New Broker Review From ExamSmart

I spoke with the people at examsmart who said their new review including practice for the simulation type questions will be ready by the middle of April. They will post information on their website when it's ready. If it is anywhere near as good as their old review, it should be well worth the investment. As soon as we know for sure that it's ready we'll also notify you here.

AMP Web Site Offers Sample Questions

After looking at Bill's last post, I went to the AMP site, goamp.com, and tried the simulated test questions. To put it as gently as I can, the new format can be brutal. Anyone preparing to take the new test should practice before sitting. We'll do some research and try to determine who has the best material currently available and let you know.

The New Brokers Exam

While attending the IAR business meetings last week, we discussed, at great length, the new broker exam and the ability to study for the new format. As of right now, AMP has released a study guide for $24.95 and "Examsmart.com" is supposed to have a practice exam ready any day, which will have a cost of $49.00 that will allow the subscriber to use the practice tests for 90 days. There are other companies working on the same, but as of this posting have not given a timeframe for release. We will keep you posted with updates as soon as they become available. In the meantime, it would be well worth the money to purchase the AMP guide or subsribe to Examsmart because the exam is nothing like you have seen before, and would be difficult to pass without these study tools. Remember, the state portion of the exam is still multiple choice, it is the national portion that has changed to a situational format. stay tuned.

Illinois Real Estate License Act Rewrite

The Illinois Association of REALTORS® has posted some highlights on the proposed changes. The IAR is in support of these changes and it looks very much like they will take affect at the end of the year. Basically, as we mentioned before, the salesperson license will be replaced by a broker license with an increase in the prelicense classroom hours from the current 45 to 90 hours. Continuing Education and Managing Broker requirements will be increased as well. I'll post the IAR information on prudentcareers.com later today.

New Prelicense Class Schedules Posted

We've scheduled the Early Spring '09 prelicense classes in eight locations. You can view the schedule on prudentialstarck.com or yourhouseacademy.com. While we cannot say the market is good yet, there are signs that things are picking up. Our sales have been up four out of the last six months. As I've mentioned before there are several positives that should affect the market: rates are very low, inventories are high meaning there's more to select from, there's a first time buyer tax credit, and housing affordability is at a high. If you're considering a career change, now's the time.

License Law Update Coming

One of our guys, Bill O'Donnell, is on the real estate education work group for Illinois and will be in Springfield this week to find out more about the proposed changes. As soon as he has the information we'll post it. In the meantime, Vince at YourHouseAcademy is now offering the broker license workshop series starting Wednesday, April 8 in our Arlington Heights classroom ... Plus, in order to encourage you to do it now ... we're offering a $25.00 discount to Prudential Starck agents. (Call it a stimulus package) Tuition is regularly $450.00 ... for this workshop series tuition is only $425.00 including all course materials.

Licensing Requirements Changing

Introduced 2/20/09 is a Bill before the Illinois House that proposes changes in the Real Estate License Act of 2000. The Bill proposes that no new salesperson licenses be issued after April, 2011 and all new licensees will need to complete a 90 hour course of broker instruction. The current requirement is 45 hours for salesperson license. The Bill provides for a transition from existing sales license to the new broker license by completing a 30 hour additional course or by passing a State approved proficiency exam. I'll have a more detailed explanation on prudentcareers shortly. Questions can also be directed to Vince DePaul at YourHouseAcademy.