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Part Three of the "Becoming a Realtor" Series
Life certainly gets easier when you have completed all the licensing requirements and joined all the associations, but that doesn't mean being a Realtor is all selling and no learning. In fact, it is all about continuing education to stay up-to-date with current laws, regulations, and trends!
In your first two years post-licensure, you get to take the "easy" route. At least, it is the more straight-forward route. In the State of Florida, your first round of continuing education (CE) is neatly packaged in a 45 hour post licensing course. Just like when you first became a sales agent, you take and pass the course. Easy peasy, right? Personally, mine was 100% online, at my pace, and broken into several easy-to-follow modules. It even gave me tips on how to make sure it all reported correctly when I was finished! This is pretty typical, but be sure to check your specific course for details. If you did not go ahead with that bundle deal I mentioned in part one, this will probably run you somewhere in the realm of $100 for the complete course. (Also, post-licensing requirements are not exactly 2 years from your licensing date. Be sure to check your individual license for expiration/deadline for course completion.)
What about after your first two years? Well, it is a little more difficult to get your CE, but not much so. You are required to take a certain number of courses, totaling 14 hours, broken down like so:
Florida Core Law - 3 hours (mandatory)
Real Estate and Business Ethics - 3 hours (mandatory)
Specialty credit - ethics (you are free to choose from among different courses)
These are not typically packaged so neatly into a course, but with the help of your local Association, it is certainly not difficult to get set up. PAR sends out emails regularly about their course offerings, allowing me to pick and choose which courses I want to sign up for! Just make sure you get your 14 hours every two years and you are good to keep going.
See, it isn't too tough! We always want to make sure we are providing the best for our clients, and CE allows us to do that. Laws and regulations are always changing, just as quickly as the real estate market changes.
Now that you know the gist of what it takes, are you ready to start your journey? Give us a call, send a message, or find one of us out and about. We would be overjoyed to help you become a member of our team!
This concludes the "Becoming a Realtor series"! Stay tuned for more posts from your favorite Real Estate Brokerage.
Find part one here and part two here.