Timeless Real Estate Education or T.R.E.E. will be the new real estate school in our area. Terssa Markworth will bring her knowledge from being a real estate agent and a teacher at BHSU to the classroom to train future agents!
Contact Terssa directly at 605-639-1078 for more information on her upcoming classes.
Please check back at we update this page with all the changes.
David McDowall
Broker / Owner Instructor
After 18 years of teaching new agents David has decided to retire!
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A Career In Real Estate
A career in real estate can be rewarding. You are a business within a business. The job is representing buyers and sellers. They hire you to help them buy or sell a home, business, land or even a ranch. It can be exciting most of the time but it is a lot of work to become a success.
It is a business with income based on the work you do and the people skills you have. It also has costs to not only start the business but to run and operate your business. You must understand that it takes time to build a clientele and to start receiving income from your work. If this sounds like the beginning of a new and rewarding career, then we invite you to review the licensing process.
Class starting October 6, 2025
*Must be 3 people registered to hold class
Night Class Starting: April 7, 2026 for 7 weeks Tuesday-Thursday
Licensing Process
Since we are dealing with property and money and people it is required that we be licensed by the state and educated to a minimum standard to start.
- Get the required pre-licensing education, cost is about $1,100.00
- Take and pass the state exams for new licensees, cost is a minimum of $190.00
- Fill out an application including a back ground check, cost is $267.50
- Find a real estate company to work for, costs to join a board of realtors and possibly the company franchise if one are variable.
Pre- Licensing Education
Timeless Real Estate Education, T.R.E.E., is the logical place for you to begin with your pre-licensing education. The course requires 54 Hours by Distance Learning (which should be completed prior to the first day of in-class instruction) and 62 Hours of Classroom Instruction. T.R.E.E shares an office with RE/MAX In The Hills but is not directly associated with them. Several other schools are available in Rapid City if you so choose.
Timeless Real Estate Education does not recruit for RE/MAX In The Hills nor does it allow anyone else to recruit during class. Finding that first job is up to you, the new agent. You would need to visit the office of your choice to find out if they have openings. Typically, about half of the people in a class have not yet selected a company to work for.
We provide a quality education that gives you a good foundation for your career in real estate. The education begins with an online portion that teaches the new broker associate the basics of real estate. The book is studied and tests need to be passed online. The online process is going to take anywhere from two weeks to a month depending on the time available and your dedication to getting it done. This part should be completed prior to beginning the class room portion. The second portion must be done in the class room. You can begin the online at any time but it should be completed before you begin the class room work.
Click here to access online course https://portal.recampus.com/re/dakotawest
About Us
Terssa Markworth holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and communication. She also holds a master’s degree in communication studies. She has taught foster parenting and adoption since 2003. In 2010 she began teaching family communication, intercultural communication, and public speaking. Terssa has held adjunct professor roles at NECC, WITCC, USD, and most recently BHSU where she taught Public Speaking for the last 3 years while being a full-time realtor.
In April 2018 she was one of six speakers from four states competing to go to the International Toastmasters speaking contest which features speakers from all over the world. She has been a member of Toastmasters for five years and likes to attend the speaking competitions. She taught Adoptive and Foster Parenting classes in Iowa for three years. Terssa and her husband of 33 years have raised 21 children. Four of her sons are “home grown” and seventeen of her sons and daughters are adopted. They are all her REAL children. Yes, she lived to tell about it! She taught freshman level Communication and Speech at USD in Vermillion for two years. She also taught Speech and Interpersonal Communication at WITCC in Sioux City, Iowa and NECC in South Sioux City, Nebraska.
Terssa is a Veteran of the United State Air Force and is proud to have served her country following in the footsteps of three uncles and her grandfather Leonard Hockett in WW2. Her spouse Doug Markworth also served in the military as well as her three sons and one daughter. Terssa loves Jesus and is passionate about His children. Terssa is funny, warm, and approachable.
She enjoys adult learners and self-motivated individuals. Terssa has an experience-based teaching approach which appeals to many students. In 2018 she became a Realtor in South Dakota and loves to tell stories of successful negotiations and fair housing.
Terssa is a published author of “You Can’t Bungee Jump With A Pair of Pantyhose,” and enjoys reading, writing, cooking, and spending time with her large family.
Timeless Real Estate Education looks forward to helping you prepare for success in passing the South Dakota Real Estate exam and for a career in the real estate profession. Feel free to contact us with additional questions.
