Thread: Preperation for license testing in California

The hardest part about starting out in real estate is sustaining yourself while setting up your business. So much depends upon where you work. In a busy market (usually the spring) you can find clients right away, but in slower markets it may actually take a few months to make your first sale. Right now we are experiencing a before the Holidays rush which will be over in a few weeks. Then, November and December are very quiet. The market picks up again in Feb. after people have had a chance to recover from the end-of-year rush and expenses. This means that if you take a class soon you might actually be able to take advantage of the spring market. If you know lots of people, you begin calling and letting them know you now have your license. Ask for referrals and market yourself heavily in the beginning. If you don't do this you will sit around waiting for the phone to ring. So...the hardest part is paying for the marketing, setting up your office, contacting people, and basically spending time and money without any income. I tell new licensees to plan on spending about $10,000 to get their office and business set up. Obviously the number can be considerably higher depending upon the company for which you work and the benefits--what is paid for and what you must provide. Why do so many drop out the first year? It's not an easy business. There are a lot of ups and downs, and many don't have enough money to live off of if they don't make sales right away. They also learn that the business is changing and commissions are being cut and/or shared via referrals and affinity programs. The average real estate agent makes about $29,000 per year. (Of course that includes the active with the non-active licensees). However, for a person who thinks they will be making six-digit incomes, there is often a rude awakening that gets them running back to the old dependable salaried position. Being in this business and as an independent contractor, an agent must be very self-motivated to be successful. So many people think that they are suited for this work only to find that there is too much paper work, or liability. There is also a high level of stress. Consider what the clients are like. It is a very stressful time for them and they often take it out on their agent. I am painting a bleak picture, which is not completely accurate. When one is working on a sale and it takes too long and then falls apart, it is devastating. But then, when a sale goes quickly it is exhilarating! Some are just not ready for the highs and lows, and still others can't wait out the slow times. Hence--heavy drop out rate.

I don't mean to turn you away from the profession. I just think that going in with your eyes wide open will help you with your decision

Thanks for the reply WIki, but I am not sure you were following my question. I was asking about certain subjects for the test that my wife should study more than others. I skimmed over your reply and agree with what you say, but we already have an idea of all of this. My wife worked in Volvo as a salesperson and was the top seller each month. She worked 12 hours a day and was a super salesperson. I am a General contractor and know the ups and downs of the market. We are both prepared for this aspect and have other ideas on what we will do in the real estate market . Thanks for the reply, but am looking more for someone who might be able to give us an idea on what to prepare for the test. Thanks alot though for your time WIKI

While each and every topic covered in the Principles is important, focus on Cram courses specifcally tailored for the exam. If she hasn't enrolled in any exam preparation program, I'd highly recommend Allied Business School's cram course.

Yes, thanks for the reply, She and I have the course from Anthony Schools. We have all of the study preperation and opted for the at home dvd instead of the classroom since we live a ways away from where they hold the classroom. Still looking for someone who may have some insight on study prep for the test. Maybe someone who recently has taken it that can guide us on the chapters that are covered more on the test than others. I stated earlier that when I had taken the State exam for my General contractors test, most of the test was on the law aspect of contracting and not on actual building, it surprised me, but I guess they want you to know the law so you can prepare yourself in case you get sued or want to sue someone Thanks for the reply

I have no experience with CA licensing or instruction.

However, I do get nervous about any testing process and found that studying and taking notes didn't quite give me the confidence about taking the test. I could understand well how your wife might run into difficulty, especially since a bit of the testing deals with semantics, or misplaced terms.

My practice routine included taking the practice tests in the instruction manual, disregarding the questions that I had mastered, and re-taking the tests until I had an understanding of what the question was truly asking, what word or term was misplaced, if you will, and retesting.

I also purchased an additional manual of only practice tests put out by the testing agency (PSI) and found that some of the questions hadn't been covered in our instructional materials or had been only covered lightly. This gave me the opportunity to study those items that I hadn't really mastered in depth.

I would also say that I chose to attend classes rather than complete the instruction online or DVD. If your wife has this option (with Moseley it didn't cost anything extra) even though it is a ways away, she might find that the structure, interaction and perspective that an instructor places on the topics might help her. People really do learn differently, and this might help as well. When she passes her test, make sure that she interviews firms that will provide additional training; that's invaluable. Good luck!

Originally Posted by TheREMpro

While each and every topic covered in the Principles is important, focus on Cram courses specifcally tailored for the exam. If she hasn't enrolled in any exam preparation program, I'd highly recommend Allied Business School's cram course.

Hi, I would like to look up Allied Business School and cannot find it when I do a search on Yahoo. Any suggestions? Thanks