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I Are A REALTOR (education requirements)

"Dad! I'm quitting high school to be a REALTOR just like you!"
I dread the day this nightmare comes true and I hear these words from my son or daughter. Sadly, in the State of Washington (and most other states) real estate licensees are not required to finish high school.

Our state has some really outstanding elected and appointed officials, and public employees. But we have a HUGE DISPARITY within our State government that (in my opinion) must be reconciled.

The stated goal of the WA State Board of Education is to "Raise student achievement dramatically" and to "Provide all students the opportunity to succeed".
The WA Real Estate Commission's Mission Statement begins with "To uphold, protect, and promote the public interest ..."

These sound good on paper but in reality our State tells today's youth ...

"Even if you don't graduate, we'll authorize you to facilitate the purchase and sale of BILLIONS of dollars worth of real estate."

AND our State is telling the public ...

"We're regulating real estate licensees for your protection. Whether or not your REALTOR has the aptitude to complete the most basic level of public education is irrelevant."

Has our State accomplished the stated objectives of its Licensing and Education departments?
(Please notice I said State, not the individual departments.) In the majority of cases, Yes. But upon considering recent events and current industry conditions our State's licensing requirements have contributed to the problem.

We've all heard about REALTORS that can no longer make it, so they had to get a real job and they're only qualified to be a grocery clerk.
Many loan officers engaged in predatory lending were (are) licensed real estate agents/brokers and doubled their exploitation of poorly qualified Buyers.

Simply put, it is just TOO EASY to become a real estate licensee in Washington. Nobody can see what the future holds. But when listed on a resume, experience as a REALTOR should equate with substantially more than any unskilled job. I also believe that fewer opportunists would have damaged our industry and national economy if the licensing process was better regulated.

So how would you fix the problem?
I've come to believe that there is a great deal of merit in Washington's requirement for two years experience as a Trainee before someone can even take the Real Estate Appraisers exam. I think adding a similar Trainee/Apprentice license type for real estate would help Washington discourage exploitive abuses and help elevate the prestige of our profession.

Since I would add a new license type with experience requirements, I've added experience requirements to the following levels of real estate licensing ...

Trainee/Apprentice (licensed assistant) requiring a high school diploma.
Sales Associate requiring a two year college degree plus two years experience as a licensed Trainee.
Broker/Associate Broker requiring a four year college degree plus five years experience as a licensed Sales Associate.

I try to keep my articles short and easy to read so I'll end here and leave you with this question ...

How can we elevate the general public's opinion of REALTORS above that of Used Car Salesmen if we don't have higher education and experience requirements than Used Car Salesmen?

Posted by Larry Wright on 10/13/2007 04:00 PM

Comments (27)

washington real estate, realtors, rantings, washington, real estate

Post is included in group: Active Rain Newbies
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27 Comments on I Are A REALTOR (education requirements)

OCT

2007

I totally agree. A degree isn't a perfect indicator of intelligence or anything else but we have to have better minimums.

NV does not require a H.S. diploma either...I know someone who only got through 9th grade...and he's not the brightest apple on the tree either...it took him seven tries to get through the licensing test.

I thought you did have to have your high school diploma to be licensed. Also, it's true that almost ANYONE can become a licensed real estate agent, but you still have to work really hard to make it in this industry. I agree that having a degree is a plus, but for most careers, you learn on the job, not while you're sitting in a desk, listening to a lecture. As for the, "Dad, I'm quitting high school", I think some people will learn from their experiences and/or mistakes, and take it from there.

I fully agree that there should be more education required for real estate licensees.

I agree with Leigh Brown that formal education is no indicator of intellegence or skill, but it is often times an indicator that someone has discipline and dedication. Utah requires a high school diploma, but then only 90 hours of licencee training. The training goes over the legal issues and aspects associated with real estate, but nothing about actually running a real estate business.

Requiring more education before getting a licence would also weed out a lot of chumps, that usually end up failing at real estate anyways.

Real Estate Agents really should be required to have somewhat of a financal and buisness background. I would also love to see required education in things like home construction, building codes, zoning aspects, property rights.

The fact is, usually only the educated agents succeed. Its the untactful, unskilled ones who give the industry a bad reputation.

Totally on board with you. This has been a sticking point with me for years. We have slightly elevated standards here for agents, but still nothing like what they should be.

Next to no standards here before getting your license. I remember in my training class how long it took the instructor to get a couple of people to understand calculating square footage! Scary but true.

Everyone seems to think that this is a business that brings in a great cash flow stream with little out of pocket. I do think that an apprentice/trainee/or mentor programs should be required. The ones that want to learn always seek a mentor relationship and are generally the ones who succeed.

Real estate school certainly doesn't prepare you for marketing, expenses, systems, running a business, using the internet, etc.