Below are some of the recent comments from past students:
- Very knowledgeable regarding all aspects or the course
- Great to listen to and learn from. Never a moment I wasn’t glad I chose this class.
- Thank you for teaching me what would have taken me months to learn on my own.
- Instructor was very knowledgeable and gave many “real life” examples to help relate materials.
- David really knew what he was teaching. He explained information very well and made it easy to understand.
- Material was presented in a very professional manner which made things easy to comprehend.
- I really enjoyed the course and learned a lot. It was beyond my expectations.
- GREAT! Extremely knowledgeable, very thorough … communicates in a way that is easy to understand.
- I would and will highly recommend this class.
The South Dakota Real Estate Licensing Process
Candidates for a Broker Associate License must:
- Complete the “Real Estate Principles and Practices” course (116 hours) at a state approved school, including passing the final exams. This course can be taken in two ways:
- 116 hours in-class instruction
- 54 hours by ON LINE Studies and 62 hours of in-class instruction
- Pass the state exam with a score of at least 75% on each of the three tests:
- 50 multiple choice questions on South Dakota laws, rules and regulations
- 10 Simulation exercises designed to test the candidates skills in information gathering and decision making
- 100 multiple choice questions on Real Estate Fundamentals
A “Candidate Handbook” will be provided by the school which gives details about the state exam.
The state exam is given each day (Monday – Friday) in Rapid City by appointment. Normally, appointments must be made about one week in advance of the test date. You may schedule all tests for the same day or you may schedule them for separate days. The cost per test is $95.00. If a candidate fails either of the multiple choice tests or the simulation test, they will need to reschedule and pay to retake the test.
After passing all of the state exams, the candidate must submit an “Application for Real Estate License” together with an application fee of $225.00 to the SD Real Estate Commission within 60 days of passing the first exam.
Upon approval of the application, the candidate will receive an inactive license. The license will be activated when the licensee associates with a brokerage company.
Fee Schedule
Distance Learning Pre-License Course (54 hours) – $600.00 * (includes Modern Real Estate Practice Book and ON-LINE Access)
*Paid on line with credit card when registering for on line course
Broker Associate Course for Pre-licensing (62 hours) – $600.00* (Includes 6 hours of state law plus additional books)
*In Class courses can be paid by cash, credit card (MasterCard or Visa) or personal check
$100 deposit must be paid 2 weeks before class begins. Please make checks payable to T.R.E.E. and drop off at the office or mail to:
RE/MAX In The Hills
Attn: TREE
1145 N Main Street
Spearfish, SD 57783
Textbooks are Included in Cost:
Modern Real Estate Practice (21st Edition)
SD License Law & Administrative Rules
South Dakota Exam Prep.
*Other study guides are also included in the cost of class
State Examination: The state Broker Associate examination is given in Rapid City.
If you have questions, please call Terssa at 717-2501 or 605-639-1078.
To Future Students:
REAL ESTATE PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES
Subject: MODERN REAL ESTATE PRACTICE (21st Edition)
It is very helpful to read ahead in this book. Concentrate on understanding the words in bold print.
We will cover all of the “Key Points” in class, but at times we move quickly so having read the chapters first is very helpful. We normally cover the first 4 chapters in the first two days of class.
There is a quiz at the end of each chapter. It is good to practice with these. The answers are at the back of the book. Don’t mark the correct answers now – so that you can use these quizzes later to review the material.
It is likely that you will “get stuck” (not understand some concepts) the first time through the book. If that happens, don’t stop reading! Just skip over that material and go on. We will spend the time in class to bring your understanding up to the required level.
In accordance with Administrative Rule of South Dakota, 20:69:04:19 – Pre-licensing Education Certificate of Attendance, “No certificate of attendance may be issued to a licensee who is absent for more than ten percent of the classroom”. This translates to each student can miss up to 6 hours in the first 60 hour course and one hour in each of the seven 8 hour segments, which covers the last 62 hours of instruction.
Getting Started
Email Terssa, terssamarkworth@gmail.com, for access to the Online course.
Timeless Real Estate Education, 1145 N. Main St. Spearfish, SD 57783
Class size is limited – reserve your spot today!
Join RE/MAX In The Hills
For an interview, or to discuss how to put your Real Estate plan into action, email Marysia McDowall at marysiamcdowall@rushmore.com , or call her at 605-642-2500.
