Getting A Real Estate License Archives - Demetree School of Real Estate

You Can’t Do That – It’s Illegal

I came across a contract recently that said, “earnest money deposit to be turned over to the seller immediately and on top of price.” I had never seen this before, but it seemed plain as day what it meant. It meant the earnest money was not to be escrowed. It was to be delivered directly to the seller, put in the seller’s bank account for their own use, and was an additional fee on top of the price.

In a discussion with other agents, many agents said things like, “The earnest money is required to be put in an escrow account.”

Or, “The earnest money deposit is required to count toward the purchase price.”

Or, “The seller can’t do that. It’s illegal. The earnest money deposit must ALWAYS go immediately to the title company.”

There are certain things that are law and cannot be negotiated. For example, there are certain disclosures that are required to be delivered to the buyer. The buyer cannot waive their right to see those. The buyer doesn’t have to read them. He can throw them in the trash as soon as the seller hands them over, but the seller has to give the disclosures.

But that vast majority of the contract is 100% negotiable. One of those negotiable items is the amount of earnest money deposit, and whether it is placed in escrow. In Florida, if a broker accepts the deposit, they have to put it in escrow, either in their own escrow account, an attorney’s escrow account, or a title company’s escrow account. But if it is given directly to the seller, he can do whatever he wants to with it. For example, when I bought my house, I didn’t pay any escrow. I showed up with all the money at closing. I was OK with that. The seller was OK with that. It all worked out. If I hadn’t shown up at closing, the seller wouldn’t have as much recourse. But in this case, he wasn’t worried about that. I have heard of others doing this occasionally as well. It’s a little unconventional, and not something I would recommend in most cases. But in some cases, it’s perfect.

Too often, agents think that the standard preprinted contract is the contract, and it cannot be changed. If someone wanted to put a condition in the contract that all parties have to show up to closing wearing pink shirts or the contract is terminated, they could. Is that stupid? Yes. Is it legal and enforceable? Also, yes.

The point is there are few things in real estate that are non-negotiable. People add or delete things from contracts that sometimes only make sense to them. The Realtor who succeeds is the Realtor who can be flexible, even when someone wants to change the preprinted contract.

If you want to learn more about contract and everything else you need to know to get your Florida real estate license, check out Demetree School of Real Estate.

Please note that Karen Climer has no affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate. Her father, Ron Climer, sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014. It has since been involved in several mergers and acquisitions and is owned by a large investment company. Karen owns Demetree School of Real Estate in Orlando, Florida.

By Karen Climer|2025-05-26T11:04:52-04:00May 26th, 2025|

Why Real Estate Is The Perfect Side Job For a Hair Stylist Or Barber

I get my haircut every five weeks, like clockwork. Men often get their haircut even more frequently. Some women go to multiple hair stylists: one to get their hair dyed, a different one to get it cut, a different one for a blow out.

As a hair stylist or barber, you talk to a lot of people every week. You likely have a reputation of being a connector. You know a lot of different people in a lot of different professions and are willing to connect them.

Let’s say you are cutting someone’s hair and the client says, “I think John and I are going to sell the house. We want something a little smaller.”

You might say, “I know a great Realtor. Her name is Karen. Here’s her number. Give her a call.”

What if you had a real estate license? You could say, “I know a great Realtor. She has helped several of my clients. Do you want me to have her call you?” You send the Realtor the information. Realtor gets the listing. You get a referral commission. If you earned a thousand dollars a month doing that, that might cover your mortgage payment, or your car payment, or maybe go to your vacation fund.

It’s basically free money. You are getting paid for something you already probably do. All you have to do is get your real estate license. If you are a licensed hair stylist in Florida, you are familiar with the licensing process. Real estate licensees are licensed through the DBPR, just like cosmetologists and barbers. Once you are licensed, you can hang your license with a referral broker. If you need a good referral broker, give me a call and I can help.

Please note that Karen Climer has no affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate. Her father, Ron Climer, sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014. It has since been involved in several mergers and acquisitions and is owned by a large investment company. Karen owns Demetree School of Real Estate in Orlando, Florida.

By Karen Climer|2024-12-18T11:39:12-05:00December 18th, 2024|

How To Make Money in Real Estate While Keeping Your Full-Time Job

There are many people who get a real estate license who can’t afford to quit their job and start a commission-only real estate job. Maybe they need the income. Maybe they need the health insurance. Maybe the schedule doesn’t work for them.

