According to the May LANDTHINK Pulse results, 67.3% of respondents think land real estate agents should be required to take some natural resource training (forestry, wildlife, agronomy) before selling land. In every state, the basic education to become a licensed real estate salesperson is the same. Every person seeking to obtain a license to sell real estate must complete a pre-licensing course, although the required number of hours differ by state. Once the pre-license course is completed, potential licensees must pass the state real estate license examination. In order to maintain a license, a minimum number of continuing education hours are required prior to the license renewal date.
Real estate agents who go on to specialize in land sales regularly encounter a number of issues that agents who work in the residential home sector rarely face when selling a home. Land transactions are different and more complex than a home purchase, and land agents must be armed with the knowledge needed to ensure quality service and a smooth transaction for their client. As our Pulse results indicated, many across the industry believe that natural resources training could increase a land agents’ proficiency in guiding clients through certain types of land transactions.
In his LANDTHINK article titled “Not All Real Estate Agents are Competent about Land”, Jonathan Goode, land agent with Southeastern Land Group, brings to mind the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, Article 11. Jonathan brings to attention the point of Article 11, which is “to protect consumers and clients from hiring an agent that is not competent in specific areas of real estate.” In addition to experience in land sales, specialized training in areas such as forestry, wildlife, agronomy, geology, or farm management could be helpful to clients. The general consensus by the LANDTHINK audience was that being armed with natural resources training could not hurt. In certain kinds of transactions, the training could help clients dodge mistakes and save money on a land purchase. In the aforementioned article, Goode quotes the Standard of Practice “to show that on a national level there is recognition that there are different aspects of transacting real estate, and that an agent should be competent in the field in which they practice.”
The 32.7% of our audience who answered “NO”, probably agree with many who think that in a complicated land transaction, buyers and sellers should instinctively go beyond the insights of their land agent alone and seek advice from attorneys, tax experts, and registered foresters, etc., before purchasing property where their expertise in specific areas would be of value.
The May Pulse asked: Should land real estate agents be required to take some natural resource training (forestry, wildlife, agronomy) before selling land?
The LANDTHINK audience strongly expressed their opinion on the subject of additional education for real estate agents focused on selling land. Our informal online survey revealed the majority of our audience, 67.3% of respondents, think some natural resource training should be required. Only 32.7% answered “NO”, expressing the opinion that no training in natural resources should be required to sell land.
Here are the final results:
- 67.3% said YES
- 32.7% said NO
Thank you to everyone who participated and shared the Pulse with friends and connections in the land industry.
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We answered no for this reason. In our realm of aquatic habitats there is a massive amount of very unqualified advice out there. A little knowledge may simply lead a real estate client away from success. We do not enjoy seeing clients waste capital and this is all too common when we get called in to fix a bad investment.
Too many people are tempted to “lead off base” with advice when they have just a little knowledge. That scenario leads to trouble. This is also why we offer pre-purchase consulting to potential property owners.