Is it possible to obtain / prepare the real estate broker license
(approved by D.R.E.) by correspondence (online, traditional
correspondance) from outside the USA, Germany.
My situation: university diploma in economics in Germany/university of
Tübingen (academic degree: 'Diplom-Kaufmann'), fulltime real estate
broker experience since 1999.

I know that for each state in the USA you need a separate broker license, but 
Several U.S. states have reciprocal arrangements for recognizing and
granting licenses to real estate licensees from other states.
see: http://www.realtor.org/LibWeb.nsf/pages/fg709

I want to know: 
- in which state is it possible to gain the broker license by
correspondance? (preferred state is California, the states in the
region Northeast and Midwest)
- in the case of yes: the contact adresses, where to apply for the
online broker qualification courses and state exam?
- are there any reciprocal arrangements between Germany and USA, which
can help me to gain the broker license, that means, acknowledgement of
my 5 years broker experience and university diploma?

Hello, thank you for the question. I have provided some general
information regarding you question, but primarily the information is
related to the California license. I would be happy to provide similar
specific information for other states at your request. Just let me
know which states you are interested in and I will follow up this
response with a clarification. The primary answer, however, applies to
all the states. The exam itself must be taken in the state itself. In
most states, the class preparing for the exam and the registration
procedures can be done from abroad.

The laws vary from state to state regarding taking the classes,
applying for the license and registering for the exam. You should be
able to take all the classes from Germany, but you must be physically
present to take the state exam.

The purpose of this is to administer the test in a controled
environment to ensure honesty and to verify the identity of the test
taker.

You must also be legally qualified to work in the U.S., either as a
citizen, a permanant resident or with a work visa.

In California specifically, you can take the exam classes online from Germany. 

Here is a program were you can do so. 

http://www.californialicense.com/

Here are the requirements to apply for the broker exam in California:

California Department of Real Estate

http://www.dre.ca.gov/brkrlic.htm
"Minimum Requirements to Apply for the Broker Exam and License

To obtain a real estate broker license, you must first qualify for and
pass a written examination. Those who pass the examination are
provided a license application which must be submitted to and approved
by the DRE.

Age:  To apply for a license, you must be 18 years of age or older.

Residence:  License applicants must provide Proof of Legal Presence in
the U.S. If not a California resident, see Out-of-State Applicants.

Honesty:  License applicants must be honest and truthful. Conviction
of a crime may result in the denial of a license. Failure to disclose
any criminal violation or disciplinary action in an applicant's entire
history may also result in the denial of a license."

"Experience:  A minimum of two years full-time licensed salesperson
experience within the last five years or the equivalent is required.
For further information, see Documenting Experience Requirements for
the Broker Examination.

Education:  Applicants for a real estate broker license examination
must have successfully completed the following eight statutorily
required college-level courses:

    * Real Estate Practice
    * Legal Aspects of Real Estate
    * Real Estate Finance
    * Real Estate Appraisal
    * Real Estate Economics or Accounting
    * And three* courses from the following group:
       
          o Real Estate Principles
          o Business Law
          o Property Management
          o Escrows
          o Real Estate Office Administration
          o Mortgage Loan Brokering and Lending
          o Advanced Legal Aspects of Real Estate
          o Advanced Real Estate Finance
          o Advanced Real Estate Appraisal
          o Computer Applications in Real Estate
          o Common Interest Developments

         * If both Real Estate Economics and Accounting are taken,
only two courses from the above group are required.

Continuing education offerings do not satisfy the college-level course
requirements for this examination.

Each college-level course must be a minimum of three semester-units or
four quarter-units. The courses must be completed prior to being
scheduled for an examination. Copies of official transcripts are
generally acceptable evidence of completed courses. Transcripts of
other courses, submitted as an equivalent course of study in lieu of
the statutory courses, must be accompanied by an official course or
catalog description in order to be evaluated.

Broker qualification courses must be completed at an institution of
higher learning accredited by the Western Association of Schools and
Colleges or by a comparable regional accrediting agency recognized by
the United States Department of Education, or by a private real estate
school which has had its courses approved by the California Real
Estate Commissioner."

Specific to Foreign Education:

http://www.dre.ca.gov/brkrlic.htm
"Courses completed through foreign institutions of higher learning
must be evaluated by a foreign credentials evaluation service approved
by the Department of Real Estate."

