Although you will often see references to "realtors", that format is incorrect. A REALTOR is a member of the National Association of REALTOR (NAR), the trade association for real estate professionals.
One is not required to belong to NAR to sell real estate. The name varies among states, but a real estate agent, broker, licensee, or salesperson is someone who has been licensed by the state and is allowed to represent others in real estate transactions. They might or might not also be a REALTOR.
A REALTOR would have you believe that he or she enjoys superior education, motivation, enthusiasm, knowledge, and ethical standards over a nonmember. I think that a very high percentage of members can honestly claim these attributes because of their willingness to commit to the organization and its ideals. Certainly they have access to an incredible array of training, resources, tools, and networking opportunities.
When deciding who to hire, you will have to make your own decisions regarding whether a REALTOR has taken advantage of those opportunities or not and whether a nonmember has equal or superior capabilities even though he or she chose not to join a trade association.
There is a wide variety of designations offered by many different real estate–related organizations. There is no consistency among them regarding educational or testing requirements to obtain the designation, nor continuing education requirements to keep them.
Bear in mind that some people collect designations like others collect pet rocks. For other people, the education leading up to being granted those initials is a meaningful and important part of their careers and adds value to the services they give their clients and customers.
With that disclaimer, here are a few of the more common designations. Remember, designations that seem similar might not be differing levels of expertise, but simply competing organizations that grant designations. If you do not see one here, look on the website of RealtyU for the list it attempts to keep completely up to date.
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Webworldarticles.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.
This article was sent to us by:
Brian S. Kelley at
07042010
1. How to Benefit from a Real Estate Investing Book
All articles in this directory are property of their respective authors. Additionally, read our Privacy Policy
© 2010 WebWorldarticles.com - All Rights Reserved.