How to Become a Real Estate Broker in Texas

Texas is becoming the next Florida when it comes to a hot real estate market. This is especially true for Austin, Texas, and other desirable cities that are booming with good eats and fun things to do. So while you are working so hard to sell prime real estate, why not take advantage of the benefits of becoming a broker?

The idea of working for yourself or having others work for you always has the latter options slightly more appealing. But what does it really mean to become a real estate broker in Texas and how do you do it?

Let’s dive into that.

Being a Broker In Texas

Becoming a real estate broker in Texas has economic advantages over being a real estate agent. Of course, you take on more responsibility and must know the nitty-gritty of the laws but many find that to be a fair trade-off for better percentage cuts and managing your own office.

Let’s just take a quick look at this crazy story. In 2018, Ben Caballero, broker and owner of HomesUSA.com became the first $2-Billion-agent in the world. He sold 5,793 homes in a single year.

He says the motto, “everything’s bigger in Texas” and it couldn’t be more true of the housing market. So why not level up from real estate agent to being your own boss and broker? This is your step-by-step guide to getting your broker’s license and finding success like Caballero.

The Steps To Become a Real Estate Broker In Texas

While the overall system that you need to go through to become a real estate broker in Texas looks very similar to other states, there are some noticeable differences that you will need to pay attention to. For instance, you will need to make sure you satisfy all the requirements of Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) and not someone else’s like FREC (Florida).

Here are the requirements that TREC states:

Are a U.S. Citizen or in some cases legal alien
Must be 18-years of age
Are a Texas Resident or are a licensed broker in another state or licensed as a Texas agent in the last two years
Meet the TREC Moral Character Determination Requirements

Now we can break things up into steps that you need to complete in order.

Step 1: Your Requirements

The mandatory requirements are the first things you need to consider. If you are not 18-years-old or fail to meet any of the other listing you will not be able to pre-enroll in classes or submit an application request for the exam.

If you have prior altercations with the law or outstanding payments you may need to request what is known as a Fitness Determination Form. This will help you understand whether you will be eligible to become a licensed broker and can save you the time of enrolling and paying for pre-licensing education to be denied later.

Step 2: Understand the Point System

Texas Real Estate Commission uses a point system that real estate agents must go through in order to become a broker. In all situations they say you need four years of experience to became a real estate broker in Texas. On top of that you will need 3600 points in order to be a real estate broker.

How do you earn points?

The point system is based on how well you do as an agent. When you close a sale you may earn 300 points. Other smaller tasks like a buyer’s representation agreement is worth less points (10 to be exact).

Step 3: Put In Your Pre-License Credits

Now that you have met the requirements of a broker while being an agent you can enroll in a TREC-approved education course. You are required to take 270-credited hours of classes on various subjects. With 900 hours total of coursework Texas is easily one of the strict education requirements when it comes to selling real estate.

Sign Up For Real Estate Broker Classes Here: Texas Real Estate School

Let’s just list the mandatory classes you will take to become a broker:

Principles of Real Estate I
Principles of Real Estate II
Law of Contracts
Law of Agency
Promulgated Contract Forms
Real Estate Finance
Real Estate Brokerage

Disclaimed Real Estate Broker class needs to be completed within two years of when you apply for your broker’s license.

After you complete these initial courses you will need to complete additional time (630 hours to be exact) in other courses. Here are your options:

Real Estate Math
Real Estate Appraisal
Real Estate Law
Real Estate Marketing
Residential Inspections for Real Estate Agents

Another disclaimer! If you have a bachelors degree in Real Estate you don’t have to take any pre-licensing courses!

Step 4: Time to Submit the TREC Application

Now that you have gone through your completed hours of a real estate broker training you can submit your application to TREC either online or by mail. When you apply you will be issues an ID number that you will need for the actual test.

Unlike some other state you will be required to undergo a background check and screening before taking the exam. This is to ensure that you are not a criminal and are fit to practice law in real estate. This will be done by submitting your fingerprints to TREC. Once you are good to go you can schedule your exam.

Step 5: Time To Ace the Test

Now is time for your big moment as a real estate professional. After completing all the above you can finally go ahead and schedule your exam. When you get ready to take the test ensure you are familiar with all the subjects you’ll be tested on. Likely whatever education program you did your pre-licensing courses with, will give you tips and tricks how to best prepare for this moment.

Once you ace the test you will be able to activate your license. But how exactly do you ace the test?

You should know that there are 145 multiple choice questions with 85 questions dedicated to the national portion and 60 dedicated to laws and practices. The exam in total will take no more than four hours to complete as that’s all they allow.

PersonVue who administers all the tests nationally requires that you pass 60 out of the 85 national and 38 out of the 60 laws and practices section to become a broker in Texas.

Need help acing the test? Real Estate Exam Study Tool

Brokers From Out of State

Certain states have reciprocity agreements which allow out of state brokers to complete a shortened version of the exam. This is ideal for many brokers because in order to really practice in Texas you need to be a Texas resident and Texas broker. Otherwise you can broker remotely but this is more difficult and doesn’t allow you to be at the properties.

Sadly, Texas has no reciprocity agreements so you will have to complete the full exam and meet all the other requirements even if you already have your brokers license elsewhere.

What Does It Mean to Be a Broker?

So, you’ve passed the exam and are a licensed Texas real estate broker. What are you going to do now and who are you responsible for? You can now continue working as a broker in someone else firm or you can start your own agency with agents who work for you. Some broker’s prefer to work by themselves and don’t enlist a team at all. The choice is yours and that’s why being a broker is ideal.

Keep in mind that now you are the one who is responsible for knowledge of the laws. While you are also responsible for this at an agency. But when it is your name on the door you are legally required to practice ethically and correctly so if something goes wrong, it goes straight to the broker’s hands.

Take Advantage

Becoming a real estate broker in Texas has too many opportunities to pass up. While some agents are successful and don’t feel the need to take that next step, others have decided becoming a broker is the best thing they could have done to advance their career and business. Just look at how well it’s working out for Ben Caballero and his own brokerage.

It can take some time to get to that status. Remember you need at least four years of experience as an agent and need to comply with their point system. While this is great because it ultimately produces the best brokers in Texas, it also makes TREC one of the most rigorous educational systems for real estate out there. And sadly many are disappointed that they don’t have a reciprocity program.

The only way you can take shortcuts here is if you have a bachelors degree in real estate or several crossover programs. Otherwise plan on meeting all the requirements even if you are brokered in another state. If you don’t want to get your license in Texas you can only work remotely to show clients listings.