Alphabet Soup? Nope, Those are Real Estate Agent Designations!

What do the letters behind a genuine estate agent's name stand for? Real estate agents, like physicians, lawyers, and other specialists can ear designations, certifications, and other credentials. These are often shown by putting a series of initials following the agent's name. The most typical designations and certifications are: Broker, REALTOR, e-Pro, CHMS, GRI, ABR, and CRS.
What does an agent have to do to obtain the designation or certification?
e-Pro requires an agent take a class on standard computer system abilities. It has no genuine estate content material, but ensures your agent can use e-mail and the web. It must actually be a bare minimum bar for the technologies aptitude of your agent.
REALTOR is the one of the less complicated credentials to get (but 1 of the hardest to reside up to). A REALTOR is a true estate agent that belongs to the National Association of REALTORS and agrees to adhere to the Realtor Code of Ethics. You can read about the code here http://www.realtor.org/mempolweb.nsf/pages/Code?OpenDocument
Broker is a bit tougher to obtain than REALTOR. In Texas, for example, a broker license is essential to be able to operate your personal real estate enterprise. An agent ought to have their license for 2 years and full more than 600 hours of genuine estate education prior to applying for a broker's license. The broker's license is granted upon completion of an exam administered by the state. Brokers are generally true estate agents with advanced educations.
GRI stands for Graduate Realtor Institute. Less than 50% of agents have this designation. The GRI requires 12 days of continuing education with passing grades on 3 exams. There are no production or time needs so an agent can literally earn this designation by sitting in class for 12 days and passing the tests. This designation is in no way a measure of true estate sales encounter.
ABR stands for Accredited Buyer's Representative. Less than 30% of agents have this designation. This designation combines 2 days of classroom work and an exam with the requirement that the agent show proof of at least five buyer sales. This designation shows that the agent has had both formal classroom time and in the field experience.
CRS stands for Certified Residential Specialist. Much less than four% of all agents have this designation. This is the most hard designation to obtain and is a measure of a high degree of formal education and true planet transactional knowledge. To obtain a CRS, the agent should attend 3 2-day classes, pass 3 exams, and provide proof of 25 closed transactions within the last 24 months. Though the transaction experience is not a enormous quantity, it does weed out the inexperienced agents and the classes weed out those agents who are not devoted to continuing education.
Other designations are out there, but for the most part they are issued by inconsequential groups and have no genuine bearing on the agent's skills and are made use of a great deal more for promoting purposes than something else.