Real Estate Salespersons: What Do You Need To Know?

So you want to be a real estate salesperson?  Great!  Before the RESA Law (Republic Act 9646), things were simpler, and you could dive right in and start selling real estate.  It's different now, especially with the advent of the RA 9646 and its implementation.

For your information, according to the RESA Law (R.A. 9646), real estate agents can only be accredited under a licensed real estate broker:

Section 31. Supervision of Real Estate Salespersons. - For real estate salespersons, no examination shall be given, but they shall be accredited by the Board: Provided, That they have completed at least two (2) years of college and have undergone training and seminars in real estate brokerage, as may be required by the Board. Real estate salespersons shall be under the direct supervision and accountability of a real estate broker. As such, they cannot by themselves be signatories to a written agreement involving a real estate transaction unless the real estate broker who has direct supervision and accountability over them is also a signatory thereto. No real estate salesperson, either directly or indirectly, can negotiate, mediate or transact any real estate transaction for and in behalf of a real estate broker without first securing an authorized accreditation as real estate salesperson for the real estate broker, as prescribed by the Board. A real estate broker shall be guilty of violating this Act for employing or utilizing the services of a real estate salesperson when he/she has not secured the required accreditation from the Board prior to such employment.

No salesperson shall be entitled to receive or demand a fee, commission or compensation of any kind from any person, other than the duly licensed real estate broker who has direct control and supervision over him, for any service rendered or work done by such salesperson in any real estate transaction. (this means that the broker will be the one who will collect payment and then pay you.) 

No violation of this provision shall be a cause for revocation or suspension of the certificate of registration of the real estate broker unless there was actual knowledge of such violation or the broker retains the benefits, profits or proceeds of a transaction wrongfully negotiated by the salesperson. 

In other words, once you're accredited under a licensed broker, all your real estate activities will be under the broker, including your listings and commissions.  If you decide to break away from the broker, you will have to file for accreditation with the PRC again under a different broker.

For simplicity's sake, here's a table I made to show you the requirements for PRC accreditation:

In case you can't see it, feel free to right-click on it and download it for your convenience.

If you'd like to see what topics might be included in a 12 CPE units seminar, check out Urban Institute's page.  Typical costs for taking the 12 CPE units training range from 1,500 to 1,800.

I can't give you any info yet about how much PRC accreditation will cost as they have not released any information regarding that.  I will update this blog post as soon as I get information.

Additionally, after accreditation, you need to:

• Get registered with the HLURB - this is required if you are going to engage in project selling such as condominiums, townhouses, etc.
• Get acquainted with the different taxes that you are required to pay such as withholding tax, income tax, percentage tax and e-vat.  Check out the BIR's page for more information.

For now,  if you want to be an accredited salesperson, find a licensed broker, take the 12 CPE units seminar, order your NSO birth certificate and NBI clearance, and get everything else in order.  Once the PRC releases the final guidelines, you'll be ready! 

By the way, I'm a licensed broker hehe!
Jon