Thinking of becoming a real estate agent? The Illinois market is hot right now. There’s always room for more agents to list the number of homes coming onto the market in 2021.
The real estate market doesn’t show any time of slowing down in the new year, either. Now is as good a time as any to get your real estate license.
But, before you do, you’ll need to take a real estate pre-license course. Fortunately, for you, we offer the real estate pre-license course online in Illinois.
Every state requires some form of pre-license coursework before you take your license exam. Potential real estate agents will be required to go through modules covering a wide variety of knowledge surrounding the real estate industry.
As an agent, you’ll be asked to deal with listing and sales agreements, real estate deeds and titles, as well as other legal paperwork. It’s an important job and people who pursue a career in real estate need to be well-educated in all facets of the industry.
Today, we’re going to go over what you can expect to encounter as you take the pre-license course or attend real estate school in Illinois. There is a lot of information to cover, so let’s get right to it!
Getting Your Real Estate License in Illinois
Before we dive into the details of the real estate pre-license course online in Illinois, let’s take a look at some of the general requirements to pursue a career in real estate.
the requirements you’ll need to satisfy to become an agent in Illinois fall under two general categories. First, you’ll need to meet some general requirements.
The general requirements to pursue your real estate license are
- You must be 18 years of age or older
- You must be a high school graduate or receive a similar degree (GED)
In addition to these general requirements, individuals will need to meet the educational requirements of the State of Illinois Real Estate Board. One of these requirements is the pre-license course.
After successful completion of the 75-hour pre-license course, you’ll need to take and pass the Illinois State real estate exam. You’ll need a test score of 75 or higher to pass the exam. Once you successfully pass the exam, you can fill out the online application to be a real estate broker.
As your career progresses, you’ll also be required to attend continuing education classes. In the State of Illinois, you’ll be required to complete 12 hours of CE credits every 2 years to keep your license active.
The Real Estate Pre-License Course Online In Illinois
The first step in your journey to becoming a real estate broker or agent is to take the pre-licensing course. This requirement is the same in every state. The only difference will be what the pre-licensing course looks like in your state.
For example, in Florida, the pre-licensing exam is a 60-hour course. In Illinois, however, we don’t have that luxury. Our online pre-license course has a 75-hour educational requirement.
The modules within the course cover a wide range of topics.
General Real Estate Principles
In the real estate principles section, students will learn key concepts to help them handle life as a new agent. One of the topics included is time management.
Being a real estate agent is like being an entrepreneur. You’re in business for yourself. It’s a new concept for most people to be in charge of their own time and their own income.
Learning key time management techniques will help you to become more comfortable managing your own career.
Everyday Real Estate Processes
During the principles section, students will also learn the listing and selling process. You’ll receive a brief overview of the paperwork involved in listing a house for sale. This particular topic will also help you to become familiar with the various software you’ll be required to use.
Each real estate board has their own MLS platform. The real estate principles section will teach you to navigate the process of listing properties on the Illinois MLS platform.
More principles like opening escrow, leases, conducting a closing, and transferring real property will also be covered. These sound more difficult than they seem. The trick to doing well with these concepts is taking your time with them and making sure you study.
Land descriptions and subdivisions are another somewhat tricky topic of the real estate principles section. This section of the exam will help potential agents to understand the legal description of a property. It also introduces students to the concept of the subdivision.
Most people don’t speak in terms of subdivisions when talking about their house or neighborhood. But, these sectors of the local area are very important to the real estate community.
Two houses may be only a few blocks apart from each other. But, if they’re in different subdivisions, it can drastically affect the value of each house.
Legal descriptions are important because they are the exact location of a particular property. They are even more precise than an address. You’ll need to get familiar with them because this information needs to go in any listing or sales contracts you prepare for sellers or buyers.
Contracts
The legal portion of the pre-license course is where most of your licensing exam questions will come from. This is some of the most important information in your course.
It’s important to understand the contracts and legal aspects of becoming a real estate agent or broker. Even making an innocent mistake can land real estate agents in some serious hot water. The wrong move can cause you to lose your license or even worse.
Some agents end up having to pay out thousands of dollars in fines. In extreme cases, there have even been real estate agents who end up serving jail time for immoral activities.
We’re not saying that to scare you. But, we want to stress the importance of understanding what you can and can’t do.
In addition to what is required on real estate contracts, you’ll also cover some key legal concepts. Discriminatory practices like redlining, as well as proper real estate ethics, are also covered.
Home Valuation
Another area of the real estate pre-license course online in Illinois focuses on calculating the value of a home. There are two basic methods used to accurately calculate a home’s current value.
One of the methods students will learn is called the Comparable Sales approach. You’ve probably already heard of this method. It’s usually referred to as “comping a property”.
For this method, students will have to find three similar houses in the neighborhood and compare them. The pre-license course will teach you how to add and subtract value based on different home features. From there, you’ll arrive at a final value for the home.
The comparable sales approach works well in neighborhoods that have uniform housing inventory. For example, most of the houses in the area might be 3 bed, 2 bath homes with 2-car garages that are all around 1500 sq. ft. in size. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work that way.
Square Footage Method of Valuation
Some neighborhoods you encounter will have a wide variety of unique homes in them. How do you calculate the home value then?
For situations like that, the pre-license course arms agents with the square footage method. This method works by taking at least three properties in the neighborhood, dividing their price by the size of the home, and arriving at the price per square foot.
From there, you multiply that price by the square footage of your subject property to arrive at the home’s value. This method is great for unusual neighborhoods because relying on simple math takes unique home features out of the equation.
It’s important to note that agents usually only calculate the home’s value for listing purposes. If a buyer is getting a mortgage, an appraiser will calculate the value. If someone is buying the house cash, like an investor, they will most likely do their own due diligence.
They may ask you for a com report but you’ll know how to pull that by using your Realtor Board’s MLS software.
Cost of the Real Estate Pre-License Course
If you’re thinking of pursuing a career in real estate, you need to think of it in terms of starting your own business. When you look at it that way, becoming an agent has some of the lowest start-up costs around compared to other businesses.
You can find the real estate pre-license course online in Illinois for around $300. That will cover all 75 hours of education you need to get your career started.
You must make sure you receive your education from an accredited course provider. Whoever administers your course must be approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Valid providers will be able to provide you with an IDFPR license number.
As you move forward, you’ll have to pay other fees to “hang your license” with a broker and join your local Real Estate Board. It’s important to do your research to find a brokerage that works best for you and what you want for your career.
The Time Is Now
Now, you know all you need to know about taking the real estate pre-license course online in Illinois. There’s no time like the present. We know you’ll take what you learned here and go on to have an amazing career in real estate.
Contact the myrealestatepractice.com team to get started today. We’re also here to answer any other questions you may have about the course or what’s required of you.
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