Tips for the exam
Prior to the exam
- Get there an hour early. No sense getting yourself all worked up worrying about where to park, where to go, etc. Calmness will increase your score by 10%.
- Leave your cell phone in the car. This is the one time, as a real estate agent, the cell phone will get you in trouble.
- Generally they will allow bottled water, but nothing else, inside the exam room.
- They will allow you to go to the potty, but the potty uses valuable time. Avoid the rush. Go early, 30 minutes before the exam is scheduled.
- About fifteen minutes before the exam they will start barking instructions and you won't want to miss the excitement (yawn).
Taking the Exam
When they hand you the blank piece of paper, wait till they say begin, then write at the top 43,560, 5,280 and 640. That is how many feet in an acre, how many feet in a mile and how many acres in a section. By the way, the easy way to remember a section is that it is one mile wide by one mile long. Those numbers, or some derivation thereof, will comprise many of your math questions. Just by looking at them, you will be able to figure out most of the math. If you are not a math wizard, don't fret. Only a handful of questions, usually no more than 8 or nine, will be math.
At the top of the page, underneath your numbers, draw a horizontal line about a third of the page wide. Draw two vertical lines, about a third of the page down, dividing the horizontal lines in thirds. Above the first third mark "Skip", over the second mark "Maybe" over the third mark "Don't Know".
There are many questions on the exam, and people often scare themselves into lower scores worrying about how much time they have left. This will help. You are not actually going to ignore questions, but you are going to prioritize them, putting some of them off to the end. It is a surety that the answers you do know will be simple and quick. The answers you don't know will take some time to figure out. Do the easy ones first. Remember, you only need 105 right to pass.
In the "Skip" column you will put the numbers of the questions that will take too long to read or take too long to figure out. As a general rule of thumb, any question that takes more than two lines to ask, mark in the Skip column. Immediately mark 1-6 in the Skip column as these are generally the hardest questions on the exam to answer.
In the Maybe column, mark questions that you might have the answer to, but are not quite sure.
In the Don't Know column, well . . . I think you know what to do with those.
When you get to the end of the exam, answering all the questions you know, starting with the Maybe column, go back and answer the remaining questions. Then work through the Skips and finally the No Idea column.
As with any exam, there are often related questions within the same exam. Sometimes the answer to one question will trigger the answer to another. This is why you should get through the questions you are sure of first.
Taking the exam as above will assure that you have the greatest chance for passage. Many smart people are not good test takers and they will start at 1, get to about 100 before time runs out, leaving unanswered 30 or more questions they could have easily answered.
What if I don't pass?
As the boys from Jersey say, "Forget about it!" This is not like school where a low grade counts against you. Unless you want to confess it, no one will know you took the test more than once. Pay and sign up for the next exam immediately. Get back on the horse. If you didn't take the exam prep course, schedule the exam for a little later and take the prep course first. Honest, the prep courses really help.
Now That I've Passed, How do I get Started in the Business of Real Estate?
A word of caution; getting your real estate license is like James Bond getting his 007 license to kill. Until you've learned more, you are in no position to pull the trigger. Real Estate is very complicated and requires a great deal of training. Learning how to write the contracts and use the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) alone takes a couple of weeks of practice. As a real estate professional you have a fiduciary responsibility to your client. The excuse "I didn't know." won't go very far and certainly won't keep you free from liability. It is your job to know. In fact the National Association of REALTORSŪ code of ethics tells you to do only what you know.
While you are waiting to take your real estate exam, start your marketing plan by putting your Christmas Card list into an electronic format you can upload. After you get your license, interview and identify the company that best matches what you need, and sign up. Then run down to the local Real Estate Board and sign up for your membership and MLS access. Start practicing contracts and looking up properties immediately. Take both Winforms and MLS classes at the Board as soon as possible. You can't be a carpenter if you don't know how to use a hammer. You cannot be a good REALTORŪ unless you have, and know how to use, basic real estate tools.
Where Can I get Instruction and Help?
There are many good real estate instructors that cost lots of money. Some real estate firms can also give you instruction that will teach you how to get started. Some companies, like PSR, even teach you for FREE and FREE is a good price.
