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Although the standing rules of my association (Bonita Springs- Estero REALTORS® in Florida) don’t allow association executives to hold an active license, I got board approval to do so. I wanted to see what my members experienced—and to understand why they sometimes didn’t know what I expected them to know when they became association members. It was an eye-opening experience. Here are my five reasons to go through this process.
- By going through the licensing process start to finish, you’ll see exactly what information future members are being given.
- You’ll better understand how the licensing process works. For example, I was told the state doesn’t send emails to remind you of your license renewal or the fee. Not true!
- While this might not be true in all states, in Florida, you can hold the license for an association’s real estate school if you are a licensed broker or real estate instructor. Otherwise, you’ll need to ask a member who fills these requirements to take on this role. This is why, along with my real estate license, I’m also pursuing my broker license.
- When you understand what members don’t learn as part of the licensing course, it helps you create relevant education for new licensees. For example, I found that the pre-licensing course taught to the test—no more, no less—and had nothing to do with conducting a real estate business.
- You can encourage members to take skills-based courses such as the post-license course and GRI 100 series sooner so they can be better educated on how to run their real estate businesses. Another reason: In Florida—and some other states—if members don’t take the post-license course before they must renew their license, the license goes into “null and void” status, and they must start the pre-licensing process over again, including the state application, fingerprints, the course and the test. I have seen this happen.
