I personally did my real estate training thru Champions School of Real Estate www.championsschool.com . I had no problems and it prepared me well enough to pass my Texas license exam for salesperson and later broker on the first try. My salesperson exam score was in the 90's. They are very reasonably priced and you can order the coursework and take your exams online. I got my textbooks and went into their Dallas office to take my exams. It took me less than a week to finish all of the Texas required courses. They do have regular classroom training if that works better for you.
You also need to start researching what company you want to work with. Some charge outrageous fees for new agents ($3200 or more). I started out 4 years ago with Keller Williams and have loved it. They offer great training opportunities for little or no expense and they do a great job of supporting newbies. The startup cost varies by office but is less than $100 (badge, cards, technical setup). After that, the office fees are usually less than $50 per month. If you want to rent an office desk, it will cost a little more depending on what office you join. I personally always used a laptop and my home office for most of my work. I use the "MLS Room" for any work I do in the office. My office doesn't even charge for copies or faxes. You will have to join the local realtor association and MLS and rent a digital key card. The fees for this are the same no matter what brokerage you join.
You also need to check into what the commission split will be. Many brokerages take between 50 and 70 percent of your commissions as a rookie. As you gain experience they drop to just 40 to 50 percent. At my office, we give the broker approximately 30 percent. Another unique thing about Keller Williams is that there is a cap on the amount of commissions that you have to split with the broker. KW offices do not split commissions for the rest of the year once you have reached your cap.
All in all, I love the setup at KW. You can email me at ____@____.com and I will be glad to email you some details and tips about the business and about KW.
I think you will like the business. It costs quite a bit to get started, but as a parent it has worked out great for me. I schedule my clients and my office time the way I want. I can make as much time for my kids as they need and I get to see them every night and take them to school every morning.
Good luck,
Frank (L.'s husband)