Correspondence Courses

http://www.dre.ca.gov/precours.htm
"For those students who prefer independent study, the University of
California (Extension), as well as several California private
vocational schools, offer correspondence courses in the required
subjects.

No more than two correspondence courses may be completed in any
five-week period. (One course may be completed in 2 1/2 weeks.) The
student should make certain the private school offering the courses is
approved by the Real Estate Commissioner and satisfies the statutory
course requirements."

E-Licensing:

http://www.dre.ca.gov/online_services_120803.htm

" Available options may include:

    *

      Reschedule your exam date*
    *

      Apply to re-take an exam*
    *

      Change your exam mailing address
    *

      View your exam records
    *

      Check your scheduled exam date, time and location
    *

      Request duplicate schedule notice
    *

      View your exam results
    *

      Requests duplicate results notice
    *

      See if your license has been issued "

E-Lisensing site:

https://secure.dre.ca.gov/elicensing/

Application Procedure:

http://www.dre.ca.gov/brkrexam.htm

Testing Sites:

http://www.dre.ca.gov/brkrexam.htm

"   * Fresno
    * San Diego
    * Los Angeles
    * Oakland
    * Sacramento"

Exam Information:

http://www.dre.ca.gov/takebexm.htm

Exam Content:

http://www.dre.ca.gov/bexamqs.htm

Exam Preparation:

http://www.dre.ca.gov/brokerprep.htm


Google Search Strategy

"real estate, broker exam, procedure"
"california department of real estate"
correspondence, real estate license

-contacted a friend who is a real estate lawyer


Thanks again for your question. Please let me know if you need any
clarification of my response.

Regards,
Anthony (adiloren-ga)

---

Clarification of Answer by adiloren-ga on 04 Aug 2004 15:12 PDT

Here is a specific program that offers correspondence broker courses:

ANTHONY SCHOOLS, A KAPLAN PROFESSIONAL COMPANY
2646 DUPONT DRIVE, SUITE 230
IRVINE, CA 92612

(800) 726-7767

---

Clarification of Answer by adiloren-ga on 04 Aug 2004 15:15 PDT

Here are some more:

ACCREDITED REAL ESTATE SCHOOLS
4120 MANZANITA AVENUE
CARMICHAEL, CA 95608

(916) 484-4866
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
AMERICAN SCHOOLS
P.O. BOX 5161
TORRANCE, CA 90510

(310) 544-2090
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
ANTHONY SCHOOLS, A KAPLAN PROFESSIONAL COMPANY
2646 DUPONT DRIVE, SUITE 230
IRVINE, CA 92612

(800) 726-7767
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
CALIFORNIA BROKERS INSTITUTE
21133 VICTORY BOULEVARD, #216
CANOGA PARK, CA 91303

(818) 715-0088
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF REAL ESTATE
7700 EDGEWATER DRIVE, STE. 745
OAKLAND, CA 94621

(510) 568-6460
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
CHAMBERLIN REAL ESTATE SCHOOL, INC
1825 WINCHESTER BLVD.
CAMPBELL, CA 95008

(408) 378-4400
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
CLARE INSTITUTE
8360 CLAIREMONT MESA BOULEVARD, #106
SAN DIEGO, CA 92111

(858) 467-9280
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
DESERT CITIES REAL ESTATE SCHOOL, INC.
34-400 DATE PALM DRIVE, SUITE #J
CATHEDRAL CITY, CA 92234

(760) 328-8955
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
DUANE GOMER SEMINARS
23312 MADERO STREET #J
MISSION VIEJO, CA 92691

(949) 457-8930
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
EXECUTIVE PROGRAMS
210 ST. MARY'S DRIVE, # I
PO BOX 5407
OXNARD, CA 93030

(800) 416-1996
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
FELDE PUBLICATIONS AND PROGRAMS
P.O. BOX 175
SAN CLEMENTE, CA 92674

(949) 481-2937
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
FIRST TUESDAY
P. O. BOX 20069
RIVERSIDE, CA 92516-0069

(909) 781-7300
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
GOLDEN CITY PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
2550 WEST MAIN STREET, SUITE 105
P. O. BOX 7125
ALHAMBRA, CA 91801

(626) 457-8836
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
THE LUMBLEAU REAL ESTATE SCHOOL, INC. A TEXAS CORPORATION
14208 HUGHES LANE
DALLAS, TX 75254

(972) 503-5050
Correspondence Course(s):
MORTGAGE LOAN BROKERING AND LENDING
MIKE RUSS FINANCIAL TRAINING CENTERS
8322 CLAIREMONT MESA BOULEVARD, #103
SAN DIEGO, CA 92111-1317

(858) 571-5827

---

Clarification of Answer by adiloren-ga on 04 Aug 2004 16:13 PDT

One additional note- according to a friend of mine who is an expert in
the field,  California is probably the hardest state to get licensed
in.  Their courses are harder than average and the tests are
reportedly brutal- less than 50% pass.  They have so many people
looking to get a license that they have to be harder in order to keep
the number of licensees in the state down. Feel free to let me know if
you would like me to investigate another specific state.

