ALISO VIEJO, CA., July 5, 2005 - Tired of having to belong to and pay different
associations for each real estate designation you have. Now a real estate
organization has taken the lead by becoming the first real estate society
to charge only one annual membership due, irrespective of whether you have
one or more designations – and they have eight. The Real Estate Professional
Society (REPS) announced this change in their membership dues together with
the launch of their redesigned website (www.realestateprofessionalssociety.com).
”
In the same way that consumers are demanding a one-stop-shopping experience,
they are also demanding that the real estate professionals serving them be a
one-stop-knowledge source,” says Stefan Swanepoel, President of The Real
Estate Professionals Society, “and although REALTORS® need not become
licensed appraisers, loan officers or home inspectors, they must improve their
overall knowledge about these services,” he said.
Now real estate professionals can become certified in the primary areas of the
real estate transaction including; residential, commercial, mortgages, appraisal,
home inspection and e-business and receive a designation that reflects their
additional knowledge. “There are now three types of sales associates,” Swanepoel
said, “Agents, REALTORS® and then there are Real Estate Professionals.”
Designations are awarded upon successful completion of the related real estate
course and study material and include:
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(AREP)® Accredited Real Estate Professional;
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(CREP) Commercial Real Estate Professional;
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(APREP) Appraisal Real Estate Professional;
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(HIREP) Home Inspection Real Estate Professional;
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(MREP) Mortgage Real Estate Professional.
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(EREP)® e-Business Real Estate Professional;
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(RREP) Referral Real Estate Professional; and
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(CMREP) Career Management Real Estate Professional.
“The courses do not make you a qualified Loan Officer, a Certified Appraiser
or a Licensed Home Inspector, but provide you a solid executive type level
of overview and broad understanding of "what is what" in each of
those disciplines,” Swanepoel said. “This innovative new suite
of real estate courses and designations are available only through our strategic
education partner, RealtyU®. We selected RealtyU® as they are the largest
network of real estate schools in the nations and with their over 200 RealtyU® locations
nationwide, are in the best situation to help more agents with their education
needs that anyone else,” Swanepoel added.
This opens a whole new dimension of real estate designations and knowledge
previously not available to many agents due to the high costs associated in
belonging to multiple associations, as most real estate brokerage designations
only offer or manage one designation” says RealtyU® Chief Operating
Officer, Thomas Mitchell. “If the average Association due is $100 a year,
then managing five designations would cost an agent $500 every year. Now he
or she can save 80% and pay only $99 per year for all their designations.”
The real estate industry has in the last decade been in the midst of significant
changes and launching of new business models. It appears that at last, education
has taken a major step forward to catch up and offer a better business model
over the existing.
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