Licensing Courses For Real Estate Dealers And Developers Begin June 13

Real estate dealers and developers who have not yet completed the requisite continuing professional development (CPD) courses for licensing can do so, starting June 13.

The sessions are the Common Issues in the Real Estate Industry, which will take place on June 13, the Real Estate (Dealer and Developers) Act is scheduled for June 14, while the Terrorism Prevention Act is down for June 16.

The training continues on June 20 with the Anti-Money Laundering 2 course and ends on June 22 with the Go AML for Salesmen lesson.

Persons can register on the Real Estate Board (REB) website at www.reb.gov.jm, up to two days before each class begins. The courses will be administered online.

Manager of Continuing Professional Development of the Real Estate Board, Ainsworth Norton, emphasised that these courses are mandatory.

Real estate professionals must fulfil these requirements within the two-year time frame given for completion. Those who opt not to will not be granted a licence to practise.

All courses, except the Common Issues in the Real Estate Industry, originated from the Real Estate Dealers and Developers Act. Other laws, including the Proceeds of Crime Act, have also influenced the development of the courses.

“We have the mandate to ensure compliance by those whom we license within the industry. These specific courses are not designed to advance one’s professional career. They are meant to ensure that persons operate within the bounds of what is legally permissible, or what is required under the legislation,” Mr. Norton said, and reminded real estate professionals about the importance of the training series.

He informed that the agency would continue to structure classes throughout the year; therefore, professionals do not have to sit the courses all at once.

The Manager is also encouraging real estate professionals and other members of the public to invest in other courses offered by the agency to improve service quality. These include the upcoming community and strata management course, which will assist strata corporations and gated communities in the management of their affairs.

“We recognise that it is something that is necessary, given the spate of problems that we have experienced in strata corporations. We have seen that the management of gated communities is likely to be the same. So, we use this opportunity to highlight how it is that we do these things,” Mr. Norton added.

The community and strata management course will be available soon.