Effective immediately, DBPR is no longer offering online-proctored exams.  The exams are only offered at Pearson Vue testing centers.  According to the email from the DBPR, this is “in the interest of maintaining the integrity of examinations for DBPR-issued professional licenses.” The online-proctored exams began during the statewide shutdown in 2020.  Once the shutdown ended, they kept offering online-proctored exams as a convenience to people.  I think the online-proctored exams were particularly nice for people in more rural areas who had to drive several hours to a tes ..read more

Sometimes Florida attorneys decide they want a Florida real estate license.  Lawyers who are active members of the Florida Bar do not have to take the sales associate pre-licensing class.  They only need to pass the Florida real estate exam to get a Florida real estate license. Florida attorneys are also exempt from taking the 14-hour continuing education every two year.  The assumption is that attorneys get enough continuing education when renewing their Florida Bar license. The one class Florida attorneys with a real estate license do have to complete is the 45-hour post-licen ..read more

Sometimes, before someone registers for class, they ask me if there are already too many real estate agents in Florida.  What they really want to know is “Is there room for me to break into this field?  Or is the field already saturated?” There are a lot of people in the real estate industry, for sure.  But there is still plenty of room for you.  The Orlando Business Journal publishes a list of the top real estate agents each year.  The best agent in Central Florida sold 1,324 houses last year.  Their gross volume was $471,220,000.  That person has less than ..read more

I used to advise all of my students to take the test in Spanish.  Recently, I have changed my advice and advise all students to take it in their native language.  Here’s why… I used to advise everyone to take in in Spanish because there are fewer versions of the Spanish exam.  You can toggle the questions back and forth between the two languages.  So people who do not speak Spanish could toggle the exam to English and still get the benefit of there being fewer exams should they fail. Recently, Pearson Vue has changed some components of the exam.  If you sign up in Span ..read more

It is fun to keep up with past students to hear how their real estate careers are doing.  Recently, I talked to Gigi Benca who works Keller Williams in Oviedo, Florida.  She attended a class at Demetree School of Real Estate, then I sponsored her to join Keller Williams.  Gigi has a contagious enthusiasm and positivity.  Here is our interview… Tell us briefly about you.   I am Gigi Benca.  I’m someone with a strong work ethic, great communicator alongside professional and educational experience that helps me provide good service to all of my clients. &nb ..read more

I got a call today from a former student.  She said, “Karen, I’ve decided that I am going to take your review class.  I tried some of the questions in the exam manual and they are too hard.  I’m not going to do them.  I just want to take the review.” I told her that she should take the review class AND do the state exam practice questions.  If the questions are easy, you aren’t learning. Think about weightlifting.  Let’s say that 50 pounds is your comfort zone.  You have a few options.  You can lift 10-pound weights all day long.  That gives you the ..read more

Every month, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) sends real estate schools the monthly state exam statistics.  Here’s what we learned from the May 2023 statistics for the sales associate exam… The pass rate among first-time takers is 56%. That means that most people pass the first time they take the exam. The overall pass rate is up to 47%. Typically, it hovers around 42% so this is an improvement.  We can ascertain that the test is getting easier or that people are studying more.  I’m betting on the latter. About twice as many people are choos ..read more

In Florida, we use Pearson Vue to administer the state exam.  When you register for the exam, you will notice two exams.  One is for the test at the test center.  The other is for an at-home online-proctored exam.  You can’t tell which is which until you click on it.  If it offers you a choice of locations, it’s an in-person test at a Pearson Vue test center.  If it doesn’t give you a choice, it is an at home version. In this article, I’m going to be primarily talking about the at-home online-proctored version.  To take the test at home, you must have a decen ..read more

I get a lot of students who take the class because they want to flip houses.  Technically speaking, you don’t need a real estate license in Florida to flip houses.  If you are selling a house that you own, you don’t need a license.  From a practical matter, though, if you don’t have a license, you are going to be paying someone else a commission.  Legally, you can sell it yourself and not pay a commission, but you can’t list it on the MLS yourself.  So, if you want your house to be on the MLS, you either need a license or you have to pay a Realtor. This is true of any ..read more

The short answer is yes, a felon may be able to a real estate license in Florida.  The more accurate answer, like so many things, is “it depends.”  When you fill out your state application, you are required to list your criminal history.  This includes any crime – convictions (even if adjudication was withheld), no contest pleas, juvenile offenses, young and dumb offenses – everything. The Florida Real Estate Commission, or FREC, will look at your situation and make a determination based on your individual situation.  I have seen murderers and sex offenders get a license.&n ..read more