How to Become a Real Estate Agent in Arkansas

Planning to start a career as a real estate agent? To get your real estate license, you will need to take classes at a real estate school, and satisfy all the requirements set forth by the Arkansas Real Estate Commission.

Here's what you need to know to become a real estate agent in Arkansas:

1) Licensing Requirements

2) Duties of a Real Estate Agent

3) What is a REALTOR®?

4) Income Potential

5) Real Estate Schools

How to Become a Real Estate Agent in Arkansas

1) Real Estate Agent Licensing Requirements

In Arkansas, real estate agents MUST be licensed by the Arkansas Real Estate Commission.

To obtain your real estate license, you must:

Satisfy the minimum requirements requirements to apply for the real estate exam:

Age: You must be 18 years of age or older to be licensed.
Character: A criminal records check may be obtained from State Police.
Experience: None required.
Education: Complete sixty (60) classroom hours of real estate education. Thirty (30) of those hours must be in the basic principles of real estate.

Apply to take the State exam
Pass the exam
Apply for the Real Estate License within three months of passing the exam.

Licensed agents must work under the supervision of a licensed real estate broker. Most new agents start out by working for one of the large brokerages like Coldwell-Banker, Century-21, Remax, etc. If you would like to have your own business and work for yourself, you must have a real estate broker's license.

2) Duties of Real Estate Agents

A real estate agent's main job is to assist their clients in the process of buying and selling real estate.

Their list of duties include:

Submit buyers' offer to purchase to seller for consideration
Work with escrow officers, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates.
Interview potential buyers to determine what kinds of properties they are seeking.
Prepare documents such as listing agreements, purchase agreements, etc.
Coordinate property closings, overseeing signing of documents and disbursement of funds.
Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other.
Determine a property's competitive market price by comparing the property with similar properties that have recently sold.
Schedule appointments to show homes to potential buyers.
Generate lists of properties that are compatible with buyers' needs and financial resources.

3) What is a REALTOR®?

A real estate agent becomes a REALTOR® when he or she pays an annual fee to be a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its Code of Ethics.

The agent generally joins through the local board or association.

For example, in Little Rock, once you have obtained your real estate license, you may pay a fee to join the Little Rock REALTORS® Association. This also makes you a member of the Arkansas REALTORS® Association and the National Association of REALTORS®.

All REALTORS® are real estate agents but not all real estate agents are REALTORS®.

4) Income Potential

Real estate agents are generally paid based on a percentage of the sales price. The seller will generally pay 4-6% of the sales price as the fee and that will be split 50/50 between the seller and buyer's broker.

For example, if the fee for a $100,000 house is 6%, the buyer's broker will be paid 3% or $3000 and the seller's broker will be paid 3% or $3000 as well. The agent is paid by his or her broker, according to their previously agreed-upon commission split. This is often 50/50 for beginning agents, so in that case the agent in our example would receive $1500.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the Median Sales price for an existing single-family home in the Little Rock area was $108,400 for the fourth quarter of 2004.

5) Real Estate Schools

The real estate classes must be given by an accredited postsecondary school, or a school or organization licensed by the Arkansas State Board of Private Career Education. Here is a list of schools licensed by the State Board:

Arkansas Institute of Real Estate
Tina B. Daniel
915 East Race, P. O. Box 1681
Searcy, Arkansas 72143
501-268-0600 / 800-264-0606

Arkansas/Oklahoma School of Real Estate
2910 Jenny Lind Rd., Ste. 6
Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901
479-782-1236

Broadway School of Real Estate
1009 West Grand Avenue
Hot Springs, Arkansas 71913
501-623-3029
FAX: 501-623-8632

Broadway School of Real Estate
324 West Pershing Suite 5
North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114
501-771-1616

Bryant School of Real Estate
301 Roya Lane, Ste. 4
Bryant, AR 72022
501-653-2056

Camp Real Estate School
700 South Main
Mountain Home, Arkansas 72653
870-424-7000 / 800-737-7000

Faucette School of Real Estate
3589 N. College Ave.
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72703
479-571-7775

Kelton Schools
1805 Executive Square
Jonesboro, Arkansas 72401
870-932-7202

National School of Real Estate, Inc.
Keith Montgomery
5323 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
North Little Rock, Arkansas 72116
501-753-1633 / 800-467-1600

Real Estate Education Center
3418 W. Sunset, Suite E
Springdale, Arkansas 72762
479-750-2772

Real Estate Trainers
615 N. Walton
Bentonville, Arkansas 72712
479-855-4200

Rich School of Real Estate
453 Batesville Blvd
Batesville, Arkansas 72501
870-793-6666

River Valley Real Estate Licensing School
800 East Main
Russellville, Arkansas 72801
479-498-2131

Select Real Estate School
2611 Highway 71 South
Mena, Arkansas 71953
479-394-7676 / 877-394-7676

Also check out information on how to become a real estate appraiser in Arkansas