Update: PRC Accreditation For Real Estate Salespersons

As promised, I'm back with the update on how to be accredited as a real estate salesperson with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).  This is known as PRB-RES (Professional Regulatory Board - Real Estate Service) Resolution No. 13, amendment to Section 31 of the RESA Law IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations).  The major change is the deadline: from July 30, 2011 to December 31, 2011.  This deadline only applies to those who have been salespersons for 3 years or more AND are not at least 2nd year college level.  There is no deadline for those who want to be salespersons AND are at least 2nd year college level.  Without further ado...

The applicant shall follow these steps:

1. Submit the filled-up or accomplished application with supporting documents for pre-evaluation to the Office of the Secretary, PRBs or of the Assistant Secretary, PRBs (3rd floor, Main Bldg) at the PRC Central Office, or Regional Offices processing counters.
2. Proceed to the cashier for payment of fees - P600.00 (Ground floor, Main Bldg.)
3. Proceed to the Customer Service Center for metered documentary stamp (same)
4. Submit duly accomplished application form to the Office of the Assistant Secretary, PRBs (3rd floor)
5. Verify the status of your application at the PRC website: www.prc.gov.ph

Supporting documents for NEW or existing real estate salesperson with no DTI/HLURB registration:

• Original and photocopy of NSO birth certificate / Certificate of Live Birth
• Original and photocopy of NSO marriage certificate (for married females only)
• Original and notarized Certificate of Educational Attainment on the completion of at least two (2) years of college
• Original NBI clearance (valid for the current year)
• Original and notarized Certification of twelve (12) credit units on Real Estate Brokerage (12 CPE units)

Supporting documents for existing real estate salesperson with DTI/HLURB registration:

• Original and photocopy of NSO birth certificate / Certificate of Live Birth
• Original and photocopy of NSO marriage certificate (for married females only)
• Original and notarized Certificate of Educational Attainment (at least High School diploma)
• Original NBI clearance (valid for the current year)
• Original and notarized Certification from his/her DTI-licensed real estate broker or HLURB-registered real estate developer
• Original and photocopy of DTI/HLURB Certificate of Registration as Salesperson
• Original and notarized Certification of at least One Hundred Twenty (120) hours of training and seminar, to be issued by the employer or provider (60 hours classroom lecture or seminars and 60 hours of training or fieldwork)

Supporting documents for existing real estate salesperson with at least three (3) years of active practice:

• Original and photocopy of NSO birth certificate / Certificate of Live Birth
• Original and photocopy of NSO marriage certificate (for married females only)
• Original and notarized Certificate of Educational Attainment (at least High School diploma)
  
• Original NBI clearance (valid for the current year)
• Original and notarized Certification from his/her supervising licensed real estate broker or HLURB-registered real estate developer
• Original and notarized Certification of at least One Hundred Twenty (120) hours of training and seminar, to be issued by the employer or provider (60 hours classroom lecture or seminars and 60 hours of training or fieldwork)

Some more information about the accreditation:

• The Registration Division shall notify the accredited salesperson to enroll their names in the Roster of Accredited salespersons after they shall have paid the prescribed fee.
• Within a reasonable period, the enrolled accredited salespersons shall be issues their identification cards (ID), containing the data or items that are material to the use thereof in their practice as real estate accredited salespersons.
• The said ID shall be renewable every year for a period of one (1) year from his/her birth month.
• The Board (PRB-RES) and the Commission (PRC) shall have the right to cancel, withdraw, confiscate, or not to renew such ID upon violation of any law or rule or non-compliance with the conditions or obligations set forth therein.

There you have it, the implementing rules and regulations for getting accredited as a real estate salesperson with the PRC.  I'm sure some people will be saddened by the fact that the PRB-RES specified only existing salespeople with a high school diploma are eligible to get registered until December 31, 2011.  We can only hope that they'd see fit to amend it once more and soon, at least until the deadline.

Finally, many thanks to www.foreclosurephilippines.com for this.  For more information about real estate and foreclosures, visit Jay Castillo's site, too.

Happy Selling!
Jon

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