Interested in pursuing a career in California real estate? Read this!

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If you want to build a second income stream or explore the possibility of working as a full-time real estate agent in California, now is a good time to prepare for your career.

To work in the industry, you will need a license and to obtain your license, you must complete the mandatory pre license education and training.

This is where you can count on RealEstateU as a leading education provider with a proven experience of helping individuals become licensed real estate professionals.

When you choose and enrol in a CA real estate license course, you can complete your education from anywhere on any device in a self-paced and flexible way.

If you are looking for a dynamic, rewarding and challenging career where you can be financially independent, then a career in real estate might just be the right fit.

Working in California’s stable and growing real estate market can be an exciting professional path for anyone who seeks to earn a six figure income without working in a nine-to-five job.

Real estate agents are licensed professionals who work with clients and help them buy and sell properties. To work with clients, every aspiring real estate agent must obtain a license.

California’s high demand for housing and residential real estate continues to be a fertile and unique blend of opportunity ground for agents and brokers.

From global tech hubs like Silicon Valley to world-leading entertainment spots like Los Angeles, California boasts of some of the most promising as well as established cities and regions in the country.

Working as a part-time or a full-time real estate agent in CA can unlock a wealth of rewarding and lucrative financial benefits for you.

If you are curious about how to enter the industry, here’s a quick overview of the three step process which you must complete.

Step 1: Meet the basic eligibility requirements

Like most regulated professionals, real estate also works on state and federal laws and rules which govern professionals, firms and businesses operating in the industry.

In California, the Department of Real Estate (DRE) is the leading authority for issuing and renewing licenses to aspiring and experienced professionals.

As per the California DRE, all individuals must meet the minimum set of qualifying requirements to apply for a salesperson or a broker’s license in the state. These are:

Age: You must be at least 18 years or older
Residency: You must be a legal resident of California or a lawfully residing alien
Education: You must have a high school diploma or GED equivalent in education

Step 2: Complete sales associate pre licensing education

The California DRE requires all applicants to acquire the required knowledge and training to work with clients and represent their best interests.

To become a licensed professional, you must complete a minimum of 135 hours of qualifying education in California.

Completing mandatory pre license education will equip you with the knowledge of how the real estate industry works, what are your duties as an agent, rights of consumers, ethics and various state and federal laws and regulations.

You are free to choose between joining an in-person, classroom based real estate college or enroll in an online, instructor led or self-paced real estate prep course.

Generally, many students prefer the practicality and convenience of online real estate prep courses as they can be completed from anywhere using any device.

Irrespective of your choice and preferred medium of learning, it is important that you choose a state approved education provider for completing your pre license education.

Step 3: Take the California salesperson licensing exam

After successfully completing 135 hours of sales associate license education in California, you will be ready to tackle the next step in becoming licensed.

The DRE in California requires all applicants to take the state licensing exam and prove their competence by passing the exam.

The licensing test consists of 150 multiple choice questions and you will get 3 hours to complete them all. To pass the exam you must score at least 75 percent or above.

If you are worried about how to prepare for the test, you should choose a CA real estate license course which also offers test preparation resources such as sample questions and mock tests.

Step 4: Complete background verification process

To work with clients and represent them in a real estate transaction, you need to clear mandatory federal background and criminal verification checks.

As part of the licensing requirements, you must obtain clearance from the DRE by submitting an electronic scan of your fingerprints taken at any of the state approved live-scan vendors.

Note that you will also be required to submit a proof of your pre license education and any other relevant documents.

Once you have successfully completed the background verification process, you can submit your salesperson license application to the California DRE for review and approval.