Good luck!

-Anthony

---

Request for Answer Clarification by ralph745-ga on 06 Aug 2004 09:30 PDT

Hello Anthony, 

thanks a lot for your informations. 

Question:
The 'exam classes online by www.californialicense.com', the '8
statutorily required college-level courses' and the 'correspondance
broker courses' at the end - is this all the same?

As I see, does the the regulation require proof of legal presence in
the United States from all applicants for a license. That means, with
other words, without a visa, you can't do the broker license. Is this
right?

Could you please do the same research for the state of Ohio?
 
thanks a again. 
Ralph

---

Request for Answer Clarification by ralph745-ga on 11 Aug 2004 08:55 PDT

Hello, 

Is there any reason, why I get no answer anymore?

---

Clarification of Answer by adiloren-ga on 11 Aug 2004 13:34 PDT

I will be working on this today. I will have an answer posted by this
evening. Thanks for your patience.

-Anthony

---

Clarification of Answer by adiloren-ga on 12 Aug 2004 14:59 PDT

The California online school is sending some information regarding
your request and I'll post their response when I receive it. Here is
the informaion regarding Ohio. Please let me know if you need any more
assistance. Thanks again.

------------------------------

OHIO REAL ESTATE INFORMATION

How To Become A Licensee

    * Candidate Information Bulletin
http://www.experioronline.com/ohre.htm

    * List of Pre-Licensure Education Providers (PDF)
http://www.com.state.oh.us/real/app/Pre-License_Education_Providers.pdf

Distance Education Providers
http://www.com.state.oh.us/real/DISTANCE_ED_PROVIDERS_000.aspx

Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.com.state.oh.us/real/realfaq.htm

---

Clarification of Answer by adiloren-ga on 12 Aug 2004 21:44 PDT

The statutory courses for the salesperson license (Principles,
Practice and Finance) are three of the eight courses that are needed
for the broker license eligibility.

In order to take any of the courses, the only requirement is that you're
able to work legally in the U.S.

The correspondence schools that I listed at the bottom of my original
answer offer full service preperation for the broker exam in
California and are approved officially by the state- the same goes for
the Ohio schools listed under "distance learning". All of these
schools do require that you are legally allowed to work in the United
States.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Anthony

---

Request for Answer Clarification by ralph745-ga on 17 Aug 2004 09:22 PDT

Thank you, 

at the end, 
can you give me the informationen also for the state Pennsylvania. 

Thanks.

---

Clarification of Answer by adiloren-ga on 18 Aug 2004 20:55 PDT

Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission Website:
http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/cwp/view.asp?a=1104&q=433107

Commission Approved Schools
http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/lib/bpoa/20/real_estate_comm/commission_approved_schools_list__7-29-04.pdf

Eligibility Requirements for the Following Licenses:

SPOA2102-Associate Broker/Salesperson Change of Employer/Reactivation
License Application :

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/lib/bpoa/20/real_estate_comm/spoa_2102_-_real_estate_salesperson-assoc_br_chg_appl_08-04.pdf

SPOA2103-Broker/Cemetery Broker Examination Eligibility Application :

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/lib/bpoa/20/real_estate_comm/spoa_2103_-_broker_examination_08-04.pdf

Note:

A criminal record check is required for the following applications:
 
1) A licensee is changing classification (i.e. salespersons to a
builder-owner; an associate broker to a broker of record; etc)
 
2) A licensee is reactivating an expired or inactive license,
regardless of the length of time that the license has been in escrow.
 
3) All new licensure applications requiring passage of the examination.
 
4) A broker who is applying for a new broker of record license.
 
5) An officer of each new corporation. 

For additional states consult these websites:

Links to State Real Estate Commisions
http://www.licenseprofessor.com/StateCommisions.asp

Thanks for using Google Answers and good luck in your pursuits!

Best regards,
Anthony