As I stated in my introduction, I have considered getting my Real Estate Salesperson license since I was 19. I even enrolled in classes twice and then cancelled because I was not sure I could do it. I mean, I knew I could do it as I have earned a Bachelor's and a Master's degree so the schooling was no problem. It was mainly the sales portion of real estate sales that scared me.

In the State of Ohio, there are several requirements to obtain your Real Estate Salesperson license:

1. Be honest, truthful, and of good reputation.
2. Be at least 18 years of age.
3. Be sponsored by an Ohio Broker.
4. Not have been convicted of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude. Not have violated any civil rights laws regarding real estate in the past two years as determined by a court of law or violated any rules of the Ohio Division of Real Estate.
5. Have a high school diploma or its equivalent as recognized by the Ohio Department of Education if you were born after 1950.
6. Complete the education requirements.

That's it! Does not sound like much, right?

So the educational requirements are what first scared me. You must take 40 hours each of Real Estate Principles and Practices and Ohio Real Estate Law as well as 20 hours each of Real Estate Appraisal and Real Estate Finance.

For my educational requirements, I had looked into several places that offered the classes but Hondros College in Westerville, Ohio seemed to be the winner and let me tell you why.

I have always looked at Hondros for Real Estate classes and honestly, I have heard that they are not just good for real estate classes but many other classes as well like nursing, real estate appraisal, home inspection and insurance certifications. They also are very economical in terms of class costs. Real Estate classes (as of spring 2016) were between $1399 and $1499 depending on the package you wanted. Hondros also has several campuses and are expanding all of the time. Actually, I just got an email this morning that they were expanding to yet another city in Ohio. They also offer weekend, night, and day classes which makes it possible for people to take these classes whenever is convenient for them. You can also schedule them at will. Cannot make it to one night because of another commitment? That's fine, just log into your student portal on their website and pick another time for that particular class.

So I finally enrolled in night classes at Hondros and began on March 14. It does not matter where you start either. You can start with law, appraisal, principles and practices, or finance. While I would recommend starting with Principles and Practices, it is not totally necessary. I started with appraisal but Principles and Practices (P&P) gives you a good overview of everything and goes over exactly what you will need to know for the licensing exam. What is nice is that classes are only two nights a week and 4.5 hours each night. It makes for a late night but you are not missing anything and the classes progress along pretty quickly.

The real estate market is booming now so go ahead, use your tax refund and get your classes scheduled!