[Quote, 1 to 3 sentences in the agent's own words]
[Context: what pushed them to reach out, what the first year looked like, what is different now]
A[First name L.]
formerly [specialty] at [setting]
formerly [specialty] at [setting]
For nurses in Ocala, The Villages, and Lake County
From Nurse to Real Estate Agent: Keep the Skills, Set Your Own Schedule, Own What You Build
Nurses in Ocala, The Villages, and Lake County can move from nurse to real estate agent without walking away from a paycheck overnight. RE/MAX Premier Realty, led by Nancy Deichman since 1996, recruits nurses because they stay calm under pressure, catch the detail everyone else misses, and earn trust fast. The path starts with a free weekly discovery call, every Wednesday at 10 AM Eastern.
You've held a stranger's hand through the worst day of their life and stayed composed while three other things went wrong down the hall. You chart every detail because a missed one matters. You advocate for people who can't advocate for themselves. And you do it on twelve-hour shifts, on a schedule you don't control, for a paycheck that doesn't reflect what you carry.
Read the rest
Those are the exact skills that make a real estate agent succeed. Real estate simply pays them differently. In nursing, they earn an hourly rate someone else sets. In real estate, they pay you as the owner of a business you built.
Nancy Deichman has run RE/MAX Premier Realty since 1996 and has watched nurses make this move well. Not by quitting on a bad night. By getting licensed on their off days while they're still working, keeping their income and benefits through the transition, and hanging their license with a brokerage that carries its share of the weight.
The weekly discovery call is where that plan gets real.
Broker-owned since 1996Nancy Deichman, Broker/Owner
License on your off daysThree twelves leave four days
Onboarding and closing supportNo gap in your income
Offices in Ocala, The Villages, and Lake County
Get licensed on your off days
Onboarding and closing support
Direct access to Nancy and the executive team
Sound familiar?
Are You Still Good at Nursing and Done With What It Costs You?
Most nurses who reach out to Nancy say the same thing. They still love the patients. They still love being the person who knows what to do. What they can't make peace with is what the job takes to keep doing it.
The shifts don't end when they end. Staffing decides your day, not you. Your body keeps a running tally of every twelve. You've been asked to do more with less for so long that 'more' stopped meaning anything, and the number on your pay stub never caught up with the weight of it.
Underneath that is a quieter frustration: being the most capable person on the floor with the least control over your own life.
You aren't imagining the trend. In Nurse.org's 2026 State of Nursing survey, 43% of nurses said they were likely to leave the bedside within the next year, and 23% said they were likely to leave nursing entirely. Leaving isn't failure. Leaving without a plan is the part worth avoiding, and it's the part Nancy has walked other nurses through.
You might be closer to this move than you think if...
- You've looked up real estate licensing on a night shift
- You've done the math on per diem and thought 'what if I had something on the other four days'
- Coworkers and family already call you before they make a big decision
- You want a calendar you write, not one that's posted for you
- You want your effort to show up on your pay, not just in your charting
Why nurses
Why Do Nurses Make Great Real Estate Agents?
Nancy recruits from hospitals and clinics on purpose. Here's what a nurse's skills become when they're pointed at a transaction instead of a patient.
What you do on the floorWhat it becomes in real estate
Triage: decide in seconds what matters most
Sort a deal's twelve small problems into the two that could kill it, and handle those first
Chart every detail, every time, because a missed one matters
Contracts, disclosures, inspection periods, and deadlines where a missed line costs real money
Stay calm in a code
Stay calm when the appraisal comes in low or the buyer's financing wobbles a week before closing
Explain a diagnosis to a frightened family
Explain a contract to a frightened first-time buyer
Advocate for a patient with a physician
Advocate for your client with the other agent, the lender, and the title company
Be trusted by strangers on sight
Be trusted by buyers and sellers in a business where trust is the product
Protect private information as a reflex
Keep clients' finances and situations confidential as a reflex
That trust line isn't a compliment. Gallup has rated nurses the most honest and ethical profession in America for 25 years running. Real estate is a business where the client chooses the person they trust, not the person with the biggest ad budget. You walk in with the one thing that can't be bought.
The one thing nurses usually don't have is real estate knowledge. That's the part that can be taught, and Nancy's team teaches it. What can't be taught is the instinct to stay with a person through something hard. You've been doing that for years.
The honest part
What Does Real Estate Ask of a Nurse Who Makes the Move?
