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Eleven Reasons That Real Estate Is A Better Career Than The One You Have

Real estate can be a great career. For someone without a college degree, I think it’s the best career that is not a trade or the military. It might even be better than a trade or military because you can do it at any age. Here are 11 reasons why I think it’s a great career:

Freedom – You Are The Boss

It’s true that you have to work under a broker. Generally speaking, however, you will be an independent contractor. If you want to take Tuesday off to go to your child’s play, take Tuesday off. If you like starting the day late and working later, rather than starting early and ending early, you can do that. If you want to work from home, you can. If you prefer wearing polo shirts rather than suits, you can. If you want to take the first week of July off for vacation, you don’t need permission. Basically, you have a lot of control of how your day and year works.

You Control Your Income

Not only do you control how your day works, you also have significant control over how much money you make. There are agents I know who make $5,000 a year and they are happy with that. That’s all they want to do. For them, it’s more of a hobby. I know other agents who make $50,000 and they are happy with that. I also know agents who make $500,000. Essentially, if you want to make more money, you don’t have to ask for a raise. You just have to work a little harder or work a little smarter.

Even better, you get to set the price tag. You get to decide how much to charge for your services. Some people charge a percentage. Some people charge a flat fee. Some people charge a lot and offer a lot of services. Others charge less and offer minimal services. You get to decide.

Your Business Is Scalable

Maybe you don’t want to work harder. You can work smarter instead. Real estate is scalable. You can hire an assistant, so you don’t have to do that work. Eventually hire a few more agents to join your team. Later, you can sell the team to someone else. If you understand business, this is a business that is scalable.

You Can Flex Your Creativity Muscles

Because you have so much freedom, you can flex your creative muscles. If you want to start a video advertising campaign, you can do that. If writing is more your style, there is room for that. I’ve even seen Florida Realtors do parody songs about their listings. It’s your business, so you can brand it the way you want to.

The More You Learn, The More You Earn

Initially, real estate is difficult – there is a lot to learn. You wonder how veteran agents get their offers written so quickly and how their CMAs are so much better. The more you learn, the easier it gets. That’s true in any business. In real estate, however, the more you know, the more money you can make. You don’t need to wait to get a promotion. You don’t need to wait for the boss to recognize that you have learned something. The customers will recognize it, and that’s where you make your money.

Low Barriers To Entry

The qualifications for this job are minimal. In Florida, you have to be at least 18 years old, have a social security number, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and not too much criminal history. Once you pass the class and state exam, you are as qualified as anyone else.

It will probably cost you about $2,000 to get started, about $500 to take the real estate class and get your license, and about $1,500 to start your business. I can’t think of many businesses that you can start like that. Most businesses require a lot of capital expenses upfront.

There Is Always A Need For Real Estate Agents

Real estate is never going to go out of style. People will always want to buy. People will always want to sell. I can’t think of a time that I have ever heard someone say, “I don’t really need a place to live.” That would be like saying, “I don’t really need food this week.” There will always be a need for real estate and real estate agents.

It is true that there are people who buy and sell without a real estate agent. But there are also people who unclog their toilet without a plumber. Most people hire a real estate agent. That is even more true in commercial real estate than residential. In commercial, the company doesn’t want to waste time finding a new storefront. They just want you to do it and tell them about it. Even large companies with real estate divisions will hire an outside agent, and happily pay you for your services.

You Will Learn About Good Real Estate Investments

As an agent, you will run across good deals. You will often learn about houses before they become well known. When you are looking at dozens of houses a week, you can’t help but come across some good deals. When this happens, you can purchase them for yourself. Maybe as a home, an investment property, or something to flip. If you keep your ear to the ground, you will learn about good real estate investments.

Every day is interesting

Once you’ve been in the field for a while, you will get the hang of things. You will have many transactions are fairly routine. But things will come up that make transactions interesting. Maybe this one was inherited by the grandkids, and 12 of the 13 owners want to sell but the last one is a hold out. Maybe we need a suit to quiet title. Maybe the neighbor’s fence is encroaching onto the property.

You Will Meet All Kinds of People

Everyone needs a home, so you will meet a little bit of everyone. Nothing is ever the same because people are never the same. One first-time owner will be very nervous and call you all the time. Another one in the same position will respond differently. You will see all types. Because you meet so many people, you will meet some people who will become good friends.

You Will Learn More About People Than You Will About Houses

You will learn a lot about houses, and you will see all types of houses. But this career is really about people. You might have a client that is a divorcing couple. They can’t agree on anything except that they hate the other person. The primary goal of each of them is to hurt the other one. You are the mediator who is supposed to get the house sold. A different divorcing couple is so ready to sell that they are both willing to sell at half-price just to be done with each other.

You have some people who are so attached to the family home that they think we should add $100,000 for nostalgia value. You got other people who think they know more than you do. Others who trust you implicitly. Basically, you will work with all kinds of people, see all types of relationships, and learn a lot about the way people work.

