Real Estate: Why Should You Bother With Licensing or Accreditation?

I guess many unlicensed real estate agents/brokers are thinking: "Why should I bother with licensing/accreditation?  It's not like anyone's gonna do anything about it anyway."  There are sales managers and directors that aren't licensed when they should be, and sales agents that aren't accredited because their manager isn't a licensed broker.  So, why indeed should they bother?

Well, it's a LAW.  In case you didn't know, the Real Estate Service Act Law (RESA Law), otherwise known as Republic Act 9646, was passed in June 2009, seeking to professionalize the real estate industry, to protect consumers as well as licensed professionals from the "unscrupulous" practices of unlicensed practitioners.

Should you be worried?  After all, it's been almost 2 years and nobody has gone to jail for being unlicensed or for not being accredited.  See if this strikes you as menacing enough:

Article V, Sec. 39.  Penal Provisions - Any violation of this Act, including violations of implementing rules and regulations, shall be meted the penalty of a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000) or imprisonment of not less than two (2) years, or both upon the discretion of the court.  In case the violation is committed by an unlicensed real estate service practitioner, the penalty shall be double the aforesaid fine and imprisonment. 


So without a license or accreditation, under the pain of imprisonment and/or a fine, practice real estate at your own peril.

How does this affect those sales managers and directors working for developers?  Let me state the pertinent provision:

Article IV, Sec. 32.  Corporate Practice of Real Estate Service
a)  No partnership or corporation shall engage in the business of real estate service unless it is duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the persons authorized to act for the partnership or corporation are all duly registered and licensed real estate brokers, appraisers or consultants, as the case may be.  There shall be at least one (1) licensed real estate broker for every twenty (20) accredited salespersons.


b)  Divisions or departments of partnerships and corporations engaged in marketing or selling any real estate development project in the regular course of business must be headed by full-time registered and licensed real estate brokers.


There you have it, very clear and straight to the point.  Do yourselves a favor and get licensed, so you can get your salespersons the necessary accreditation for them to continue selling for you.

Think you have time?  At the recent oath-taking ceremony, the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service (PRB-RES) mentioned that by 2014, a Bachelor's degree in Real Estate Service might be implemented by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).  If and when that happens, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) will make that college course mandatory before you can take the licensure examination.  If you don't want to go back to school just to get your broker's license, I suggest you take the 120 CPE units now, and take the next licensure exam this coming November 2011.

Or, you can continue thinking that you can get away with it and not do anything.  As Forrest Gump said, "Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."  Pray it's not a fine of P200,000 and a 4-year prison term.

Hopefully,
Jon