Here's the part the online ads leave out, because Nancy would rather you hear it now than find it later.
Real estate is a commission business. There's no direct deposit every other Friday. Your first closing may come a few months after the day you're licensed, and your income after that is tied to your own production. That's the trade for having no ceiling. It's also why the timing of your move matters more than the decision itself.
The licensing path in Florida is clear. You take a 63-hour pre-license course approved by the Florida Real Estate Commission, most of it available online at your own pace. You pass a state exam of 100 questions with a score of 75% or better. Most people finish the whole process in 8 to 14 weeks, and the total cost typically runs between $300 and $1,000 including the course, the state application, the exam, and fingerprinting. After you're licensed, Florida requires a 45-hour post-license course before your first renewal. Nancy's team makes sure that date never sneaks up on you.
Nurses have one advantage most career changers don't: the schedule. Three twelves leave four days. Many of the nurses Nancy has worked with got licensed on their off days over a couple of months, hung their license with RE/MAX Premier Realty, and worked their first deals while still picking up shifts or moving to per diem. That keeps income and benefits in place until the pipeline can carry you. Some made the full move within a year. Some kept their RN license active for years. There's no wrong pace, only an honest one.
And if, on the discovery call, it becomes clear that real estate isn't the right move for you right now, Nancy will say so. She isn't interested in the wrong fit any more than you are.
The Florida licensing path
- 63-hour pre-license course, approved by the Florida Real Estate Commission, mostly online
- State exam: 100 questions, 75% to pass
- Typical timeline: 8 to 14 weeks. Typical total cost: $300 to $1,000
- 45-hour post-license course before your first renewal (Nancy's team tracks the date with you)
Meet the broker
Who Is Nancy Deichman, and Why Does She Recruit Nurses?
Broker/OwnerCRSGRISRESCDPESince 1996
Nancy didn't inherit a real estate business. She built her own career as an agent first, then in 1996 became president and co-owner of RE/MAX Premier Realty in Ocala with one goal: build the highest producing real estate company in the Marion, Lake, and Sumter County area. She did. Thirty years later she still runs it, and she's still personally involved with every agent who joins.
She recruits nurses because trust is the product in this business, and nurses walk in with it. Someone who already knows how to stay calm, catch the detail, and advocate for a person under pressure doesn't need to be taught how to serve. They need a brokerage that gives them an office, training, leads, and a broker who answers the phone. That's the part she built.
The experience of helping real estate agents improve their careers, their enjoyment of creating a better lifestyle and more financial freedom continues to be one of my greatest joys.Nancy Deichman
Meet the team
Nancy Doesn't Do This Alone. Neither Will You.
RE/MAX Premier Realty runs on a family and a team who have onboarded, trained, and backed new agents for decades. These are the people who pick up when you call.
Nancy's husbandBob Deichman
Broker/Owner and managing broker
Broker/Owner32 years in real estateCDPEIRES
Nancy's husband and business partner, Bob has owned RE/MAX Premier Realty with her for three decades and holds the broker's license behind every transaction in the company. With 32 years in real estate, he is the second set of experienced eyes on the deals that need one, and the reason a new agent never has to guess at a contract question.
How Bob helps you
- Broker oversight on every contract and closing
- Straight answers on compliance, disclosures, and the hard questions
- Thirty years of local deals to draw on when yours gets complicated
Nancy's sonKevin Branch
Agent training, growth metrics, and action plans
USMC Veteran20+ years with RE/MAXCDPESRESCIPS
A U.S. Marine Corps veteran with more than 20 years at RE/MAX, Kevin manages the Ocala office and the numbers behind every agent's growth. He runs the training calendar, tracks the metrics that show where a new agent's business is headed, and turns them into an action plan you can follow week to week.
How Kevin helps you
- Training before your first deal, and after it
- A growth scorecard reviewed with you, not filed away
- A 90-day action plan built around your own sphere
Nancy's daughterKelly Barthlow
Director of Operations, Broker Associate
26 years at PremierBroker License 2018Certified dotloop Trainere-Pro
Kelly started at the RE/MAX Premier Realty front desk 26 years ago and has held nearly every job in the building since: assistant, agent, transaction coordinator, office manager, Director of Agent Services, and now Director of Operations with her Florida broker's license. She has onboarded and trained new agents for more than two decades and knows exactly where they get stuck.
