You must pay annual dues to be a Realtor®, but the NAR offers benefits to its members that make these dues worth their cost. Following are some of the benefits offered by the NAR to its members:

• A monthly magazine with articles that teach agents to work responsibly and productively, and to promote their businesses

• Access to password-protected educational materials at NAR and state affiliated Web sites

• Representatives who lobby for Realtor® needs and personal property rights, at the local, state, and national levels

• A Realtor® VIP program that offers member discounts for many products and services

• Ongoing education through Realtor University Online® and special designation programs

• Access to a large real estate library filled with books, tapes, and other educational media

• Annual state and national conferences where Realtors® can network with each other and take advantage of educational opportunities

• Having your listings be a part of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) available online through www.Realtor.com

While you may not take advantage of all of these resources, they are available anytime you need them. The educational materials alone are worth the cost of membership.

One important quality that sets Realtors® apart from other agents is their commitment to abide by the Realtor® Code of Ethics, which is a document that details numerous requirements to maintain membership, including an agent's responsibilities of loyalty and legal duties to clients. The ethics document also covers truthfulness in advertising and offers guidelines for working honestly and in harmony with others in the real estate profession.

Realtors® police their own members. Every Realtor® has the power to file a complaint against another Realtor® if necessary, and the organization also accepts complaints from the general public. These complaints can affect membership status and fines can be levied against you if a panel of your peers determines you have acted inappropriately. However, the organization does not have the ability to take away your real estate license. That action can only be taken by the real estate licensing commission that granted the license.

Special Designation Programs

Your prelicensing class taught you the basics of real estate law in your state, but it probably didn't touch on an essential ingredient to your success: how to be a good real estate agent. There are many special designation programs, each one offering training in a specific topic and all designed to teach you the business of real estate. Membership in the NAR is required for most designations.

The training requirements vary for each designation. Some are available through home study if you meet certain eligibility guidelines, such as a minimum number of years in the business or possession of another designation. Be prepared to pay an annual fee to retain memberships in the groups that award special designations. Continuing education might also be required.

Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES)

The SRES designation helps you understand the special housing and financial needs of senior citizens who are buying or selling residential real estate or investment properties. It helps agents understand tax issues that are important to seniors.

Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers (CRB)

The CRB designation is awarded to Realtors® upon completion of a combination of extensive real estate managerial experience and formal training. Possessing certain other special designations allows you to bypass a portion of the study required for the CRB.

Council of Residential Specialists (CRS)

The CRS designation is the highest professional designation a Realtor® can achieve in the field of residential sales. It is awarded after successful completion of six, two-day classes and a passing grade on the accompanying tests. Partial class credit is given for a bachelor's degree, for possession of some other special designations, and for verifiable experience as a successful real estate agent.

accredited Buyer Representative (aBR)

Receiving the ABR designation indicates that you have completed course work and experience to help you understand the special needs of real estate buyers. The designation is managed by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council (REBAC). Two days of course work is required but the designation is not awarded until you show proof that you have represented a certain number of buyer clients in completed transactions. Ongoing education is required for continued membership.

Graduate Realtor Institute® (GRI)

GRI is a designation awarded after successful completion of three, four-day courses that cover many aspects of real estate, including sales and marketing, legal and regulatory issues, communications and technology, and professional standards requirements. GRI course work varies from state to state. Contact your State Association of Realtors® for information about classes in your area.

additional Designations

There are other useful designations you can earn through classroom and home study. Specialized classes are available for agents who wish to be property managers, for agents who plan to specialize in land sales, and for those who want to learn more about selling commercial or international properties. The NAR Web site, at www.realtor.org, is a good place to begin researching special designations.

Why a Designation?

Although the general public may not understand the energy and commitment that go into receiving a designation, the benefits to your understanding of the real estate business are invaluable. It also becomes a source of referrals. Agents who know how hard a designation is to obtain will perceive you as more committed and may send you referrals.

Nonaccredited Continuing Education

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of classes available beyond the classes needed to keep your license active. Seeking education beyond what is required can give you a competitive edge. From community colleges to traveling seminar speakers, as a real estate agent, you will be offered many opportunities to learn. Some will be very beneficial to your career but not all of them will meet your state's requirements for continuing education. This does not mean you should ignore nonaccredited continuing-education classes.

Be selective and take classes you believe will help, even if they do not earn you continuing-education credit. You may want to take a computer class or a time management class. You might attend a motivational class that is designed for any sales career, real estate or otherwise. Ask other agents if they have taken the classes being advertised, and what they thought of them.

Cross-Training in Related Fields

As they spend time working in real estate, agents sometimes become interested in related professions, such as real estate appraisal and mortgage brokerage. Others become interested in related technical careers, such as home inspection and boundary surveying. Some who explore other interests enter the new career full-time but retain their agent's license, even if they don't plan to use it immediately, so they don't have to go through a lengthy licensing process again. Acquiring education in related fields gives you a much deeper knowledge of the world of real estate, but it's sometimes difficult to work two careers at the same time. Keeping up with the laws and changes in each area can be time consuming and there are also other issues to consider, including conflicts of interest between your chosen fields.

appraisers

An appraiser's job is to determine a property's market value, usually furnishing the information to a lender or a cash buyer so that the funds provider knows the property is worth at least the amount of its purchase price. Contracts often move forward or die based on appraisal results, so the reports must be produced by someone who is honest and has nothing to gain or lose if the numbers aren't as expected.

