Hi everybody! I'm new here.

I am greatly interested in real estate. Actually, my mother called me about four months ago and talked to me about real estate. She doesn't know much about it but she says it's a wonderful opportunity for both of us. She's a nurse and she would like to retire to become a part time agent.

I just want to know, is there an online course for real estate? I'd like to try that first.

Hi Haley!
I think most states offer their courses online. Tell us what state you are in, and we can get you more info.
Also, you might want to take the Real Estate Simultor. It's a free personality profile and assessment that will give you a good idea of how good a fit a real estate career would be for you. You can take it on my site- http://SpringsRealEstateCareer.com.
It's a great tool. It takes about an hour to complete, but you can stop and start again on any section except for the middle one (You need 15 uninterrupted minutes for that one).

Tip - start putting money aside NOW to survive for 2 - 6 months without income, taking into consideration that you'll need money for various fees. When the income DOES come it may be another two months before you see another paycheck!

In my area you need:

Fees for the MLS membership, the local board of REALTORS, the state board, and the National Board - that's around $400 annually, and then you have some quarterly dues as well.

Fees for Electronic lockbox key - Our area uses Supra e-Keys. I think it's $80 every six months (tip: pay the extra money to insure your lockbox key; then you won't have to shell out $125 to replace it later if something happens to it, like a customer's dog chewing it up or it getting dropped in a puddle)

Licensing - $131 to get your initial license, and to renew every two years it's $96. Plus you will have to take 14 hours of continuing education courses every two years.

Promotional materials - depending on what office you work for you may have to purchase business cards. You will need to take into consideration some other things as well - such as a website. You can save a ton of money NOW by learning how to make a website yourself, and make it search engine friendly - while /if you have time. A website really is a MUST. You can get domain names and server space cheaply from GoDaddy.com

Cell phone is a must.

Laptop computer is desirable but not necessary; a computer itself IS necessary...laptop is more handy and more portable. You can pick up a laptop from a seller with tons of good feedback on eBay for a fraction of what it would cost to buy a new one. (I would only purchase from someone with 10,000+ feedbacks and at least 99% postitive!) Get one with Windows XP.

Real estate school will cost approx. $500 or so, give or take, may be less by taking it online. It's boring online though. I recommend a good class (note, I said a GOOD class, preferably put out by an actual real estate school rather than something at the communtiy college taught by a lawyer...lol) as I found the classroom interaction extremely helpful. I could ask questions if something was fuzzy to me, and the teacher was awesome and didn't put us to sleep while going over real estate law. ha ha

It costs a significant amount of money to get into this business - a lot of people get into it thinking it's an easy way to make some money - but it costs quite a bit to get started.

Better revise that statement to read 6-12 months!

Yeah, and I forgot to mention a nice, reliable car is a must. money for gas too.

and a professional looking wardrobe (hey, it can be gotten cheaply - for women there are upscale consignment shops and even Salvation Army. I have gotten $90 - $100 articles for under $10 each. Plus, Fashion Bug has a line of wash & wear business type clothes that are not bad full price but even better when marked down. I got some $60 suits - two piece sets - for under $20. Now, if your clientèle is generally going to be the extreme upscale stuff, Fashion Bug probably won't cut it, but keep an eye out for the good stuff in Sally's and consignment shops.

Even if your area is mostly casual you will want at least two or three more 'upscale' outfits to wear. I prefer to dress up most of the time. It makes me more productive and it helps me "feel" more professional.

Unless you're not worried about money I would hold off on buying a new/different car. You're not going to be driving around buyers every day. You might not even drive around buyers for a few months. If you have a terrible car and have to drive someone around go rent one for $20-$30 for the day. When you're paying to rent a car every week or when you've closed a few deals then you might look at buying a new/different car. For now, be very judicious about your spending.

just to be clear, I didn't mean to go buy all that stuff now, but rather, just be thinking about it and keeping it in the back of your mind.