How Kelly helps you
- Onboarding that covers the systems and the paperwork
- Transaction training, from first contract to closing
- Support that continues long after your first year
11 years at PremierMichele Murphy
Director of Agent Engagement
U.S. Army VeteranWith Premier since 2015Licensed 2019
A U.S. Army veteran and native Floridian, Michele joined RE/MAX Premier Realty in 2015 as Director of Marketing and earned her real estate license in 2019. Today her whole job is helping new agents make the transition to Premier and get on the best track to succeed, from your first week to your first closing.
How Michele helps you
- Marketing setup for your name and your listings
- A smooth transition into the Premier systems and offices
- Someone who checks how you are doing, not just what you closed
CYour first call
Chrissy Garcia
Business Development Specialist
New agent supportLicensing guidanceOnboarding
Chrissy is the person most new agents talk to first, and the one who keeps them moving. She walks you through the licensing path, gets you onboarded without a gap, and checks in until your first deals are closed. When you have a question and are not sure who to ask, you ask Chrissy.
How Chrissy helps you
- Licensing guidance and choosing the right course
- Onboarding, systems, and your first-week setup
- A steady check-in until your pipeline holds
Behind them: six offices across Marion, Lake, and Sumter County, and the directors and staff who keep every one of them running.
The support system
What Does RE/MAX Premier Realty Put Behind a New Agent?
This is the support a first-year agent actually needs, and the reason Nancy's nurses don't have to figure it out alone.
A real office in your market
Ocala and Marion County. The Villages and Sumter County. Lake County and Mount Dora. A professional place to meet clients and run appointments. Not a virtual address, not a coworking desk.
Training before your first deal, and after
Extensive training for new agents getting started, and training that keeps going for agents who want to grow. You aren't handed a license and a desk.
Licensing guidance
Which course to take, what to expect on the exam, how to time it around the job you have now, and when the 45-hour post-license course is due.
Onboarding and closing support
Nancy's team walks you through onboarding so there's no gap in your business. When a transaction gets complicated, there's someone to call. Nancy and her executive team help facilitate deals to the closing table.
Leads and pipeline support
The infrastructure and resources to build a pipeline consistently. You aren't starting from zero and hoping your phone rings.
Marketing help, not a marketing bill
Direction, resources, and a team that helps you market yourself and your listings, so your time goes to clients.
Direct access to Nancy and the executive team
The people who own the company are the people who answer. Thirty years of local deals and problem-solving, available when you need it.
The RE/MAX brand behind you
One of the most recognized names in real estate. It earns you credibility with buyers and sellers before you have a track record of your own.
How the move works
How Does a Nurse Move Into Real Estate Without Losing a Paycheck?
1
Save your seat on Wednesday's call
One hour, live with Nancy, with other people considering the same move. Hear exactly how the brokerage works and ask anything, including the questions a license school won't answer straight.
2
Get licensed on your off days while you keep working
Nancy's team points you to the right course, tells you what to expect on the exam, and helps you fit it around your shifts. Your income and benefits stay in place the whole way.
3
Hang your license here and start with support behind you
Onboarding, an office in your market, training, and someone to call on your first deals. Keep picking up shifts or move to per diem. Step across full-time when the business is ready to hold you.
What the first 90 days look like
You'll onboard with Nancy's team, get set up in your office and the systems, and start working your own sphere first: coworkers, patients' families who became friends, the people who already call you for advice. Most new agents' first transactions come from people they already know. Training runs alongside, and every complicated moment has a phone number attached to it.
What Does Another Year of Waiting Actually Cost?
Another year usually looks like this year. The same schedule you didn't write. The same body keeping score. Another holiday worked because someone had to. And the trust you've earned, the coworkers and families who'd call you in a heartbeat, still sending their real estate business to a stranger because they don't know you're an option.
Now picture twelve months from now. You're licensed. Your first closing was a coworker's sister who called because it was you. Your calendar is yours. There's an office in your market to bring clients to and a broker who answered at 7 pm when the appraisal came in low. Your income moved because your effort moved. You still take care of people. You just own the business that pays you for it.
Nurses who made the move
What Changed for the Nurses Who Made the Move
[Quote, 1 to 3 sentences in the agent's own words]
[Context: what pushed them to reach out, what the first year looked like, what is different now]
B[First name L.]
formerly [specialty] at [setting]
formerly [specialty] at [setting]
[Quote, 1 to 3 sentences in the agent's own words]
[Context: what pushed them to reach out, what the first year looked like, what is different now]
C[First name L.]
formerly [specialty] at [setting]
formerly [specialty] at [setting]
The next step
What Happens on the Wednesday Discovery Call?
