Are you thinking about becoming a real estate agent in NJ?

For as long as I can remember, I knew I would eventually want to pursue a career in real estate. I saw how successful family members were, including my aunt and role model, seasoned CENTURY 21 Real Estate Agent Angela Capriola was at it and I knew that with the goal of eventually becoming a mom, this career would give me the flexibility to be present and involved in my kids’ lives while also satisfying my “go, go, go” personality.

The first step is enrolling in a Real Estate school (feel free to reach out to me directly to find out which school I went to). The Real Estate Salesperson Course was a 75 Hour Pre-License class that prepares you for the NJ State Exam in order to get a NJ Real Estate License. A lot of people try to take the “easy route” and will look for the easiest and quickest option. I can say with 100% certainty that whatever work you put into this, you’ll get out of it – if you want to pass the first time, you really need to put the work in.

I enrolled in an online evening course since I also work full-time. I found that although the online course was sometimes hard to focus on, it was absolutely necessary to pay attention. I was always one chapter ahead of the course and treated the class as a review session on what I already read and learned. Create note cards, take detailed notes, highlight, and MEMORIZE YOUR VOCABULARY one chapter at a time. Take advantage of the chapter quizzes in the books and ask your instructor questions if you don’t understand a topic. If you master the chapters in order, you will be in awesome shape because you will really be taking in the information and each chapter builds off of the others.

Once you get through all of the chapters, or at least 85%, start doing Quizlet quizzes to really memorize your vocabulary and listen to Prep Agent webinars, videos, and review sessions. Joe from Prep Agent truly helped me study and memorize all of the information needed to pass the exam. You will be SICK of his voice by the time you pass your exam but you will also want to thank him over and over again. Another helpful tool was purchasing a NJ Real Estate Practice Exam. My school had recommended CompuCram but I decided to use PRORealEstateExam.com which I found extremely helpful.  ProRealEstateExam.com had online practice exams that gave me the opportunity to review my answers and see what areas I needed extra with. The questions on this website had similar formatting as the state test so I felt extremely prepared when sitting for the state exam.

Once you complete the course, you should be pretty much ready for the exam since you have been studying and memorizing chapters throughout the course. You will then need to pass a school exam; each school has a different exam process but mine was held in person. You were given three chances to pass the school exam and each time it got harder. I passed the school exam on the first try and scheduled my state exam two weeks later.

If you memorize the vocabulary and important facts, read the questions carefully, and put the work in, you will pass the state exam on your first attempt just like I did. I kept note of the questions I wasn’t 100% confident on during the state exam so I could revisit them at the end and although extremely challenging, I was surprised at how prepared I was! I can honestly say that from March to June my whole life revolved around studying for my exam and passing. In the grand scheme of things, four months is nothing since it will lead to a hopefully successful career in real estate. When I saw the green “PASS” notification on the screen I actually cried in the middle of the testing center. I was on track to start a new career; a career I knew I wanted since I was young stuffing mailboxes with flyers and attending showings with my aunt as a child.

Getting started in real estate is a challenge; it is imperative that you find a team and office that is willing to help you get started. CENTURY 21 Christel’s training program and mentorship is invaluable. My first six months have been focused on learning. I have read countless articles and participated and enrolled in workshops, open houses, and webinars. I have major goals for my first year in real estate, and although challenging I know I have an awesome team behind me to help achieve these goals.

If you have any questions or would like some more tips on getting started in real estate, please don’t hesitate to reach out!