Why You Should Hire a Real Estate Professional

When it comes to jobs in Real Estate, most are familiar with the role of a Real Estate Broker or a Real Estate Salesperson.

Some may not be familiar with the differences of the two, but did you know that there are five (5) distinct roles and three (3) different professional licenses under Real Estate Service in the Philippines?

For one to be eligible to become a licensed real estate professional, one must be a holder of a BS Real Estate Management Degree.

One is deemed a licensed professional if one has passed the board examination prescribed by the Philippine Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service and continues to improve his/herself in the profession by attending Continuous Professional Development Seminars regularly.

The examinations differ for each Real Estate Service Profession and takes several days or sometimes even months to complete (as is the case for Consultancy)

There are five (5) distinct real estate service practices defined under Republic Act 9646 or the Real Estate Service Act, and three (3) different Professional Licenses.

The Real Estate Broker

The Real Estate Broker is a duly registered and licensed natural person.

The Real Estate Broker is one that all may be familiar with for the job of this professional includes the following:

• to offer
• to advertise
• to solicit
• to list
• to promote
• to mediate
• to negotiate
• to effect the meeting of the minds on:
  • sale
  • purchase
  • exchange
  • mortgage
  • lease
  • joint venture
  • other similar transactions on real estate or any interest therein.
    
    

The Real Estate Salesperson

The Real Estate Salesperson is a a duly accredited natural person.

The Real Estate Salesperson is one who performs service for, and in behalf of a real estate broker.

In short, the Accredited Real Estate Salesperson is a representative of the Licensed Broker who assists in the services offered by the Broker.

The Real Estate Appraiser

The Real Estate Appraiser is a duly registered and licensed natural person.

The Real Estate Appraiser is one who performs services in estimating and arriving at an opinion of or acts as an expert on real estate values, and such services of which shall be finally rendered by the preparation of the report in acceptable written form.

There are several reasons why one may seek the aid of a Licensed Real Estate Appraiser such as applying for loans, for tax purposes, for the sale of the property, for refinancing and many more.

The professional opinion of appraisers regarding the values of properties are recognized for they support their opinion with different industry-accepted methods of valuation.

The Real Estate Assessor

The Real Estate Assessor is one who works in a local government unit and performs appraisal and assessment of real properties, including plants, equipment, and machineries, essentially for taxation purposes.

Real Estate Assessors share their professional license with that of a Real Estate Appraiser, but their work varies as there are different practices for valuing properties for government and taxation purposes.

The Real Estate Consultant

The Real Estate consultant is one who offers or renders professional advice and judgment on:

(i) the acquisition, enhancement, preservation, utilization or disposition of lands or improvements thereon; and

(ii) the conception, planning, management and development of real estate projects.

The Real Estate Consultant is deemed as the highest level of the Real Estate Service Profession. For one to qualify for the board examination, one must be a licensed Real Estate Appraiser for at least five (5) years or a licensed Real Estate Broker for at least ten (10) years.

As consultants, these individuals are proven to be experts in their field not just through knowledge but through experience as well. Their advice comes with a degree of merit for these professionals are able to produce extensive multi-disciplinary studies and even execute projects, depending on the needs of the client and the Real Estate Consultants’ expertise.