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

Which Florida Real Estate Schools Are Not Teaching Florida Material?

Many Florida schools don’t know what is happening in Florida. How can you tell? Like any scam, there are many red flags. Some of those red flags are…

The “teacher” on the video doesn’t have a Florida real estate instructor license. If they are teaching you how to pass a Florida exam and they haven’t passed that exam themselves, they are a paid actor. If you want to learn how to act, watch these videos. If you want to pass the real estate exam, be sure the person has a Florida real estate license. You can look up any Florida licensee here.
Money-back guarantees. If the school offers a money-back guarantee or a no-pass, no-pay policy, they are not familiar with Florida laws. Florida schools are not allowed to offer money-back guarantees based on passing. One of these curriculum providers sent me sample material to see if I wanted to use it. I looked at the material. Several of the “Florida” practice questions were incorrect. I later found out, it was correct information for Tennessee law, but not Florida. Obviously, I don’t use that material in my classes.
Offering too many states. The phrase “jack of all trades but master of none” comes to mind. If you have to choose your state on their website, they are likely not familiar with how Florida works. For example, the Florida test is application based, which means you have to be able to apply the knowledge. That is not true in many states. Some of the schools that cover all 50 states offer practice questions that are much easier than our Florida real estate exam. You will feel confident going into the exam because you did well on the easy practice questions, but you will be dumbfounded when you see how difficult the Florida real estate exam is.
The school does not have a physical Florida address. There are many schools that operate primarily in the cloud. That works for some people. However, Florida rule requires that these schools have a physical address and phone number that students can access. If they don’t have that, they don’t know Florida law. If their address is not in Florida, they likely know more about their home state than Florida.

None of these are actually indicators that a school is a rip-off or doesn’t understand Florida law. They are just indicators that it might be. Much like a bunch of typos in an email does not guarantee that it is a scam. It’s just one of the indicators. But just like those emails, the best thing to do is to err on the side of caution.

Demetree School of Real Estate is a Florida-based school. In fact, we are home grown. If you are trying to get a Florida real estate license, check out our real estate prelicensing class schedule.

Please note that neither I nor anyone in the Climer family has any relation to Climer School of Real Estate. My father, Ron Climer, sold the school in 2014. It has since been sold to a large corporate conglomerate based in Minnesota. If you are looking for Karen Climer, you will find me at Demetree School of Real Estate in Orlando, Florida.

By Karen Climer|2023-05-18T13:04:56-04:00May 18th, 2023|

How Much Does It Cost To Take The Florida Real Estate Exam?

The cost to take the Florida real estate sales associate state exam just increased significantly. Now, it costs $57.75 each time you take the state exam. The good news is that the cost of the weekend exam cram review at Demetree School of Real Estate is staying the same. So if you don’t want to take the state exam multiple times, consider taking the state exam review class taught by Karen Climer.

When the cost of the state exam went up, the Florida Real Estate Commission voted to reduce the application fee to $62.75. However, it is still going to cost half of the licensees more to get a license than it used to. Why do I say that?

The application fee you pay once. The exam fee you pay EACH time you take the exam. Last month (January 2023), 47% of the first-time test takers failed and will have to pay to take it a second time. Even worse, 33% of the repeaters failed and will have to pay $57.75 to take it for the third, fourth, or fifth time. Some people have taken even more times than that!

The only way to pass the exam is to study. But more importantly that that, you have to study the right material. If you don’t know how to study for the Florida real estate exam or don’t know what the best real estate study material is, give Karen Climer a call at Demetree School of Real Estate at 407-456-3448.

By Karen Climer|2023-03-15T12:52:24-04:00February 20th, 2023|

What You Need To Know To Pass The Florida Real Estate Broker Exam

I frequently get asked what is covered on the Florida real estate broker’s exam. Fortunately for us, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) tells us. We don’t have to guess.

They publish a booklet called the Candidate Information Booklet. There is a lot of useful information in that booklet. On pages 3-5, it tells you what content is covered on the exam. Here’s the breakdown:

Real Estate Brokerage Business – 43 questions
Valuing Property – 9 questions
Listing and Selling Property – 6 questions
Contract – 11 questions
Financing – 4 questions
Closing Transactions – 12 questions
Federal Income Tax Law – 5 questions
Investment – 4 questions
Zoning and Planning – 1 question
Environmental Issues – 1 question
Property Management – 1 question
Real Estate Market – 3 questions

It even gives you a sample closing statement question.

