year will push real estate agents above the six-figure income mark, an amount not common to all professions.
The average earnings of a real estate agent in Florida are $98,517, though it varies between cities. Real estate agents in Apopka, FL, earn the highest at $110,023, followed by Fort Lauderdale, FL, at $108,944, West Palm Beach, FL, at $108,256, Miami, FL, at $107,562, and Jacksonville, FL, at $105,765.
So, yes, it is lucrative if you learn how to get your Florida real estate license and launch your career in the state.
Lifestyle of a real estate agent in Florida
People generally get stuck to fixed job timings and find it hard to strike a perfect work-life balance. However, it is not so with real estate agents. Once you enter this profession, you are your own boss and can fix your work schedules.
This can be adjusted around spending quality time with family and friends, thereby ensuring a lifestyle that most can only dream of.
The only hitch here is that you may have to work over some holidays and weekends. Clients typically request showings of properties on holidays to suit their convenience. You have to comply with it, considering how much closing a deal means to you in income.
All these facets emphasize that it pays to get your real estate license in Florida, whichever way you look at it.
Who Controls the Real Estate Sector In Florida
Issuing and renewing licenses for different professions in Florida, including real estate, is controlled by the state agency, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Within the DBPR is a division, the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC), that supervises the various aspects of the real estate sector in the state.
Several aspects of real estate in FL fall within the jurisdiction of the FREC. It is responsible for licensing, deciding the pre-licensing course curriculum, rule-making, and, whenever required, initiating disciplinary action against real estate agents.
It is the FREC that has mandated that anybody wanting to buy, sell, lease, or rent properties in Florida for third parties against commission must have a real estate license. FREC has also fixed the steps to get real estate license in Florida.
How To Get The Real Estate License In Florida
We will now go through the various steps to get real estate license in Florida.
Step 1: Pre-License Application Requirements
There are certain basic eligibility norms to fulfill before you can apply for a license.
The first is the age factor; you must be at least 18 years old on the date you apply for a real estate license in Florida. Other requirements related to how to get the real estate license in Florida may be completed before you turn 18.
To apply for a real estate license, you must be a citizen of the USA. Migrants or legally admitted aliens in the USA can also apply for a license if they have been given the right to work in the USA by government authorities.
The final clause pertains to educational qualification. You can apply for a real estate license if you have a minimum high school diploma or its equivalent, such as a GED.
With these three points out of the way, you can now get down to the actual task of how to get your Florida real estate license.
Step 2: Completing the pre-licensing coursework
This is one of the critical steps to get real estate license in Florida and is strictly mandated by the FREC. The reason why this is so important is that, as an aspiring real estate agent, you acquire the knowledge to be a success in your profession. The real estate sector is founded on complex rules, regulations, and legal clauses that you must know to provide superior services to your clients in the future.
Having a thorough grip on the various real estate topics is a safety net for you, too. Any real estate deal involves huge sums of money and intricate contracts to be drawn up. An error here can have severe legal implications for you as well as disciplinary action initiated by FREC. The pre-licensing course ensures that you have a very successful career ahead.
Curriculum of the pre-licensing course
The pre-licensing course has two components: the national section and the state-specific section. The first is devoted entirely to the subjects that are related to the real estate industry in general and common to the whole of the USA. The second, on the other hand, deals exclusively with the rules and regulations valid in Florida only. Every state has its own rules controlling its real estate industry, and Florida is no exception.
The pre-licensing coursework in Florida is 63 hours in duration. The subjects are as follows:
- Florida license and state laws
- Real Estate contracts and closing
- Real estate ethics
- Real estate marketing
- Property management
- Real estate finance
- Industry rules and violations
- Foreclosures
Even though the coursework is 63 hours, you can complete the curriculum at your own pace. Typically, it takes a few weeks to a couple of months to complete the course. While online classes give you the leeway to study at your convenience, you have to follow a set routine in physical classes. We will discuss online courses vs. classroom-based learning in the next part of this post.
