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 Brittany works there.  She has done well there.  Can I give her your information and have her 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 |2023-10-19T10:05:16-04:00June 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…

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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 |2023-10-19T10:06:19-04:00May 18th, 2023|

Where Does Karen Climer Teach Real Estate Classes?

Today, I got a call from someone (for simplicity, we’ll call her Jane) who had heard about me, Karen Climer, and wanted to take a real estate class with me.  Jane did an internet search and called Climer School of Real Estate.  The person who answered the phone said that Climer School of Real Estate is now owned by another company.  But Jane is in luck because Karen was teaching the next class.

Jane registered for the class thinking that Karen Climer would be the instructor, but it was actually another person named Karen.  Was this school intentionally misleading Jane?  I don’t know.  I can only guess.  Jane told me she wasn’t very happy about it and thought that I would be teaching the class.

Jane has since learned that the Climer family sold that real estate school in 2014 and that there are no Climer family members at any Florida real estate school other than Demetree School of Real Estate, which is owned by Karen Climer.

The Climer legacy continues at Demetree School of Real Estate, which is growing quickly.  Our students consider Demetree School of Real Estate to be the best real estate school in Central Florida.

Please note that neither I, nor anyone in the Climer family, has any affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate.  My father, Ron Climer, sold the school in 2014.  You can find us at Demetree School of Real Estate in Orlando, Florida.

By |2021-12-17T05:12:59-05:00August 19th, 2021|
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