I received a call yesterday from a Florida Real Estate Broker, frantic because her license was due to expire in two days. She went online to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation website to renew her license and discovered she was deficient in her post license education by 30 hours and the could not renew her license. She called the DBPR and sent them the certificates of completion from the online school she attended. They informed her that the school was not accredited in Florida to teach and that the education hours were not valid. They directed her to the page on their website that shows the names and contact information of all the accredited Real Estate Schools in Florida, which was how she found me.
I don't offer online classes, but knew a reputable school that did. She had approximately 48 hours in real time left before her license expired and needed 30 of those hours to take the course and successfully pass the test. She did not procrastinate in taking her education, she simply made a poor choice in the school she chose and may suffer a serious consequence. If she does not successfully complete the course, her Broker's license is null and void, and she will have to request her sales associate license to be reactivated.
I felt bad for her and asked her how she picked the school. She informed me that it was one of the first to show up in her Google search and offered an unbelievably good price. She learned a hard lesson an in the future will make sure she uses an accredited Florida Real Estate School.
I have nothing against online schools. I am merely recommending that a licensee either uses a school that is an affiliate member of their Association or has a good local name. For Real Estate Licensing questions in the Tampa Bay area, visit my website or check out my calendar for upcoming classes.
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