Real estate has been a good career for me and my family. I expect that it will be a good career for you too. If you are interested in learning more about a career in real estate, the first step is getting a Florida real estate license. Call us at Demetree School of Real Estate to learn the process.

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|2026-08-04T12:48:56-04:00August 4th, 2026|

Why is Real Estate School So Difficult?

The Florida real estate exam is difficult. When I went to real estate school, I had every advantage in the world. Both of my parents were real estate instructors. When I got together with my extended family, I sat at the kid’s table, but the adults always talked about real estate. They would talk about developments, and tenants, and sales, and just whatever was pertinent at the time. So by the time I got to real estate school, I knew a lot of the terminology. But I still studied my butt off for the state exam. Why do so many people find real estate school difficult? There are a number of reasons:

It’s new material. As adults, we are used to knowing how to do things. We don’t really have the stamina or tolerance for learning new things that we had when we were younger. So learning anything new is difficult.
The vocabulary. There is a lot of vocabulary in real estate. You might know some of it if you bought a house, but you might not. It might feel like you are learning a new language.
Trying to associate the law with real life. I tell my students that title insurance is optional. Sometimes, they insist that it’s required. They think it’s required because, in their experience, their mortgage company always told them that they had to buy title insurance. Even if you were paying cash, you’d have to have rocks in your head to not buy title insurance. But that doesn’t mean it is legally required. Sometimes, students who have purchased a few houses or have some real estate experience get frustrated when the law doesn’t line up with their experience.
You don’t want to look stupid. Nobody wants to be embarrassed in front of a group of people. Some people are so worried about that, that they will pretend to understand when they actually don’t understand. I’ve had students say, “I’ll just go home and read it some more.” I always wonder why they think they are going to learn it better reading the book and teaching themselves than asking the teacher to explain it.
You have other priorities. Many students take the class and have a lot going on. They have two jobs. They have a family. They have church activities. They have a rec basketball team they play on. Oh, and they also have real estate school too. Usually that doesn’t work out for them. For the period that you are in real estate school, you need to make real estate school one of your top priorities. If you study “when you have time”, the class will be very difficult. If you plan to study for an hour a day unless the house catches fire, you will do well.

The people that find real estate school less difficult are the ones who prioritize real estate school for the period that they are in school. They study, do the homework, ask questions, and genuinely try to learn the material. They embrace the learning. They take a state exam review class and pass the exam the first time they take it.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the people who do that are also the ones who succeed in 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|2025-01-20T17:30:36-05:00January 20th, 2025|

Is the Florida Real Estate Exam an Open Book Exam?

There are two tests required to get a Florida real estate exam. The first one is an end-of-class exam. You have to pass this to get a certificate for completing the class. The test is a three-hour exam. A passing score is 70%. You cannot use any notes or reference any material. If you are taking the class as an online self-study class, you will take the test at home. At Demetree School of Real Estate, we use the honor system for this exam. You have to attest that you did not use any assistance.

The second test is the state exam. This is the exam that most people are referring to when they talk about the real estate exam. This test is administered at a Pearson Vue test center. There are many of them throughout the state. Once again, you cannot use any notes or reference material while taking the exam. You have 3.5 hours to take this exam. A passing score is 75%.

While some schools focus on helping you pass their end-of-class exam, at Demetree School of Real Estate, we prepare people to pass both exams. Also, if you went to one of those real estate classes that prepares you for their end-of-class exam but not the state exam, we offer a state exam review class that can help with that as well.

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|2024-11-26T14:55:54-05:00November 26th, 2024|

Some Florida Real Estate Schools Give Private Customer Information To Brokers

As a school owner, I frequently get requests from brokers to send them a list of my students and their contact information. I usually ask if they are willing to give out their customers’ information to random people. Of course, they think that’s a preposterous proposition. But that’s exactly what they are asking me to do.

I have never given out students’ information without their permission. That’s how I want to be treated as a customer, so that’s what I give to my customers.

Unfortunately, not all school owners think like that. Because I’m a broker, I often receive ads from other school that are my competitors. A new school opened recently and selling points to brokers is that if you refer customers to us, we will send you the names and contact information for all of our customers. In other words, they are using your information as a bargaining tool to get brokers to recommend their school. Wow!

Now frequently, I have a student say something like, “I want to work with Keller Williams. Do you know anyone there?”

I am happy to say, “My student, Ray. works there. He has done well there. Can I give him your information and have him call you?”

In that case, I would be glad to facilitate the introduction with permission from the customer.

Our commitment to our customers is that we will not be the reason you will get additional spam emails, spam texts, or another other advertisements. You will get enough of that without our encouraging it. When you register for real estate school, ask the school if they ever give away, trade, or sell your information to brokers.

Please note that neither Karen Climer nor Demetree School of Real Estate has any connection to Climer School of Real Estate, Gold Coast Schools or Colibri. My father, Ron Climer, started Climer School of Real Estate. He sold it in 2014. It has since been sold to a large corporation.

By Karen Climer|2024-07-05T17:04:05-04:00June 5th, 2023|

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|2024-06-05T16:02:50-04:00May 18th, 2023|