The weekly discovery call is one hour, live with Nancy, every Wednesday at 10:00 AM Eastern. You join a small group of people considering the same move. Nancy walks through what joining RE/MAX Premier Realty looks like in practice: the licensing path, the training, the offices, the leads, and what she looks for in the agents she brings on. Then the floor is open.
Nurses usually ask about fitting the course around shifts, about keeping their RN license and benefits through the move, and about what the first six months really look like. Ask all of it. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing. If Wednesday at 10 lands on a shift, book the following week, or call the office and ask for a private conversation.
The weekly discovery call
Every Wednesday | 10:00 AM Eastern
- One hour, live with Nancy
- Small group, no pitch, no commitment
- Open to nurses and healthcare professionals at any stage
- Limited seats. Save yours on the calendar below
Ready to have the conversation?
Save Your Seat on the Weekly Discovery Call
Choose the next Wednesday that works with your schedule. Seats are limited, and your confirmation and reminders go straight to your email and phone.
Every Wednesday | 10:00 AM Eastern
Prefer a private conversation first? Call the office at (352) 732-3222 and ask for Nancy's team. Nothing about your inquiry is shared with your employer or anyone outside RE/MAX Premier Realty.
Questions nurses ask
Questions Nurses Ask Before They Book
Can I become a real estate agent while I'm still working as a nurse?
Yes, and the nursing schedule makes it easier than most careers. Three twelve-hour shifts leave four days, and Florida's 63-hour pre-license course is online and self-paced. Most nurses Nancy works with get licensed on their off days, hang their license, and work their first deals while still picking up shifts or moving to per diem.
How long does it take to get a Florida real estate license?
Most people finish in 8 to 14 weeks. That covers the 63-hour course, the course exam, the state application with fingerprinting, and the state exam. Nurses who study on their off days often land at the faster end of that range.
How much does it cost to get licensed in Florida?
Typically between $300 and $1,000 all in. The pre-license course runs about $140 to $650 depending on the format, the state application is $62.75, the exam is $36.75 per attempt, and fingerprinting is roughly $50 to $80. Nancy's team will point you to a course that fits your budget and your schedule.
Do nurses really make good real estate agents?
Yes. Real estate rewards calm under pressure, attention to detail, clear explanation of complex things, advocacy, and trust. Nurses are trained in all five and are the most trusted profession in America for the 25th year running. What you don't have yet, market knowledge and contracts, is exactly what training covers.
Will I lose my benefits if I move into real estate?
Real estate agents are independent contractors, so there's no employer health plan or retirement match. That's why Nancy recommends getting licensed and starting part-time while you keep your nursing income and benefits, and planning your coverage and a cash cushion before you go full-time. Per diem is a common bridge.
Do I have to give up my nursing license?
No. Many nurses keep their RN license active and pick up per diem shifts while they build their real estate business, and some keep it for years. The two licenses aren't in conflict. Check your current employer's policy on outside work, and Nancy's team can talk through how other nurses handled the transition.
Is real estate income stable?
No, and it's better to hear that now. Income is commission-based and varies month to month, especially in year one. What reduces the swings is a brokerage with leads, training, and support, and a pipeline you build steadily. Nancy talks through realistic first-year expectations on the discovery call.
Your Next Chapter Doesn't Start With Two Weeks' Notice. It Starts With a Wednesday Morning.
One hour with Nancy, no commitment, and an honest answer about whether this is your move.
Not the right page?
Written for Someone Else You Know?
Every page ends on the same Wednesday call. Send the right one along.
Teachers
Hospitality
Already licensed
Teaching, and resenting the math?
You explain hard things to nervous people, manage thirty personalities and a stack of deadlines, and every family in town knows your name. Those skills pay differently in real estate.
See the teachers pageServing, and building someone else's business?
You read a table in seconds, recover a bad moment before it becomes a bad review, and half the town knows your face. Get licensed around your shifts and own what you build.
See the hospitality pageLicensed at another brokerage?
You know how to work a deal. What you may not have is a broker who answers, an office to bring a client to, or leads that show up without you buying them. See what changes when you move.
See the agents page