ReMax 360 Buckeye Lake Broker Jacqueline Van Dorn has 26 years of experience in real estate.
I believe in the value of my license and the quality of professionals entering the real estate industry.
I’ve never heard anyone complain that it takes too long to become a real estate salesperson in Ohio, or that we learn too much. So I was confused when I became aware of an effort in the Ohio General Assembly reduce education and quality standards in the real estate sector by Parliamentary Bill 238.
Why are we trying to lower the level of expertise of sellers and brokers in our state?
Real estate standards are diluted
Real estate professionals must be well-trained in fair and equitable housing and financial services to achieve sustainable homeownership for all populations. Understanding and reporting agent commissions is also a topic that has generated considerable controversy and considerable risk for agents.
After Ohio allowed online real estate classes, we saw an explosion in student numbers that last year grew to nearly 11,000 real estate professionals in Columbus alone . This represents an increase of more than 600%.
Prospective agents can spend three weeks and pay a minimum tuition fee, take their exam, sign up with an online broker and never leave home.
I fear that standards will be diluted and that removing the barriers faced by training providers will only accelerate the decline.
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Business owners have come to rely on quality sales agents coming into my brokerage, but without quality standards, the onus will fall on brokers to invest more time and money in preparing salespeople to succeed in the industry and assume the risk that they may not. ready to do their job properly.
Standards matter
I also think it’s a mistake to completely eliminate the degree path to becoming a broker. I enjoyed the quality diploma training I received to prepare me to embark on a management career and run my business.
The quality standards included in real estate school accreditation are crucial because they provide the knowledge and skills needed to navigate a complex and ever-changing real estate market. These standards hold schools accountable.
Agents must understand legal regulations, contracts, market research and assessments, ethical standards and industry best practices.
In my experience, students do best when engaged in class or in live online learning like Zoom.
It appears that Ohio is encouraging more students to enroll and pay for what I call “pop-up” schools that record certain classes and resell them over and over again. I would expect there to be a decline in officer preparation in the future.
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If our state decides to reduce the quality of education in Ohio, we should expect fewer consumers to complete their education, fewer…
