How To Prepare for Your Texas Real Estate Exam

Many people are interested in pursuing a career in real estate within the State of Texas for several reasons. Some of them include the unlimited pay cap, flexible work hours, and the strong housing market within the state. In 2016, the total sales volume in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area surpassed $28 billion.

Combine this with increased demand in the housing market as the economy recovers from the pandemic and a rise in median home prices by 13.4% in the first quarter of 2021, and you’re looking at a very profitable industry. However, you need a license to work as a real estate agent within the state. To obtain a license you need to pass your Texas real estate exam.

Passing the exam is not a difficult task when you’re armed with the right information. So I’ll take you through what you’re required to do before taking the exam, how the exam is structured and the best way to prepare for your Texas real estate exams. Keep on reading!

How Difficult Is the Exam?

Obviously, the exam is not a doctorate thesis or Bar exam. However, you are required to have a high school diploma or GED before applying for the exam. Therefore a certain level of intellectual ability is required. Only about 62% of people who sit for the exam pass it on the first attempt, so the failure rate is significantly high.

This shouldn’t discourage you though. With the right educational tools, information, and practice you can significantly increase your chances of acing the exam on your first try.

Things You Need to Do Before Taking Your Texas Real Estate Exam

Most people would rather just skip the entire process and go straight to the licensing exams. However, certain criteria have to be met and protocols to be followed. In summary, they include:

You must be at least 18 years old
You must have a high school degree or GED
Meet TREC’s qualifications for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity
Complete all 180 hours of your real estate pre-licensing classes
You must submit for fingerprinting
Find a sponsoring Broker

How To Prepare for Your Texas Licensing Exam

As we mentioned before, over one-third of candidates fail to pass the Texas real estate licensing exam on their first attempt. There may be many reasons for this, which may be due to personal reasons or poor preparation. However, here are a few tips on how to best prepare for the exam and increase your chances of success significantly.

Complete Your Pre-Licensing Courses

Before you are qualified to sit for your real estate licensing exam in the state of Texas you must have completed 180 hours of pre-licensing real estate classes. These tutorials must be provided from centers approved by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). They include key concepts and regulations which every real estate agent must know.

The course work is broken into 6 modules of 30 hours each. They include:

Principles of Real Estate I (30 classroom hours)
Principles of Real Estate II (30 classroom hours)
Law of Agency (30 classroom hours)
Law of Contracts (30 classroom hours)
Promulgated Contract Forms (30 classroom hours)
Real Estate Finance (30 classroom hours)

Of course, all this may seem a bit confusing at first. That is expected when learning an entirely new set of concepts. However, with time and dedication, you’ll find yourself gaining a deeper understanding of the real estate industry within the state. Some important topics to look out for during these courses include:

Real estate math
Land use laws and regulations
Fair Housing laws
Real Estate Financing
Contracts
Transfer of title
Brokerage relationships
Disclosures
Property analysis
Rules of the Oregon Real Estate Commission
License law
Ethics
Agency Laws

Completing the course can take anywhere between 2 weeks to 6 months depending on your schedule. In-person classes cannot be hastened, but individuals taking online courses have the advantage of following a more aggressive study schedule. TREC limits the number of online courses one can access to just 12 hours a day. So the minimum number of days required to complete the course is 15 days.

Choose Valid Studying Materials

The licensing exam is administered by Pearson VUE, a national testing service contracted by the TREC. They provide a list of textbooks and articles which you can use to prepare for the exam. Some of these materials include the candidate handbook, the course outline, and a comprehensive study guide.

Pearson VUE also offers practice tests for $19.95. These tests focus on key areas such as product knowledge, terms, concepts and information found in the general portion of the exam. However, these practice tests are not state-specific and only cover the general test outline. That doesn’t mean they aren’t useful though.

Use a Prep Tool

To increase the chances of passing your exam the first time I would recommend checking out Prep Agent. This study tool gave me and many other agents a huge boost in confidence when taking the real estate exam. There are other study tools as well which include interactive quizzes and short video content covering key areas which usually appear in the exam.

Develop a Unique Studying Technique

Everybody has their unique studying technique. Some people are visual learners, while others prefer text material. Others are obsessed with rote memorization, while some people would rather understand general concepts.

The truth is that the best studying techniques usually involve multiple styles. No matter which group you belong to, ensure you find what works for you and stick to it. The aim is to master the course material. Nobody is particularly interested in how you managed to achieve that.

What to Do on the Day of the Exam

A good piece of advice is to ensure that you get to the exam venue at least 30 minutes before the designated time. Not only does this give you some freedom in the event of any unforeseen circumstances, but it also helps you stay calm by not having to rush and allows you ample time for registration.

You are expected to arrive to the examination venue with certain items and identification materials. The identification materials are usually two forms of identification, a picture ID and an additional signature verification ID such as a driver’s license and social security card. Your picture will then be taken for the exam score report and you’ll be required to sign the Candidate Rules Agreement form.

Remember, stay calm. Start with the easy questions before attempting the harder ones. Avoid any form of cheating or suspicious activity. The computer offers a tutorial using sample questions so take out the time to familiarize yourself with the format.

Start the examination whenever you are ready. Do not stress you have 4 hours to focus and get this done. Most candidates finish well before the allotted time expires. So if you have been studying with practice questions you’ll have no problem at all. The good news is that the results of the exam are released immediately, so there’s no prolonged waiting period.

How Is the Exam Structured

The Texas real estate exam is split up into two sections. You will have a total of 240 minutes (4 hours) to complete both. The state real estate exam has 40 questions. You will have 90 mins to complete this part of the exam. The national portion of the exam is 85 questions long and you will have 150 minutes to complete it.

General Tips for Answering Confusing Questions

Answers that contain words like ‘only,’ ‘never’ and ‘always’ usually indicate wrong answers
Answers that contain words like ‘generally,’ ‘often’ or ‘may’ usually indicate correct answers
Longer answers are usually more likely to be correct than shorter answers
Use the True/False method. This means trying to attach True/False to each answer

What Happens If You Fail the Exam

If you passed one section of the exam and failed the other you can retake only the section you failed. You’re allowed only four attempts at the exam. After the fourth attempt, you will be required to head back to the classroom and take an additional 30 hours of coursework if you only failed one section. If you failed both portions of the exam you will be required to take an additional 60 hours of coursework.

In Conclusion

Passing the Texas real estate exam is easy if you follow the right steps. Choose the right studying materials, revise your coursework and practice using prep agents and practice questions. Even if they don’t make it on the first attempt, over 90% of candidates pass by their second try.