March 05, 2008

I've Officially Run Out of Room on My Business Card

Brian Block Passes Virginia Broker's Exam

First things first.

A big announcement (cue drumroll):

Yesterday, I passed the Virginia Real Estate Broker's Exam!

180 hours of education in Real Estate Finance, Real Estate Appraisal, Real Estate Broker Law, and Real Estate Brokerage Management -- a full day of class every Thursday since August now completed. Volumes and volumes of real estate knowledge now crammed into this Virginian's head.

Filing into the exam center yesterday at noon alongside candidates for General Contractor, HVAC Repair, and Journeyman Electricians, I sat in front of terminal #10 ready and rearing to go as the questions started appearing on the screen. 45 minutes allotted to the Virginia section and 105 minutes were allotted to the National portion of the exam. As I answered question upon question, I realized that there was plenty of time left on the clock. Hey, I knew my stuff. My outstanding teachers, Mary Otis, Diane Quigley, and Jerry Friedlander, had indeed prepared my brain over the last 6 months for the challenge of this exam. Finishing up, I clicked on submit test and waited. On the next screen much to my delight was the following:

Virginia Portion: Result: PASS

National Portion: Result: PASS

Broker Brian I returned to the proctor who then informed me that I may have breezed through and finished the exam in record time -- about 48 minutes total out of the allotted 2.5 hours. He congratulated me, collected my unused scrap paper, handed me the Virginia application for an Associate Broker's license and sent me on my way into the World as a newly minted Broker.

Well, almost. We've got to send the paperwork down to Richmond and get it processed. That could take a few weeks, knowing government bureaucracy.

I'm excited to be a Broker. Though I don't plan on starting up my own brokerage at this point, you never know. At least the option's open. My belief is that you can never have too much education and knowledge.

If you have the opportunity, I'd highly recommend taking the Broker classes live in the classroom, rather than online. Some of the most memorable and educational experiences included:

a class field trip to a currently listed home to perform an appraisal. We went through the entire home taking measurements and taking notes on the property condition, as well as photos of the subject home and the neighborhood to prepare an appraisal
a group project to determine whether an investment in a particular home was a good decision, complete with financial pro formas to analyze the investment
hearing advice from guest lecturer Brokers who had started their own brokerages and talked about the pros and cons of their decision, as well as detailed the start-up costs
a group project to study different brokerage models (i.e., traditional, franchise, limited service, internet) and develop the brokerage model of the future
various guest lecturers including an accountant specializing in helping REALTORS maximize those tax deductions, several prominent real estate attorneys, the founder of two of the largest settlement companies in Northern Virginia, and some real estate technology gurus

Now about those business cards...

Squeezing all my licenses and designations on a single card would require font so small you'd need a high powered magnifying lenses to read it.

Just for the record:

Accredited Buyer Representative
Attorney
Certified Residential Specialist
ePRO Certified
Graduate REALTOR Institute
REALTOR
Seniors Real Estate Specialist

Brian Block business card I don't have most of these on my card currently (learn what these designations all mean),