One way to make money in real estate is through referrals. This could be particularly lucrative if your full-time job involves meeting a lot of people. Let’s say you are a hair stylist… Half of your job is talking to people. Probably many of those people tell you that they are considering buying a house or selling their house soon. If you had a real estate license, you could say, “Would you like me to recommend a good Realtor? I’ll give them your number and have them call you.” All you have to do is give the agent their information and discuss the referral fee you want from the agent. When they house sells, you will get paid.

The amount of the referral fee varies depending on:

How well you know the prospect. You might expect a higher referral fee for referring your mother than you would for referring someone you met in the grocery store line.
How well you know the agent you are sending the referral to. For example, the agent might be willing to pay a higher referral fee to a past client (who is licensed) or consistent referral partner than they would a one-off relocation company
The price of the property. The agent might be a willing to pay a higher percentage for a $300,000 house than they would for a $3million house. Although the percentage might be smaller, you would make more money on the larger house.

In most cases, one referral will cover the cost of real estate school, so anything on top of that is gravy. If you knew a good Realtor and you knew someone who needed a Realtor, you probably would make the referral. With a license, you can get paid for something that you would be doing anyway.

If you know a lot of people and are looking for a way to make some extra income, get your real estate license. Classes at Demetree School of Real Estate are available in-person and online. Check out our upcoming classes at www.DemetreeRealEstateSchool.com

Please note that Karen Climer has no affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate. Her father, Ron Climer, sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014. It has since been involved in several mergers and acquisitions and is owned by a large investment company. Karen owns Demetree School of Real Estate in Orlando, Florida.

By Karen Climer|2024-08-08T11:16:36-04:00August 8th, 2024|

How Does A Florida Attorney Get A Florida Real Estate License?

Sometimes Florida attorneys decide they want a Florida real estate license. Lawyers who are active members of the Florida Bar do not have to take the sales associate pre-licensing class. They only need to pass the Florida real estate exam to get a Florida real estate license.

Florida attorneys are also exempt from taking the 14-hour continuing education every two year. The assumption is that attorneys get enough continuing education when renewing their Florida Bar license.

The one class Florida attorneys with a real estate license do have to complete is the 45-hour post-licensing class. This is a class that you must take before your first renewal.

Florida attorneys who want a Florida real estate license do not need to take the prelicensing class, but they do need to pass the state exam. How do they do that? I would recommend getting the textbook and studying that. The textbook I use is Florida Principles, Practice, and Law by Linda Crawford and Denise Johnson. Once you feel reasonably confident in the material, I would recommend taking the state exam review course at Demetree School of Real Estate. This is a cram class that is designed to pound the information into your head right before you take the state exam.

As always, if you have any questions about this or anything else related to getting a real estate license, please call us at 407-456-3448.

Please note that neither Karen Climer nor Ron Climer have any affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate. Ron Climer, Karen’s father, sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014. It is now owned by Gold Coast Schools, which is owned by Colibri.

By Karen Climer|2024-06-05T16:02:38-04:00February 5th, 2024|

Are There Too Many Real Estate Agents in Florida?

Sometimes, before someone registers for class, they ask me if there are already too many real estate agents in Florida. What they really want to know is “Is there room for me to break into this field? Or is the field already saturated?”

There are a lot of people in the real estate industry, for sure. But there is still plenty of room for you. The Orlando Business Journal publishes a list of the top real estate agents each year. The best agent in Central Florida sold 1,324 houses last year. Their gross volume was $471,220,000. That person has less than 1% of the market share. There were thousands of other people working in the industry as well making a good living.

So there are already a lot of agents, but we are talking about an area where more than 30,000 houses were sold last year. You couldn’t sell that many if you want to.

This is a field where you just need a small sliver of the pie to make a very good living. It is also a field where there is a lot of dead weight. What I mean by that is that there are plenty of agents who sell 1-2 houses a year, sometimes even no houses. These people are not your competitors.

Go ahead and get your real estate license and start your new career today.

Please note that I have no affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate or Gold Coast Schools. My father, Ron Climer, owned Climer School of Real Estate until 2014. He sold it and it was eventually purchased by Gold Coast Schools, which is owned by Colibri. I own Demetree School of Real Estate, which is a small business.

By Karen Climer|2024-06-05T16:02:40-04:00January 18th, 2024|