My post secondary education involved early childhood education, which really has nothing to do with the real estate business. Except maybe how to deal with some immature collegues :snicker: Most of my business expertise has come from running several different businesses since I was only 20 years old.

OCT

2007

I so agree, impossible to learn it all in a short 40 hour course in pre-licensing. A mentor is a must unless you have a broker than can take the one on one time necessary.

OCT

2007

Great ideas!! Our industry has enormous turnover and fall-out because there are no real barriers to entry for new agents. Just look at big business -- how many companies have people or near the top without formal education or training? Very, very few and that's because it's not easy to get to the top without credentials, education and experience. We really shouldn't permit under-trained, under-supervised people handle the single largest financial asset held by most people.

I'm very pleased that California has now increased the licensing requirements for new agents. Now you can't get the license until you've taken 4 courses rather than just 1 with a promise to finish the other 3 within 18 months. Still ridiculous but a small step in the right direction.

Larry,

I think it's pitiful how little is required for a person to receive a license to practice real estate. At the very least the amount of pre-license training hours should be much more than is currently standard here in Washington. I would like to see a mandatory one year real estate course covering all the fundamentals, such as real estate law, forms, standards of practice, ethics, business, basic finance, escrow and title process, septic, wells etc...

Sandy

Larry,

I think there would be an uproar if the general public became aware of Washington's non-existant basic eduation requirements for real estate sales associates. This is a double standard within our state government and kind of a "duh" thing that needs correction.

Plus ... REALTORS could be blamed if our mortgage default and forclosure rate catches up with others around the country.

Deb

OCT

2007

I am unsure but I don't think there is any requirement in New Mexico for a prospective licensee to have a high school degree. The NM real estate commission has been trying really hard for the past two years to beef up the education for obtaining a license. They are on the right track. Larry, I think your idea of holding a "training" position for two years prior to getting a Sales Associate license is a great one.

P.S. Thank you for commenting on my marketing blog.

Larry, I know it shocks me too that Washington State doesn't require a licensee to even have a High School diploma. People always ask me if it takes a lot of education to become a real estate agent. I usually respond with "You don't even have to graduate high school". I then quickly follow up with "I chose to get a college degree and highly recommend you do the same."

OMG, in looking through the requirements for California it looks like we don't require a high school diploma either. We only require the completion of 4 'college-level' courses which can be taken from 'accredited' real estate schools on-line. The big challenge is the 'exam' which requires you to only fill-in-the-circle on a set of questions that are fairly widely distributed to exam-cram schools.

No wonder many of our sales people seem so ignorant......

OCT

2007

Many thanks to everyone for your comments. I've discussed this issue with other brokers and found that the State RE Commission has previously considered increasing education requirements for real estate licensees. Apparently there is a great deal of opposition. I'll continue digging and update everyone.

Thanks Again!
Larry

Larry, maybe some of the legislation is afraid that they will have to have a High School diploma next if they require it for real estate licensees?

OCT

2007

Ryan ... Good observation and question ... I hadn't even thought of that.

OCT

2007

Education is always important and you are so right we need to raise the bar.

Wow! I thought that most states require at least a high school equivalency to get a real estate license. It's funny. Here in DC almost everyone I know in the business has a college degree and then some - often a doctorate in some totally obscure, unmarketable field - Early Rennaisance Art History or something. And that's not to say they do better than some of the people who are just really street smart.

It's too easy to become a real estate agent, period. Frankly, I think it should require at least a year's worth of college level classes, including English, copy writing, and photography!!!

NOV

2007

It just doesn't make sense. I wonder what external factors influence the low education requirements.

Maybe the state making money on all those licenses...

NOV

2007

Karen ... I thing the state would save money by not licensing so many agents.

NOV

2007

So true Larry. I'm glad you brought this point up and hope to see something more required for both Agents and Loan Officers.

NOV

2007

Thanks Melissa ... I'm continuing with this matter and will post another blog entry soon.

DEC

2007

You have the right idea. However I have met and worked with agents (who somehow managed to earn a Bachelor's Degree) who cannot spell, construct a sentence or communicate above the fifth-grade level. So I have trouble with the idea that a sheepskin makes a good agent.

APR

2008

After spending the greater part of the evening researching on line about appliance thefts in our area - which I might ad most likely is a person who is currently licensed in our state. Had we strick regs about licensing as well as finger printing and a background check.

Certainly it is far to easy as are the on line courses that update the agents hours for renewal. Our time and education ought to require attendance to courses and classes in a classroom with accountablity. Working and networking and time in the field are all part of our job discription. We owe this to ourselves and our clients.

You say these courses are boring and or too far to travel, think again we are professionals working full time in this industry. Have a job during the week, might you consider dedicating yourself with knowledge -heart - commitment.

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