So you want to become a real estate agent? Welcome to the book that’s going to help you become one. Being a real estate agent is an extremely attractive career for many people. If you like looking at houses and other kinds of property and enjoy meeting and working with people, this job may be for you. Add to that having a flexible work schedule, essentially running your own business, and being rewarded for working hard and smart, and you’ve pretty much described a career in real estate sales.

Somewhere along the line, however, you discovered that real estate sales is a licensed occupation. Don’t worry, though; I wrote this book specifically to help you get that license. Ready for the full scoop? Read on, you soon-to-be real estate agent.

About This Book

Every state requires real estate agents to have a license to practice their occupation. Every state, at a minimum, also requires that you take and pass a state examination to get that license. Most states require more than just an exam. After you’ve made up your mind to become a real estate salesperson or broker (brokers’ licenses usually are obtained after you’ve spent time as a salesperson), you need to find out what the procedure is for getting your license in your particular state. Because most states have an educational requirement, I assume that you have to take a course before obtaining your real estate license.

So how does this book fit in with your education? I wrote it specifically with the idea of:

• Giving you material that is focused on the exam rather than general real estate practice.
• Providing you with an additional resource that contains explanations and examples of material that you may encounter in the classroom, in a textbook, or on the exam.
• Preparing folks in states that have no education requirements for their state exam.
• Providing practice exams with explanations of the answers to help you prepare for the exam.
• Helping you study key terms with flashcards online.

As the title states, this book is designed to help you prepare for and pass the state exam. In it, I discuss a wide variety of topics, such as the basics of the job, different real estate laws, the details of owning and transferring property, and issues such as contracts, leasing, and environmental regulations. Think that’s a lot? Well, I also cover everything you ever wanted to know about numbers stuff, from appraising property to calculating mortgages, taxes, and investments. And to pull it all together, each chapter contains review questions, and I provide four full-length practice exams (complete with answers and explanations) to help you get ready for the real thing.

If you’re a regular For Dummies reader, you know that a For Dummies book takes a modular approach to giving you information. That means you can pretty much read a section or a chapter and get the information you need without necessarily reading the entire book. That’s true of this book, too. Although you certainly don’t have to read the entire book to get what you need from it, it’s okay if you do. I also provide you with plenty of cross-references so you don’t have to remember where related subjects are. And just like all For Dummies books, feel free to skip sidebars; they offer good reading material, but their content isn’t covered on the exam. A few terms I’ve written about in this book are common to most chapters. Understanding them can help you get the most out of what you read and study and will prepare you for the exam because you’ll run into some of them there, too.

• I use the term “real estate agent” to mean anyone who holds some form of license to represent someone else for a fee in a real estate transaction. In most places, there are at least two levels of licensure: broker and salesperson. Some states have more than two. Unless I’m referring to a specific type of license, I use the term “real estate agent.”
• The terms “real estate” and “property” are used interchangeably. Even though real estate has a technical definition that I give you in Chapter 6, conversational convention is to use those two terms to mean the same thing. The term “property” can be modified as personal property, which is also defined in Chapter 6. It can also mean “vacant land,” but that is made clear as necessary.
• The term “land” usually means vacant land, or land without structures on it, but it may also be used as a reference to the land-only portion of a property that has a structure on it. For example, “He bought a piece of land on which to build a house.” “Her house sits on very rocky land.”
• The word “transaction” as I use it in this book involves any real estate deal. It can and often does mean a change of ownership, but it can also mean negotiating and signing a lease or some other real estate agreement.
• I use the words “convey” and “transfer” generally to mean a change in ownership. Real estate can be sold, given away, willed, and exchanged. All of these are conveyances or transfers of ownership.
• You may want to go to a party after you pass your real estate exam, but until then, I use the word “party” simply to mean a person or a company, as in, “There were two parties to the deal, a buyer and a seller.”
• The terms “landlord” and “tenant” can often be substituted for the terms “buyer” and “seller” when discussing items such as a real estate agent’s representation of someone. In other cases the references are a bit more specific, but you won’t have any trouble figuring out what I’m talking about.
• When discussing the relationship of a real estate agent to the person he represents, I use the terms “principal” and “client” interchangeably. The agent represents the principal, also known as the client.

Here’s some general information about what this book is not about. Many real estate textbooks on the market are designed to teach you about real estate. Some of them are used as textbooks in prelicensing real estate courses. Without going into a long explanation about the different approaches that each of these books takes, I want to be clear that this is not a real estate textbook.

Don’t base anything you do in your real estate practice only on what you read in this book. That doesn’t mean that this book does not contain accurate information about general real estate concepts. It does. But as I wrote this book, I had to leave out pieces of information or finer details simply because I don’t believe you’ll be tested on them. I think this book not only fulfills the purpose of preparing you to take the state exam, but it also provides a general overview of real estate issues. In all cases, whether in your real estate practice or sitting for the exam, you need to defer to information provided by your state licensing authority and any local prelicensing courses you may be required to take if it conflicts with the information in this book.

This book also doesn’t provide legal advice. I’m not an attorney. Real estate sales and related issues are full of topics that many people, including attorneys, believe are matters that require an attorney’s advice or that are best left up to an attorney. I unequivocally advise you that in any issue involving a legal matter, first and foremost, consult an attorney.

