It is commonly believed that one the safest investments is a real estate investment. Stocks can fall and currency can depreciate – we have seen both in the last few months. The real property does fall not as compared to the other liquid assets. This is one of the prime reasons of continuous investment in the real estate sector. This sector also suffers in the recession periods but not too much.
Prudent agents are making huge incomes annually. This article reveals the prerequisites of becoming a real estate agent in the state of Texas.
Age and Legality
To become a real estate agent in Texas, the individual must be at least 18 years of age or older and a legal resident of Texas. An individual whose name is in the default list of Texas Guaranteed Student Loan (TGSLC) is not entitled to get the license or renew the license. This clause is ineffective if the individual is in the agreement of repayment.
Fingerprint Requirements
According to a new law, it is mandatory to provide fingerprints to the commission in a specified format to run an FBI criminal history check. This requirement is only for those individuals who want to become a broker and salesperson – it does not apply to other Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) licensees.
Education Requirement
An individual who is interested in obtaining the license must have completed 210 classroom hours the following courses: Principal of Real Estate core real estate course (60 hrs); Law of Agency core real estate course (30 hrs); Law of Contracts core real estate course (30 hrs); an additional core real estate course (30 hrs); and another 60 hrs (4 semester hours) core or related course approved by the commission.
Scrutiny of Educational Document
Scrutiny of the educational documents is also a vital step. Individual must provide the proof of successful completion of the courses. Credit transcripts or Certificates is the acceptable form of evidence. There is no need to send the original certificates, photocopies are sufficient.
The commission charges $30 (for the whole year) for verifying the documents. The commission normally takes 10 days to verify the documents and informs the individuals itself about their verified credentials.
Filling Application
Once your credentials are endorsed, the next step is filling the application. It is important to remember that you must complete the verification process prior to filling the application. Never send the application along with the request of evaluation and fee.
Applications can be submitted online and via snail mail. Applications send by snail mail take much longer time; thus, we advise that go for the online method, fast and easy.
The commission does not accept the incomplete applications and applications without the fees. If an individual is sending fees via mail then he/she must make sure that he/she has made only one check (don’t pay separately) or money order payable to the Texas RE Commission. The original application fee is $94.50 and Recovery Trust Account fee is $10.00.
Texas RE Salesperson Examination
Once an individual receives a notification towards TREC that all of his/her documents are certified, he/she can proceed to the take the Texas Real Estate Salesperson Exam. After approving the application, the TREC will send the (Candidate Information Brochure) CIB that contains all the necessary information regarding the examination.
The examination is based on multiple choice questions and administered by PSI (an authorized testing center). The duration of the test is 150 minutes (45 minutes and 105 minutes for state and national parts respectively).
Sponsorship is Important
It is vital to remember that inactive salespersons and applicants are not eligible to work as an agent until they arrange for a Texas real estate broker holding (active license) to sponsor them as salespersons.
To save the time, an individual can file the sponsorship request along with the salesperson’s license application.
In a nutshell, like every state, the Texas Real Estate Commission has set certain rules and procedures that must be followed to get a salesperson or agent license. It is highly recommended that interested individual must send their complete applications electronically as documents send by snail mail takes ages to complete the process.
Moreover, it is extremely important that an active licensed individual must not act as a real estate agent unless he/she is sponsored by a broker holding that possesses an active license.
Have a nice Career!
By: Syed Rehan About the Author:
Syed Rehan is the Founder and CEO of ParaphrasingMatters.com that provides
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