Think about this. If you are the listing or selling agent or if you work for the listing or selling firm, could you provide an unbiased appraisal (one that doesn't favor any party) in the transaction? The answer is probably yes, but you shouldn't take the assignment. An appraiser who also works as an agent must sometimes turn down jobs in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

Appraisers are licensed by their state. They take specialized classroom instruction, just as a potential agent does, and must pass a state test. However, most appraisers do not become fully licensed until they have completed a lengthy internship, working under the supervision of a licensed appraiser. A typical internship requires each trainee to complete a certain number of appraisals or hours on the job.

Fact

Many large real estate firms provide a variety of in-house services for their clients, including appraisal and loan solutions, home inspections, and other services required to get a transaction to closing. Disclosing this “affiliated business arrangement” is critical, even if the buyer or seller does not use the in-house service.

Becoming a licensed appraiser gives you extra insight into the true market value of properties, knowledge that is an important tool when you work with buyers and sellers. Investigate your state's licensing requirements to help you determine if pursuing an appraisal license makes sense for you.

Mortgage Brokers

Mortgage brokers bring buyers and lenders together. They are not loan officers, who work with the loan products at a single bank. They are independent agents who often have hundreds of lender contacts, making it possible for them to find a lender suitable for any type of credit situation. Mortgage brokers are paid a fee by the lender when a buyer obtains a loan.

Real estate agents who are also mortgage brokers are privy to a buyer's financial information and that knowledge could be a conflict if the buyers become interested in one of your listings. Would you tell the seller that the buyer is qualified for a loan that is larger than the price they offered for the property? You shouldn't, but will buyers wonder if you kept their personal information confidential?

One possible solution is to stop taking listings so that you don't deal directly with sellers. Build your business strictly on buyer services, advertising that you can help with both needs. Another solution is to refer any buyer interested in your listings to another mortgage broker.

ssential

Agents and firms who offer multiple services should not imply to customers and clients that they must use those services — that is called steering, and it is illegal. Always give buyers and sellers a list of at least three potential providers for each service.

Your state banking commission regulates mortgage brokers. That is the best place to find information about licensing requirements and ongoing support.

other Related Careers

Home inspections and land surveying are fields you might find interesting. Both require a great deal of technical training and expertise. Surveyors are licensed by their states. Home inspectors must be licensed in some states. You may also wish to specialize by working for a developer in new home sales only. Agents who work for a developer usually sell only the product that the developer is offering. They often receive a regular paycheck as well as a small commission on each unit sold. These agents do not always join the National Association of Realtors® since they do not use the MLS or other services it provides.

Real Estate Conferences and Expositions

You'll have the opportunity to attend a variety of conferences and expositions (expos) — events held especially for real estate agents and people working in related occupations. Many of these events include educational opportunities and large numbers of vendors who set up booths to show you their products, which include everything from business cards to software to personal improvement programs.

The NAR holds an annual conference for Realtors®, and each state puts on a Realtor® expo at the state level. These are major events that draw some of the top names in teaching, plus the manufacturers of some of the best products to help you run your business.

Your local Board of Realtors® will likely hold smaller conferences, independently or in conjunction with other boards in the region. Attending those seminars is an important way to keep in touch with real estate on a more local level.

Real estate prelicensing schools sometimes offer teaching seminars that focus on learning the business of real estate, rather than their usual licensing focus. Well-known teachers travel to larger cities to hold conferences of their own. Some franchises, such as Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Prudential, hold annual conferences for their agents.

Attending seminars is the best way to find out which franchises offer the most valuable resources, and You'll learn something at every function you attend. You'll also get a valuable bonus — the ability to network with other agents. Having a pool of agents you can rely on for support and expertise is one of the best ways to move forward in your real estate career.

Learning on the Job

On-the-job training is where real estate agents really learn their trade. Most of your real estate training will take place as you work with clients. No two transactions are the same. Each one has the potential to teach you how to deal with an entirely different set of conditions. You'll learn to be a mediator and a counselor. You'll learn to juggle schedules so that inspections and other necessary work are accomplished in a timely way and in the correct order.

If your real estate firm offers training classes, take advantage of them. If it doesn't, watch the experienced, successful agents, and try to determine why they are so successful. Are they good salespeople or do they know how to manage their time wisely? Are they agents who have a system to help them track customers? You'll find that successful agents have developed a system that helps them keep in touch with every person who contacts them.

If you have the chance to be a part of a mentor program, where more-experienced licensees train the less experienced, this is a great way to get a jump-start on real-life situations. In a mentor program, you will often share your commission with a more-experienced agent but you will also have the benefit of that agent's expertise to shorten your learning curve. Even if your office does not offer a mentor program, you may want to ask one of the top-producing agents if you can train with her in exchange for sharing some of your earnings.

The real estate business is constantly changing and the competition has always been strong. Coupled with experience, education can help to level the playing field. Constantly strive to better yourself, learn everything you can to set yourself ahead of the competition, and focus on success.