One last thing I want to mention concerns the subject of construction — not of the sentences in this book but rather of houses and other buildings. A significant inconsistency exists between and among states regarding whether they require you to know anything about construction for a state-licensing exam. It’s obviously a pretty detailed topic, and I do encourage you to learn something about construction techniques and materials as you start your real estate career. I even include some material about construction regulations in this book. (If you’re curious, check out Chapter 8.) In the interest of space, however, because of this inconsistency I decided to leave out a detailed chapter on construction. You do, however, need to find out whether knowledge of construction techniques, systems, and materials is a requirement for your state exam and then study the appropriate material.

Foolish Assumptions

I hope I’m not being too foolish, but the following are my assumptions about you, dear reader:

• You’re going to take, are taking, or have taken a prelicensing course for the real estate license that you’re seeking (salesperson or broker), or, if your state doesn’t require a course, you’ve already checked to see what the state wants you to know for the exam.
• You’re an aspiring real estate agent who needs a tactical guide to improving your score on the real estate license exam.
• You still have to work for a living because you haven’t won the state lottery, and you know that real estate can be a great career.
• You’re wanting some general knowledge about how real estate works and what agents do. You won’t be disappointed and maybe you’ll decide to become a real agent after all.
• You have a reasonably good command of the English language. Both state exam writers and I assume this. Don’t get discouraged if English is your second language, though. You may want to read what I have to say about this topic in Chapter 2.

Icons Used in This Book

The following icons are designed to help you use this book quickly and easily. Be sure to keep an eye out for them.

This icon points out sample questions within chapter discussions.

Items marked with this icon may vary from one state to the next. I usually give some general information about the subject, but when you see this icon, you need to check out the specifics in your own state. Where do you look for those specifics? In general, if you’re not required to take a course or use a textbook to take your state exam, all the material you need to read probably is available from your state licensing agency. (I give you information about how to find your state agency in Chapter 1.) In states where you have to take a course, make sure you look for and study those items that I mention as state-specific in your textbook or course handouts, or ask your instructor about them. I talk about this more in Chapter 27.

This icon points to information that’s especially important to remember for exam purposes.

This icon presents information like a memory acronym or some other aid to understanding or remembering material.

When you see this icon, pay special attention. The information that follows may be somewhat difficult, confusing, or harmful.

Beyond This Book

In addition to what you’re reading right now, this book comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that includes tips to help you prepare for the real estate licensing exam. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type Real Estate Licensing Exam For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.

You also get access to four full-length online practice tests and approximately 500 flashcards. To gain access to the online practice, all you have to do is register. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Register your book or ebook at Dummies.com to get your PIN. Go to www.dummies.com/go/getaccess.
2. Select your product from the dropdown list on that page.
3. Follow the prompts to validate your product, and then check your email for a confirmation message that includes your PIN and instructions for logging in.

If you don’t receive this email within two hours, please check your spam folder before contacting us through our Technical Support website at http://support.wiley.com or by phone at 877-762-2974. 

Now you’re ready to go! You can come back to the practice material as often as you want — simply log on with the username and password you created during your initial login. No need to enter the access code a second time.

Your registration is good for one year from the day you activate your PIN.

You can also check out the free Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com for some helpful definitions of terms, explanation of ownership, and a reminder of the fiduciary responsibilities of an agent.

Where to Go from Here

First things first: Contact your state real estate licensing authority and get the information you need for the kind of license you’ll be applying for, such as a salesperson’s license or a broker’s license. (You can get information on how to find your licensing agency in Chapter 1.) If you’re still not sure or you’re a little confused about where you’re headed, you may want to start your reading in Chapter 3, which explains the different jobs real estate agents do.

The information you want from your state includes a copy of the license law, an application, information on the content of the exam (if available), and any other information available about obtaining your real estate license. You may be able to get this information online. (If you’re already a broker, you probably are familiar with most of this. If you’re new to the field, you want the package of information your state sends out for people who want to become a licensed salesperson.)

When you get it, read the information carefully and take the next step. That may be enrolling in a course. In a few cases, it may mean studying the license law and the other information the state sends you. You have to do this anyway, but in states with no education requirement, studying this information and the material in this book is your preparation for the state exam. In either case, check out the chapters in this book that correspond with the subjects required for the type of license you’re getting (see the Table of Contents for help) and start studying. Before you actually take the exam, be sure to check out the information about the basics of the exam in Chapter 1 and my best studying and test-taking strategies in Chapter 2. After studying the different subjects areas for the exams, take the four practice exams in this book. You can download a fill-in-the-bubble answer sheet at www.dummies.com/go/relebubblesheets and use it as you take each practice exam. Download as many sheets as you need. (You also can use them for the ten sample questions at the end of chapters that discuss the subject areas.)

If I were your personal tutor as you embark on your real estate education, I’d instruct you to do the following:

• Go to class, pay attention, do the homework, and keep up with the reading.
• As you progress through your course, study the material in this book related to the material you’re covering in class.
• After completing a section or chapter, test yourself with the practice questions at the end of each chapter, and then diagnose your need for more study accordingly.
• When you’re ready to take the state exam, take the four practice exams. Use them to diagnose your need for more study in specific areas. I’ve constructed the exams to make it easy to diagnose where you may need more study.
• Make sure you study your state real estate license law for state-specific information that you may need to know.
• Take the state test, pass it, get your license, and start earning your first million.