How to Become a Licensed Texas Real Estate Agent

Do you wish to pursue a career in the real estate market? Texas offers the perfect state for a fulfilling career as a real estate agent.

The Lone Star State has one of the most robust and fast-paced real estate markets in the country. It’s understandable why it dwarfs other states by almost four times in size—it offers agents plenty of lands to find opportunities to sell a property.

Now is the best time to become a real estate agent in Texas. Not only is the real estate market resilient, but there are also plenty of areas in residential sales, commercial sales, and apartment locating you can specialize in. Along with record-breaking home sales, it's little wonder Texas is attracting people who want to learn how to sell and manage a property.

If you're looking for a broker that offers training, career development, support systems, and mentorship, schedule an appointment today. To get started, let’s discuss the requirements you must first fulfill before you can qualify to become a real estate agent in Texas.

Texas Real Estate Agent Requirements

You must fulfill the following requirements to become a real estate agent in Texas:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Complete 180 hours of TREC-approved classes
• Send your form and fees to the Texas Real Estate Commission
• Pass your licensing examination
• Find a sponsoring broker

Education in Real Estate

Texas does not have any degree requirements to become a real estate sales agent. However, the state requires applicants to complete a 180-hour real estate curriculum. The curriculum is divided into six 30-hour courses:

• Principles of Real Estate I
• Principles of Real Estate II
• Law of Agency
• Law of Contracts
• Promulgated Contract Forms
• Real Estate Finance

Several real estate education schools in Texas offer both online and in-person classes that meet TREC’s standards. Top real estate educational providers in Texas include:

• Real Estate Express - Online
• CE Shop - Online
• Champions of Real Estate - Onsite
• Austin Community College – Onsite

In addition to passing the pre-license education classes, it’s advisable for a real estate professional to undergo exam prep. Many companies such as Kaplan provide exam prep materials for a real estate agent license test.

Pass the Texas Real Estate License Exam

While studying for your license exam, you will spend a huge chunk of your tuition taking the 180 hours of TREC-approved classes. Submit your course completion documents to the Texas Real Estate Commission after completing your pre-licensing course. Pearson VUE oversees the Texas real estate license exam. You can retake the state exam later if you fail to achieve the pass mark.

The qualifications to become a real estate agent are minimal at best despite the exam and tuition parameters being quite robust. Note that TREC doesn’t offer exemptions for alternative or related coursework including law school courses. Now that you’ve earned your license and fully settled in a sponsoring brokerage, what next? You will likely continue pursuing other real estate-related courses to scale higher heights through designations and titles.

Provide Fingerprints

Anyone who wants to pursue a career in real estate in Texas must agree to undergo a background check. You will need to have your fingerprints on file with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). The DPS will then pass your fingerprints on to the FBI for the background check. MorphoTrust is the vendor that currently collects and submits fingerprints for the relevant agencies in Texas.

You’ll need to pay a fee when making an appointment for fingerprinting. In case your professional, civil or criminal record is tarnished, you should request a Fitness Determination with TREC. It’s advisable to go through the fingerprinting process first before you begin incurring expenses for licensing applications.

Complete Your License Application

Once you've passed your course final exams, use TREC Online Services to next apply for an Inactive Sales Agent License. You can apply by mail as well which will set you back $20 in the paper processing fee for offline applications. Ensure you include copies of the certificates of completion for all 6 pre-license courses. An application fee should accompany your application as TREC automatically rejects applications that don't include payment.

Find a Sponsoring Broker

Texas and most states for that matter, require a real estate agent to find a sponsoring broker before one can start selling or managing property in the state. A sponsoring broker teaches a new agent the dos and don’ts of the real estate business. Besides mentoring and helping the agent scale their career, the broker will also guide them through their first initial contracts.

Furthermore, a new agent doesn’t need a sponsoring broker to acquire a real estate agent license. You can take the exam and become a licensed agent even before you find a broker. However, you cannot perform certain crucial activities such as handling funds which is a preserve of the brokers.

How to Find a Sponsoring Broker

A new agent will have the opportunity to interview different brokerage firms to find the broker that aligns with their career goals. Every sponsoring broker will offer slightly different benefits to joining their brokerage. There are both pros and cons to consider when choosing a sponsoring broker.

Local Independent Brokerages such as VIP Realty can offer benefits that national firms cannot match. Agents who join our team are delighted with the business tools and support we give them to help them grow their business. It's important to find the right broker to work with as they will help you learn the ropes in your young career as an agent.

Some questions to consider when interviewing a sponsoring broker include:

• How are their organic internet rankings?
• How many people visit their website daily or monthly?
• Do they update their blog often?
• Are their technological systems advanced and up-to-date?
• Does the broker offer new agents the opportunity to further their education and training?
• Do agents have free access to leads and marketing material?
• Does the broker offer agents the opportunity to scale their careers?

What is the Cost of Obtaining a Real Estate License in Texas?

Obtaining a real estate license in Texas will roughly add up to about $900. Some costs are fixed including the exam fee, fingerprinting fees, and license application fees. Note that the coursework and exam prep materials may vary in price.

The table below contains a breakdown of the fees you should expect to pay in your pursuit of a real estate license.

* Total will vary depending on the price of the qualifying tuition

Timelines for the Texas Pre-License Application

According to TREC, the pre-License application process in Texas should take at least one year to complete. But other factors may conspire to extend the process longer than 12 months. This is what the timeline looks like on average:

• 2 to 6 months to complete 180 hours of pre-licensing courses
• 2 to 3 weeks for TREC to process your application
• 30 to 60 days to establish a relationship with a sponsoring broker

In-person classes cannot be hurried up. However, students that are aggressive in their online courses can complete all the required steps and become real estate agents in only two months. Overall, the whole process can take around 18 months from the day you start the pre-license education to the day you activate your license.

FAQs

Do Agents Have Broker Support?

Yes, VIP Realty has a support team that is ready to help at any time. Our team includes board and MLS experts, transaction specialists, brokers for compliance questions as well as tech support. It's easy to contact members of the team by either email, chat, or phone.

Do Agents Have Access to Marketing Material?

Real estate is all about generating leads and branding yourself. From SEO, pre-built listing, Facebook Ad creation, buyer presentations, and Google AdWords, VIP Realty has got every agent covered.

Where do Agents Meet with Clients?

VIP Realty office location is for our office staff where we hold our office meetings and training. We do not provide a physical office for realtors. However, we offer great splits and support that allow our agents to comfortably meet clients during the home tour. If you need a professional office, you can schedule one of our office conference rooms.