Tuesday, September 12, 2006

RE Broker's License RE Broker's License

I am in the process of reacquiring my Colo. Real Estate Broker's license. I first obtained one over twenty years ago, and maintained it until a couple of years ago, mostly to conduct family business (we own apartment buildings). After almost a decade without using it (since apartment buildings were overpriced during that time), I let it expire. Mostly, this was an issue of not keeping up on the 8 hours a year of continuing education required.

But we are seriously now looking for properties and potentially selling one. In particular, a broker's license would allow me to join the Board of Realor's, and, thus get access to the MLS.

As a result, I decided to reacquire my broker's license. Unfortunately, I had let it lapse for too long to just pay fees and make up the continuing education. Rather, I had to take classes and retake the broker's exam. Things looked bleak, until I happened to discover that there is a fast track education requirement for licensed attorneys. Instead of the normal 168 hours, or the 120 hours I was facing, applying as an attorney only requires 12 hours of classwork, mostly in closings.

I passed the class last spring, but then dropped the project to concentrate on paying work before finishing the exit exam. I started back a couple of weeks ago, and am nightly taking a national and a Colorado practice test. Last night, for the first time, I passed the national portion. I came close on the Colorado portion, and after studying today, hope to pass tonight. But then, I expect to practice those tests for a week or so before taking the live test. You need 85% to pass, and I am hoping to be in the 90s before taking the real thing.

It turns out that my biggest problems are in the various ins and outs of the new brokerage relationships that Colorado has instituted in the last decade or so, to get around the dual-agency problem. Also, I am surprised at the number of incorrect answers considered correct by the real estate school - they obviously aren't attorneys. Indeed, I probably would have scored in the mid-90s last night on the national exam if my answers to the questions I am disputing are correct.

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