Fundamentals of
Real Estate course
in Alberta
Your first step toward getting licensed in Alberta starts with RECA-recognized pre-licensing education. Relo shows you what you've mastered, what's still missing, and when you're ready to book your exam.
$675CADRegular $1,350 CAD
- ReadyEngine™: readiness intelligence, 100% online, self-paced
- Video lessons, practice questions, flashcards, practice exams
- ReadyRating™ score, 24/7 study assistant, and live Office Hours
- Part of the Residential Real Estate Bundle
*Registration requires a myRECA account and your RECA Contact ID.
COURSE OVERVIEW
What is the Fundamentals of Real Estate course?
This course is the Real Estate Council of Alberta’s (RECA) mandatory prerequisite to get your real estate license in Alberta.
It covers all the core topics including the legal, ethical, and market basics every Alberta real estate professional needs before they can practice.
Fundamentals ends in its own RECA pre-licensing exam, written in person at a Pearson test centre. Everything in the course is mapped to the 28 concepts RECA’s exam blueprint tests, so your practice mirrors the paper you will actually sit.
There is no prerequisite for this course — it is the one every Alberta licensee starts with. When you pass, you move on to Practice of Residential Real Estate.
COURSE CONTENT
What you'll learn in the Fundamentals of Real Estate course
In this prerequisite foundational course you’ll cover the core competencies required for entry into the local real estate industry.
Each topic is designed to help you understand the legal, ethical, and practical responsibilities of a licensed real estate professional.
- Introduction to Alberta Real Estate
- Professionalism and Conduct
- The Brokerage Model
- Economics of Real Estate
- Mortgage Basics
- Legal Responsibilities
- Privacy and Confidentiality
- Health, Safety, and Risk
- Protecting the Public
- Designated Agency and Transaction Brokerage Frameworks
COURSE FEATURES
Built for the Fundamentals exam, not just the Fundamentals course
Relo’s Fundamentals of Real Estate is RECA’s first required course for any new real estate associate in Alberta. No prior real estate experience required.
Finishing the lessons is not the same as being ready to write. Every question you answer moves your ReadyRating™, and the study plan re-weights itself toward the concepts you are still getting wrong — so the practice you do in the last week before the exam is the practice you actually need. Reach Level 5 before your first attempt and the Pass Guarantee applies: if you don’t pass on the first attempt, your course fee comes back. Full lesson completion is required before your first attempt, and RECA’s eligibility and exam timing rules apply.
After completing Fundamentals, learners continue with a Practice of Residential Real Estate course and pass the required RECA pre-licensing exam before applying for licensing. See how Relo learners perform on the RECA exams.
- Questions
- 1,100+
- Exam-style questions on Fundamentals topics, each with an explanation that shows why the other options fail.
- Flashcards
- 450+
- Rapid recall for the terminology, agency relationships and legislation the Fundamentals exam leans on.
- Video lessons
- 100+
- Focused lessons in video, PDF, and audio formats, covering every Fundamentals topic RECA can examine.
- Concepts
- 28
- The 28 Fundamentals concepts in RECA's official competency framework, tracked one by one.
- ReadyRating
- Unlimited
- A live readiness score for the Fundamentals exam, through five levels (1 to 5). Level 4 is when you're ready to book. We recommend getting there with all video lessons watched and two practice exams passed.
- Study assistant
- 24/7
- Stuck on agency, mortgage basics or a practice answer? Ask Riley anytime, in any language.
- Office hours
- Included
- Live sessions with a working Alberta real estate agent, where first-course questions get answered before they become exam mistakes.
- Pass guarantee
- ReadyRating Level 5
- Reach ReadyRating Level 5 and fail the Fundamentals exam on your first attempt, and we refund the course in full.
THE REALITY OF GETTING LICENSED
Getting your real estate license in Alberta costs more than a course fee
Fundamentals is the first fee in a longer sequence. Before you can enrol you need RECA eligibility, and after you pass there is a second course, a second exam, a criminal record check and licensing fees still to come.
Sitting the Fundamentals exam before you’re ready is the most expensive mistake in that sequence — every retake is another exam fee and another month. ReadyEngine™ is built to tell you when you are past that risk.
ReadyEngine™ shows when you’re ready to write your RECA exam.
*Registration requires a myRECA account and your RECA Contact ID.
The real cost of becoming an agent
$1,125course fee with Relo
The cost of both required courses (Fundamentals and Practice of Residential) bundled together in Relo. Access until you pass. Individual courses also available separately.
- $350
RECA eligibility application.
Non-refundable. Takes 2-4 weeks to process. Required before you can enrol.
