How Georgia-Florida Real Estate Reciprocity Works
Licensing reciprocity across states is a common thing, but Georgia real estate license reciprocity for Florida agents can be incredibly frustrating. While many states make it easy, anyone making a Florida to Georgia real estate license transition quickly discovers a major hurdle: the 52-question Georgia supplemental real estate exam.
What the GA supplemental exam contains is where things are a little vague. To paraphrase the Georgia Real Estate Commission’s website, a reciprocity candidate must sign an affidavit saying that you have read and understand Georgia License Law and Rules. BUT! If you look at the Reciprocity Application, there’s a special section for Florida Licensees:
This section refers to the required supplemental exam as being “on Georgia Law and Practice.”
That is what trips up Florida licensees…because most people don’t read this part of the application.
If you remember above when I paraphrased the GREC site about signing an affidavit that a candidate must read and understand GA License Law and Rules? Well, as FL licensee, you see that and then see that you have to take the GA Supplemental Exam and thing, “Oh, I just have to read up on GA License Law and Rules and I can go take the exam!”
Then, you schedule the exam, drive up from Florida to Savannah, Macon, or Atlanta – the only three cities in Georgia with a PSI testing location – and you take the exam…and fail.
Why Florida Licensees Fail the Georgia Supplemental Exam
The Georgia Supplemental Exam – which is part of the whole 152 Salesperson License Exam – tests candidate on far more than license law and rules. This exam is an overview of Georgia customs and practices across all areas of real estate practices and laws beyond merely license law and rules. Therefore, a FL Licensee must have an understanding of Georgia real estate customs and practices such as:
AGENCY – Georgia has a separate consumer protection law governing agency in real estate referred to as BRRETA (Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act (OCGA §10-6a et al). Georgia’s customary agency practices is one focused on exclusive agency unlike Florida who tends to work under Transactional Brokerage models so it is important for FL licensees to understand crossing the state line means you are working under a different environment!
Also, financing in Georgia is unique in the country as we are the only state in the union to use Security Deeds for securitizing mortgages which makes us a title theory, non-judicial foreclosure state unlike Florida that is a lien theory, judicial foreclosure state.
Those are just two key topics just to give you an idea of the differences.
How to Pass the Georgia Real Estate Supplemental Exam
Many sign up for online exam prep courses. They’re cheap, self-paced, and simple. Right?
The problem with exam preps in general is that they are simply practice exams. They present multiple choice questions. If you don’t know the concept and don’t know the answer, the test tells you you’re wrong, tells you what the correct answer is, and then you’re left scratching your head wondering why.
We have a better option that’s worked for many: The Full Weekend Cram Study Session
Our Full Weekend Cram Study Session is a comprehensive review of all the real estate fundamentals for Georgia salesperson prelicense and broker prelicense…
Wait, you say? I don’t need a comprehensive review, you say?
Here’s the thing: a lot of GA specific information is scattered inside that comprehensive review as it relates to national/common law concepts versus statutory concepts. For instance, when we talk about Notice to terminate an estate for period to period (aka month to month lease) – common law simply says: either party can terminate by giving notice. On that topic, here is where we insert Georgia Statute that overrides the common law. In GA, landlords must give 60 days notice to tenant and tenants must give 30 days notice to landlords.
So since this is a live instruction session, as we review the material, we make sure to highlight the GA specific parts for our reciprocity students and often have robust discussions comparing and contrasting practices across state lines!
Live Instruction With No Travel Required
This Full Weekend Cram Study Session is held Live via Zoom with materials sent ahead of the weekend for students to download and print. We have strong visual presentations to help you follow along and students have access to the online visual presentation for months after the session ends so it can be referred to as you study at your own pace.
Our instructor will also provide insights, answer any questions and keep you engaged and entertained, even in the Virtual ZOOM classroom! It’s a long, intense weekend so you’ll appreciate being in your own space…
We hope you mark your calendars and plan to join us for a weekend of solid information that can help you pass the exam and begin your Georgia real estate career off on the right foot!
