| Q. |
How do I edit and personalize my free REALTOR® web page on the VAR Find a REALTOR® website? |
| A. |
It's easy; just click here for steps! |
|
Q. |
I've noticed I need my NRDS Id number to access some services. Where do I find it? |
| A. |
If
you've already received a copy of the Commonwealth magazine, look for
your member number on the address label. It is the nine digit number
located directly above your name. If you do not have a copy of
Commonwealth magazine nearby, please contact your local association. |
| Q. |
Can I change my address directly in NRDS? |
| A. |
A. VAR, NAR, and your local Association upload all member information
from a single source: NAR's National REALTOR(r) Database System (NRDS,
for short!). To ensure that changes are made at all three levels, you
should send your address change directly to your Local Association, who
will upload those changes to both National and State. |
| Q. |
How do I renew my real estate license? |
| A. |
The Virginia Real Estate Board can assist you in the process of renewing your real estate license. The VREB can be reached at http://www.state.va.us/dpor/reb_main.htm or by calling (804) 367-8526. |
| Q. |
What are the qualifications for a brokers license in Virginia? |
| A |
A
total of 180 classroom hours of Board approved courses are required.
Courses deemed substantially equivalent to those courses approved by
the Board may also be accepted. Proof of passing the course and a
monitored final examination are required for course approval. You must
complete at least three courses from the below-listed broker specific
courses. One of the three must be a 45 classroom hour real estate
brokerage course.
Broker-specific Courses
Real Estate Brokerage Real Estate Law
Real Estate Finance Real Estate Appraisal
The remaining hours may be broker related courses.
Broker-related Courses
Real Estate Economics Business Law
Real Estate Investments Property Management
Real Estate Abstracting Urban Developments
Real Estate Feasibility Analysis Commercial Mortgage Lending
Real Estate Math (completed before 12/86) Land Use Planning
GRI (all parts) CRB (all parts)
CCIM (all parts) SIR/SIOR (all parts)
Note: The maximum allowable credit for a single broker-specific course is 60
hours and 45 hours for a single broker-related course. Any principles of real estate
course taken to meet the salesperson education requirement is not acceptable to
meet the broker education requirement. |
| Q. |
I am licensed in another state and wish to get licensed in Virginia. Can I
apply through reciprocity? |
| A. |
Yes.
Applicants for a salesperson’s license must pass the Virginia portion
of the examination and submit verification of completion of 60 hours in
the principles of real estate or verification of experience (actively
engaged as a salesperson for 12 of the 36 months preceding application
for licensure), and submit letters of certification from other
jurisdictions where licensed. Applicants for a broker’s license must
pass the Virginia portion of the examination, submit verification of
experience (actively engaged as a salesperson or broker for 36 out of
48 months preceding application for licensure) and submit letters of
certification from other jurisdictions where licensed. |
| Q. |
How many hours of continuing education have I taken during my current licensing period? If you were licensed before December 31, 2003, the Code of Virginia
states that you must have a total of 16 hours of continuing education
with 8 hours in the mandatory topics which includes 2 hours in Fair
Housing and the remaining 6 hours must be a minimum of 1 hour in each
of the following categories: Legal Updates, Real Estate Agency, Real
Estate Contracts, and Ethics & Standards of Conduct (Fair Housing
is the only topic that requires a minimum of two hours. The remaining
mandatory topics have to be at least 1 hour but the total of all
mandatory topics must be at least 8. The remaining hours may be real
estate related or in the mandatory topics.
If you were licensed after January 1, 2004, new licensees need to take
30-hours of post-licensure education in lieu of taking any continuing
education courses for the first two years after they receive their
license. Click here to view the education requirements. |
| Q. |
How do I earn the GRI designation? |
| A. |
To
earn the GRI designation in Virginia, you must complete the nine
“required” modules and take three of the five “optional” modules. You
must receive a passing grade for each module examination and you may
not miss more than 15 minutes of any one module session. You must hold
membership in the National Association of REALTORS®. For more
information, click here. |
| Q. |
How can I get a REALTOR® License Plate through the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles? |
| Q. |
Where can I get a new Equal Housing Opportunity poster? |
| A. |
Contact HUD's Branch at 800-767-7468 to obtain a copy of the poster. If you require more assistance, contact HUD at:
P.O. Box 23268
Washington, DC 20026-3268
1-800-245-2691
TDD: 1-800-927-7589
Fax: 1-202-708-9981
E-mail: helpdesk@huduser.org |
| Q. |
Have you checked your company name for compliance with NAR rules regarding use of the REALTOR® trademark? |
| A. |
As
a REALTOR® member, you may use the REALTOR® mark adjacent to your name
or your firm's name only if the appropriate separating punctuation is
also used. For example, “John Doe, REALTOR®” is correct, but “John Doe
REALTOR®” is not. Similarly, “Blackwell, Inc., REALTORS®” is correct,
but “Blackwell, Inc. REALTORS®” is not. Also, NAR strongly encourages
the use of terms such as Realty, Real Estate or the like in the formal
firm name. While “Jim Smith, Inc., REALTORS®” is acceptable, “Jim Smith
Realty, Inc., REALTORS®” is preferable. Finally, the REALTOR® mark may
not be used in the firm name. Therefore, “Blackwell REALTORS®, Inc.” is
an improper use of the mark, but as we stated before, “Blackwell, Inc.,
REALTORS®” is fine.
The point
here is to highlight that the term REALTORS® is distinct from the
practice of real estate, but is emblematic of membership in an
association to which not all real estate practitioners belong. It is
for this reason, for example, that it is improper to use the mark as a
synonym for real estate broker or agent. “Dokes, Inc.,
REALTORS®/Builders” is clearly improper, as it implies that REALTORS®
is a profession. On the other hand, “Dokes, Inc., REALTORS®, Real
Estate Broker/Builders” is proper use. When in doubt, substitute the
word “Member” for “REALTOR®” and if it makes sense, you're probably
using the term correctly. Try it on the two “Dokes, Inc.” examples
above and you'll see what we mean.
Mind your commas when using “REALTOR®” in firm name By Lem Marshall
For more on correct trademark usage, go to NAR's Membership Marks Manual on www.realtor.org.
Think you know it all when it comes to trademark usage? Go to http://www.realtor.org/rmoquiz2.nsf/trademark?openform to take a quiz testing your trademark knowledge.
|
| Q. |
May I use the word "Realtor" as part of my website domain name? |
| A. |
Associations may use the term as part of their websites, but individual Realtors or firms may not. For example, www.fairfaxexitrealtor.com would not be a proper use of REALTOR in a domain name according to NAR association counsel Mike Thiel.
There are various ways in which a member's name may be used with the
term REALTOR in a domain name, for example, johnsmithrealtor.com,
jsmithrealtor.com and realtorsmith.com. The second way in which the
term REALTOR may be used is with the name of a member's real estate
business. For a firm with the name ABC, they could use ABCrealtors.com.
For example, if the name of the firm is Exit Real Estate Results, a
proper use with the firm name would be
ExitRealEstateResultsRealtors.com or
even FairfaxExitRealEstateResultsRealtors.com (Fairfax is acceptable
because it relates to the firm name and possibly distinguishes between
different Exit Real Estate Results offices, and is not describing
REALTORS). The domain name www.fairfaxexitrealtor.com is improper because it is neither the name of a member or a member's real estate business. |
| Q. |
How do we create or update an Office Policy Manual? |
| A. |
Click here for our manual! |
| Q. |
Where can I download the REALTOR® logo? |
| A. |
Click here; logos are available on the NAR website. |