There are several steps you have to go through to become a REALTOR® and there are costs to each, but the rewards can be very great indeed. You must take a real estate pre-license class from an accredited school, take the State test and have your real estate license issued, join the REALTOR® Associations, and join the MLS.
There are several schools in the metro area for the real estate class, two of which are:
Charles Barnes School of Real Estate and Appraisal (1120 S. Air Depot Blvd., Suite 10 - 800-369-7277) offering the class online at www.charlesbarnes.com for $450.00 (books are optional and $30 extra) or in a classroom setting for $500 (all books included).
Roger DeSpain School of Real Estate and Appraisal (401 N Meridian, 888-611-4448) offers the class in a classroom setting only for $495 (books and materials included). Classes are offered M-F 9-6 or weekend classes are available 9-6 Sat., 12:30-9:00 Sun, and 5:30 to 9:00 Mon. (Info available at www.rogerdespain.com)
Once you have completed the pre-license class from either school, you will be ready to take your state test. The Oklahoma Real Estate Commission at Shepherd Mall (2401 NW 23rd, Suite 18) charges $60 to take the test and $75 to issue your Provisional Sales Associate license.
Once you have your license you will need to join the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® (OAR) and the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of REALTORS® (OKCMAR) and you'll need to join the MLS.
NAR, OAR, and OKCMAR dues are combined and are pro-rated as follows:
| Month | National | NAR Assessment | State | Local | App Fee | TOTAL |
| January | $64.00 | $20.00 | $95.00 | $62.50 | $100.00 | $341.50 |
| February | $58.67 | $20.00 | $87.08 | $52.10 | $100.00 | $317.85 |
| March | $53.33 | $20.00 | $79.17 | $41.68 | $100.00 | $294.18 |
| April | $48.00 | $20.00 | $71.25 | $31.26 | $100.00 | $270.51 |
| May | $42.67 | $20.00 | $63.33 | $20.84 | $100.00 | $246.84 |
| June | $37.33 | $20.00 | $55.42 | $10.72 | $100.00 | $223.47 |
| July | $32.00 | $20.00 | $47.50 | $125.00 | $100.00 | $324.50 |
| August | $26.67 | $20.00 | $39.58 | $114.62 | $100.00 | $300.87 |
| September | $21.33 | $20.00 | $31.67 | $104.20 | $100.00 | $277.20 |
| October | $16.00 | $20.00 | $23.75 | $93.78 | $100.00 | $253.53 |
| November | $10.67 | $20.00 | $15.83 | $83.36 | $100.00 | $229.86 |
| December | $5.33 | $20.00 | $7.92 | $72.94 | $100.00 | $206.19 |
You join the MLS at the same place and at the same time as the REALTOR® Associations. The MLS dues are billed monthly at $30/month. You will also need to get a key from the MLS to open lockboxes. There are two options for this. The Display Key, which is a completely self-contained key, requires $130 to start ($60 activation, $50 deposit, and $20 for first month) and an additional $20/month. The E-key, which is a piece of software that can be installed on some PDA's and smart phones, requires $85 to start ($60 activation and $25 for first month) and an additional $25/month.
So, to get completely started in January:
| School | $450 | ||
| Test | $60 | ||
| License | $75 | ||
| REALTOR® Dues | $341.50 | ||
| MLS key | $130 | ||
| TOTAL | $1056.50 |
Monthly dues after starting are as follows:
| MLS Dues | $30 | ||
| MLS Key | $20 | ||
| TOTAL | $50 |
Yearly dues after starting are as follows:
| NAR Dues (Due Jan. 1) | $84.00 | ||
| OAR Dues (Due Jan. 1) | $134.00 | ||
| OKCMAR (Due July 1) | $125.00 | ||
| TOTAL | $343.00 |