- ~$50
Online criminal record check through Mintz Global.
Required for licensing.
- $235
RECA exam fee, per attempt.
One exam per course. Two attempts allowed within three months.
- 3 mo.
Your exam window.
Your window to schedule and complete both exam attempts once your course provider marks you ready in myRECA.
- $800
RECA license and registration once you pass.
$475 license fee, $225 E&O insurance, $100 Assurance Fund.
- $2,000+
First-year memberships.
AREA ($1,075), CREA ($810), plus your local real estate board.
HOW IT WORKS
How Relo gets you ready for the Fundamentals exam
ReadyEngine™ starts by finding out what you already know, then spends your study time on the Fundamentals concepts you don't. Every quiz, flashcard and practice exam updates your ReadyRating™, so the answer to "am I ready to book?" stops being a guess. We recommend reaching ReadyRating Level 4, passing two practice exams, and watching all video lessons before you write.
Learn more about ReadyEngine™Find Your Starting Point
Start with a ~90-min assessment that maps your strengths and gaps.
Get off to a faster start!
An initial assessment recognizes what you already know and can save you time. It takes about 90 minutes and does not need to be completed in one sitting.
Follow a Personalized Study Plan
Focused lessons hit your gaps first. The platform brings concepts back on a spaced schedule so they're still there on exam day.
Which concepts to focus on learning
Concept Mastery Key
Non-for-profit: statement of activities
Mastery Estimate: 25
You’ve shown a basic understanding, but probably have more to learn.
Know You're Ready
Your ReadyRating™ score gives a real-time prediction of your exam odds that updates with your progress.
Over 90% odds of passing. You're exam-ready!
Get off to a faster start!
An initial assessment recognizes what you already know and can save you time. It takes about 90 minutes and does not need to be completed in one sitting.
Which concepts to focus on learning
Concept Mastery Key
Non-for-profit: statement of activities
Mastery Estimate: 25
You’ve shown a basic understanding, but probably have more to learn.
Over 90% odds of passing. You're exam-ready!
GET STARTED
Every Alberta real estate license starts here
Fundamentals is the one course no Alberta licensee can skip. Relo's readiness intelligence platform continuously adjusts to your performance, so more of your time goes to the concepts you keep missing. From your first question to your final review, every step is built around passing the Fundamentals exam on the first attempt.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Your questions about Fundamentals of Real Estate
This course is ideal for individuals planning to start a real estate career in Alberta. It's well suited for beginners with no prior real estate experience who need core knowledge as part of the Alberta real estate licensing process. Relo's RECA-recognized online course helps learners prepare for the Fundamentals exam with personalized lessons, 100+ video lessons, 1,100+ practice questions, 450+ flashcards, unlimited practice exams, and ReadyRating exam-readiness tracking.
Unlike the previous Relo platform where each course length was 75 hours, there’s no set timeframe with ReadyEngine™. Our courses are concept mastery driven, meaning you progress by demonstrating understanding of each topic rather than spending a set number of hours.
You can learn at your own pace, or if you already know some topics, our initial assessment helps you skip concepts you understand. The goal is to ensure you're truly ready for your exam and to receive a passing grade on the first try.
On Relo, course completion consists of achieving a ReadyRating 4, passing two practice exams, and watching all video lessons. To know you’re truly ready for your exam, refer to your ReadyRating score as that gives you a real-time prediction of your exam odds. It stays updated throughout your progress, so that you know when to take the exam.
Yes, this RECA fundamentals course is a mandatory prerequisite course. You must take it before enrolling into Relo’s Practice of Residential Real Estate course before obtaining your license.
Yes. Create your myRECA account first. RECA will issue your Contact ID, and you'll need that number to enrol in a RECA-recognized course with Relo. You'll also need an approved RECA Eligibility Application. Apply early: RECA doesn't publish processing times.
RECA gives you 3 months from course completion and 2 attempts. That window is RECA's, not Relo's. It's the reason we recommend booking at ReadyRating Level 4 rather than as soon as you finish the lessons: you want the clock to start when you're actually ready.
Getting your real estate license in Alberta typically costs $2,960 to $4,485 for the licensing stage, including your real estate courses, RECA exam fees, eligibility application, licensing fees, insurance, and assurance fund fees. If you include first-year business costs like association memberships, marketing, technology, and brokerage expenses, new agents should budget around $5,500 to $9,000 in total.
The main upfront costs include real estate course tuition, the $235 RECA licensing exam, the $350 eligibility application, and approximately $800 in RECA licensing, insurance, and assurance fund fees after passing your exams. Choosing a bundled course option and preparing well for your exam can help reduce your overall cost and avoid retake fees.