How to Prepare for your Florida Real Estate Brokers Exam

Florida has one of the hottest housing markets in the nation after what has been a bizarre few years with a global pandemic. Thanks to the beautiful weather and sunshine all year long the market has never looked better and many real estate agents are looking to make the leap from Florida real estate agent to Florida real estate broker.

But becoming a broker in the state of Florida (as with the rest of the nation) requires more education and passing a separate test. This is because being a broker has many more responsibilities as it does offer many more benefits. One of them being a better salary and commission rate.

Many wonder how to prepare for the Florida real estate brokers exam but not anymore. This is your easy guide to preparing and acing that test.

Start With Understanding Florida’s Licensing Requirements

Because every state is incredibly specific with its laws and regulations all the exams will be tailored to that state. When it concerns Florida’s requirements for becoming a real estate broker and being eligible to take the exam you need to understand the following.

Complete the 72 additional hours of FREC approved schooling.
Submit your application and application fee along with your fingerprints to FREC.
Take and pass your exam with a 75 or higher.

Find the Right Prep Course for You

One of the scarier statistics where it concerns the Florida Real Estate Brokers Exam is that fewer than six out of 10 agents will pass the exam on their first try. No matter how great of an agent you are or aren’t, taking a prep course for the exam is always the right choice.

Let’s take a look at what makes a good prep course.

Pass Guarantee

No matter what agency you choose to work with, make sure they offer you a pass guarantee or a money-back guarantee. The last thing you want to do is waste your time preparing with the wrong prep course. Whoever you work with should not only have testimonials but also confidence in their program.

Self-Pace

Self-pace is important because chances are you will continue working as an agent. Self-pace also allows you to go back and review sections that are harder than others. Rushing through content is never a good option.

Something to keep in mind is that even in a self-paced environment it is important to create a study plan and stick to it. This gives you a sense of when you will be ready to take the exam. You can adjust on the go.

Find Your Learning Format

Most of the options on the market are online programs that allow you to go through the content, study guides, and quick material. Some are more advanced and will offer webinars and even tutor-like sessions. Knowing how you learn best is going to be the determining factor in whether you are successful and pass the exam or not

Current Recommended Exam Prep Courses

Here are some of the top recommended exam prep courses for aspiring Florida real-estate brokers.

Prep Agent has different packages for agents with different needs. If you feel like you just need a brush-up on material then the lowest-level package would be for you. They also offer more personal higher-tiered packages. The best part? Money-back guarantee if you don’t pass.

CompuCram features all 50 state broker’s exams with interactive study tools and practice exams that mimic the real one so test-takers feel comfortable when the real one comes along. They also have an impressive stat that 86.5% of their students pass on the first time!

Bob Hogue School of Real Estate functions much closer to a college-style class than any of the other options on the list. Considering how much content they offer (400-plus practice exam questions) it comes down to a reasonable price as well!

Time to Work on Your Own

Sometimes where real estate agents in Florida go wrong is the reliant nature they have on their exam prep courses. Having the responsibility to do your own studying is important because the real estate agent prep course won’t be taking the exam with you when it is showtime.

The Material

You are going to be quizzed on a large volume of both national and Florida-specific information about the real estate market. The most common subjects that you will come across are brokerage financing, real estate law, and real estate management.

Let’s break this down. Here is what you need to know.

Financing: Florida brokers need to know all the different loans, credit laws, mortgage financing, promissory notes, etc.
Real Estate Practice: This includes fair housing, truth in advertising, ethics, managing properties, and disclosures.
Property Valuation: Being able to financially evaluate a property. This section may require a calculator.
Property Ownership/Land Use Control: Understand the classes/characteristics of a property government rights on a property, as well as being able to describe a property with proper terminology.
Transfer of Property: Titles, escrow, deeds, taxes, and the overall process of transferring ownership of a property.
Contracts: Offers and purchase contracts, listing agreements, and lease options are some examples of contracts brokers need to be familiar with.

This is just a general overview of concepts a broker should be familiar with but the exam is vast and can cover much more than this.

Take Your Practice Exams

Chances are if you enrolled in a study prep course you have already completed a number of practice exam questions. It’s important to try and take a mimic practice exam that reflects the exact format of the Florida broker exam. It’s even better if you get it from outside your study prep course because you may be familiar with their testing format. Preparing for different scenarios and situations is the best way to be ready for this exam.

Strategies to be Aware Of

There are several strategies that you should practice when you are preparing for your Florida real estate brokers exam. Not all methods work for everyone which is why it’s important to use trial and error on practice exams well before the real exam.

Here are some of the best tried and true methods.

Skip Hard Ones: If you aren’t sure about a hard question skip it for now. You can come back to it later and it’s better to do the ones you know first.
Process of Elimination: When you aren’t sure of the answer, eliminate the ones you know are incorrect to increase your chances of getting it right.
Don’t Rush: Even though you are being timed it’s important not to rush. You don’t need a perfect score and rushing can cause you to misinterpret questions.
Forget Second Guessing: Try not to second guess your gut instincts. Once you answer a question, move on to the next.

Master the Exam Structure

It’s not unheard of that a great student can be a terrible test taker. This is common when it comes to the Florida real estate brokers exam. The more familiar you are with the exam format the less surprised you will be when taking it.

PearsonVue proctors the exam and it will be all multiple-choice questions. You have to score 75 out of 100 questions. You have three-and-a-half hours to complete this as well as fifteen minutes at the beginning of the exam to go over the tutorial. Once you start the first question the timer begins.

Make the Move

Now that you have gone through all the steps above you are ready to take the exam. Some agents can in fact go ahead and take the exam after studying on their own. However, the exam is notoriously difficult, and working with a prep agency that offers a guaranteed pass is the best way to get your broker’s license efficiently and in the fastest way possible.

Some real estate agents are shocked when they fail after even going through a real estate prep course. This is because they become too reliant on the program and don’t push themselves out of their comfort zone. When you access other resources like free and paid practice exams then you can continue to refine your test-taking skills and understand what subjects you still may be struggling with.

The exam has so many subjects that a broker needs to know. That’s the responsibility of the broker because they have to be responsible for not only themselves but a team of agents. Understanding the laws that are specific to Florida is pertinent to being in this position. Once you do pass thanks to great test-taking strategies you can reap all the benefits of being a Florida real estate broker!