If you are planning to take to the Florida Broker Real Estate Exam, be sure to check out this little booklet. Also, feel free to take my weekend state exam review. Most of the students in the review class are sales associates. There is so much material on the broker exam that you learned in the sales associate class (and were supposed to remember) that it is worth taking it.

Please note that I have no affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate or Gold Coast Schools. My father, Ron Climer, started Climer School of Real Estate. He sold it in 2014. It has changed hands a few times and it now owned by a large national corporation. I own Demetree School of Real Estate.

By Karen Climer|2022-12-12T17:08:28-05:00August 30th, 2022|

Many Brand New Florida Real Estate Licensees Are Penalized Over Simple Error. Don’t Let It Happen To You.

Yesterday, I attended the monthly FREC meeting. There were about a dozen cases on the legal agenda that involved completion certificates for the prelicensing class.

When the state started offering online proctored state exams during the pandemic, this created some issues for collecting course completion certificates. Some applicants took their state exam without submitting their course completion certificate to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Those students are now being penalized by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC). The penalties have ranged from a small fine to revocation of their license. Any penalty, including a public reprimand, will appear on your license record that the public can see. What a way to begin your career!

The DBPR has emailed all licensees in question. Unfortunately, many licensees ignore the email or do not have a valid email on file with the DBPR. You are required to have a valid email on file with the DBPR, so if that’s the issue, give them a call to get it fixed. If you received an email and ignored it, perhaps it’s time to pay attention.

If you took an online proctored state exam between August 4, 2020 and May 29, 2022 and aren’t sure if the DBPR has your school certificate, call the DBPR at (850) 487-1395 to double check. You don’t want to start your career off with a public reprimand and a fine. It’s worth making a quick call to double check.

Please note that neither I nor anyone in the Climer family has any affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate or Gold Coast Schools. My father, Ron Climer, sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014. It has since been bought by a large corporate conglomerate. I proudly own Demetree School of Real Estate in Orlando, Florida.

By Karen Climer|2022-06-16T15:25:44-04:00June 16th, 2022|

What Is The Pass Rate For The Florida Real Estate Exam?

The State of Florida just sent out the state exam statistics for 2021. They aren’t good. Last year 85,701 took the sales associate state exam and 33,246 passed. That is a 39% pass rate. That 85,701 includes people who are taking it the first, second, or even tenth time.

For first time takers, the numbers are a little better – 43,564 took the exam for the first time and 20,311 passed. That is a 47% pass rate.

Why do so many people fail the exam? I don’t have a definitive answer to that, but I do have some theories…

Their native language is not English.

If your native language is not English, the exam is going to be more challenging. I wish I had a solution to that, but I don’t. But it is a real reason that people struggle on the exam.

They don’t know what is going to be on the exam.

My students know what is going to be on the exam. I don’t teach material that isn’t on the exam. I know some schools that want to teach you a lot of practical information. I know some schools that want to teach you material that is on the broker exam because they think it’s important. I know of some instructors who don’t have a clue what is on the exam.

I’ve been teaching this class since 2003. I have been talking to students since 2003. I know what is on the Florida real estate exam and that is the only thing I teach.

They don’t study enough.

Sometimes people think, “I never studied for anything in high school and I did OK, so I probably don’t need to study this.” That might have worked in high school, but it won’t work for this exam. I tell my students to study like their future career depends on it. You can’t pass this exam without studying a lot.

If you are preparing to take the exam and want a refresher course to prepare you, check out my class at Demetree School of Real Estate. I, Karen Climer, teach all of the exam cram review classes. Legally, I can’t guarantee that you will pass the exam after you take that class. But I can guarantee that we cover what is on the Florida state exam. We don’t talk about real life. We don’t talk about how they do it in other states. I can guarantee that you will be more prepared after the class than you were before the class. I can’t tell you how many times people say, “My prelicensing teacher never taught us this…” If you are looking to be in the 39% who pass the exam, you won’t find a better review class than the one we offer at Demetree School of Real Estate.

Note: Neither I nor anyone in the Climer family have any affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate. My father sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014. It is now own by a large nationwide corporation. If you are looking for Karen Climer, you’ll find me at Demetree School of Real Estate in Orlando.

By Karen Climer|2022-02-01T12:32:33-05:00February 1st, 2022|