If you are a self-starter who is interested in a field with almost unlimited income potential, then you may want to become a real estate agent in Arkansas. So whether you are planning to do real estate part-time or are making it your new full-time career, we are going to share everything you need to do to get licensed.
The Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC) requires that you be In order to become a licensed real estate agent in the state of Texas, you must be at least 18 years old, a US citizen or a lawfully admitted alien, high school diploma or the equivalent, and complete the following steps:
Once you decide to become a real estate agent in Arkansas, you’re probably excited and want to get started immediately. Before you leave your current job, it’s important to understand how long the licensing process can take in Arkansas. Here is what an average timeline looks like:
You can easily expedite the timeline if you take the online course (versus the classroom). We also recommend interviewing brokerages while you are waiting to take your exam and/or while AREC is processing your application. That way, you are ready to hang your new license with a broker as soon as the application is approved. It’s definitely possibly to get your Arkansas license in less than 6 weeks!
There are several required expenses when working to become a real estate agent in Arkansas:
As we outlined above, there are a few required expenses to get your actual license, but what many aspiring Realtors don’t realize is that there are several other required costs once you’ve officially become a real estate agent in Arkansas. While this may be hard to swallow, remember that you’re building a new business. So whether its a new restaurant, boutique, or your real estate empire, keep in mind there are always start-up costs involved.
Here are some of the most common expenses:
If you add up the costs to get your license and the costs to officially become an agent, you will likely need to spend somewhere between $1,700 and $2,300 to launch your new career.
Learn more about costs to become a real estate agent in Arkansas:
To get your real estate license, you’ll have to attend a school that’s approved by the Arkansas Real Estate Commission. There are at least a dozen approved real estate schools throughout the state. Some are online, others in person, and a few do a combination of the two. Here are a few of the most popular:
Here are a few of the most popular:
When shopping for the best Arkansas real estate schools, you’ll want to compare pricing, but there are a few other things you will need to consider:
In Arkansas, you must affiliate with a real estate brokerage in order actively help home buyers and sellers. This is often referred to as the “sponsoring broker” or “managing broker.” Picking the right brokerage to work with can be key to your success as a newly licensed agent.
We would recommend shopping for the best broker once you’ve completed the pre-licensing course and are waiting to take your state exam or while Arkansas is processing your application.
While many newly licensed agents are looking for the best commission splits when shopping for brokers, we would highly recommend that you make that #2 or #3 on your list. The most important thing you should look for in a brokerage is how they support brand new real estate agents. Do they have a formal training program? Will you have at least 3 people you can reach out to if you have questions? Are they available outside traditional business hours? Do they have mentors – and what exactly will the mentors do to assist you?
Most agents will describe the real estate licensing exam as “not easy.” There are 125 multiple choice questions on the exam and you must answer at least 70% of them correctly. We recommend taking lots of practice tests to prepare and if you still aren’t feeling 100% comfortable, you can enroll in an online real estate exam prep course.
The Arkansas real estate exam consists of 85 national questions and 40 questions that are state-specific. All questions are multiple choice, and you’ll have 4 hours to complete the exam.
It’s not uncommon for people not to pass the exam on the first try. They make it fairly simple for you to retake the exam, you only need to retake the failed portion of the exam. You must wait 24 hours before scheduling to retake the exam to ensure that your initial results were processed correctly. The cost to retake the Arkansas state exam is $75 per attempt.
In order to become a real estate broker in Arkansas, you must have been licensed as a real estate salesperson for at least 24 months within the previous 48-month period. You must also complete 60 hours real esetate broker coursework. Once you submit your Experience Form and education completion certificate to AREC, they will review, approve and allow you to schedule your state exam.
Arkansas has reciprocal agreements with Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia.
Honestly, it depends on what your goals are. If you just want to sell a few homes each year to friends and family, you’ll have to crunch the numbers to see if the cost of getting and maintaining your real estate license is worth it.
If you plan to jump in and make a career in real estate, then absolutely! The real estate market is booming. It can be a challenge moving from a salaried position to a commission-based business, so it’s important to have at least six months of savings in the bank. If you don’t have that yet, then you may want to keep your current job for a short period of time until you lay the foundation for your new real estate business.
Kerry Lucasse and the Building Better Agents team talk with hundreds of newly licensed real estate agents each year. Most have no idea how challenging the first year or two can be and how much you need to learn to be successful. This business is not as easy as it looks on TV! Real estate can be a rewarding and profitable business if you are a self-starter who is 110% committed to being successful and you have the support of a great mentor and brokerage.
I’ve helped hundreds of agents build successful businesses, generate more leads, and expand their teams into multiple states.
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