Choosing a Pre-license Course
One of the best FREC-approved online pre-licensing course providers in Florida is RealEstateU. Check out their courses before moving on to others. You get the benefit of top-of-the-line courses, as these are designed by leading real estate professionals. Moreover, their courses are the cheapest in this niche while maintaining high standards of instruction.
Here are a few tips to choose the best pre-licensing study materials.
FREC-Approved courses: Only courses that are approved by FREC will be counted as having fulfilled the 63-hour education norm to appear for the licensing exam. It will be a waste of time and money if you invest in non-approved real estate courses. It is advisable to visit the FREC portal to verify this point on your journey to learn how to get the real estate license in Florida.
Advanced packages: Pre-licensing courses are available in various bundles, ranging from basic packages to advanced ones. You can choose a basic course and complete it at your own pace or an advanced course with mock tests and practice questions.
Mock tests have questions at the end of each lesson that replicate the form and structure of what you will get in the licensing exam. Hence, not only will you get the confidence to face the test, but you will also know the level of your preparation for each topic. While advanced packages cost more than the basic one, you will reap the benefits in the long run with better preparation.
Classroom vs. online courses: The medium you select for how to obtain real estate license in Florida depends entirely on your learning style. You might be comfortable with face-to-face instructions and physical textbooks, while another candidate might choose the flexibility of online courses.
If you compare the two, online courses have built-in convenience. You can download them onto any Internet-enabled device to be studied from any location and at any time. You do not have to spend time and money commuting to physical classes, nor study by disrupting your normal routine.
Step 3: Background check
Real estate agents are required to have high moral standards and moral integrity to be credible to clients entrusting them with multi-million-dollar deals. One of the ways to ensure this is to submit fingerprints for verification of past criminal records. In the case of an adverse fingerprint report, FREC reserves the right to refuse to issue a real estate license in Florida.
The fingerprint verification process is quite simple. Contact a Livescan Service provider approved by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to submit fingerprints to DBPR. The fingerprints will be sent to FLDE by the approved service provider using an Originating Agency Identification (ORI) number. It is FL920010Z for real estate agents and brokers in Florida.
Step 4: Schedule a licensing exam
On the DBPR portal, apply for a real estate license. An application number will be generated with which you can schedule a licensing exam with Pearson VUE, the third-party proctors for the licensing exam. The licensing exam is held at various centers namely, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville. You must visit the test center physically to appear for the online licensing exam.
Step 5: Appear for the licensing test
This step is a vital component of how to get the real estate license in Florida. On the designated day, appear for the licensing exam and pass it. There are 100 questions in a multiple-choice format, which must be completed in 210 minutes. The passing grade is 75%. Since the exam is an online test, the results are announced soon after completion at the center itself. You will get official confirmation of the result via email within two to three weeks.
Step 6: Apply for a real estate license
Visit the DBPR portal and apply for a real estate license in Florida. Upload all supporting documents, such as proof of completing the pre-licensing coursework, fingerprint clearance certificate, and passing the licensing exam. Pay the required fee and be awarded a provisional real estate license in Texas.
Step 7: Find a licensed broker
This is the final step in how to get your real estate license in FL. Find a licensed real estate broker willing to sponsor you in the initial stages of your career. This step is mandated by the FREC. Once done, inform DBPR of your current employment status. Your provisional license will now be activated, and you can launch a very rewarding career as a real estate agent in Florida.
How Much To Get A Real Estate License In Florida
The expense to get a real estate license in Florida has the following components.
Variable Expense: This is the cost of the pre-licensing courses, which greatly varies between providers. It ranges from $69 for an online course from RealEstateU to $ 200 for physical schools.
Fixed Expense: These are as follows. Background check: $50.75, License application fee: $83.75, State exam fee: $36.75.
Hence, the answer to how much to get real estate license in Florida is between $240 -$400.