The Importance of Real Estate Training Courses
Training should be seen as an investment in the development of productive employees. Over time, it will yield economic and quality benefits in any industry.
Training within organizations is vital to the development of employees, both personally and professionally. Therefore, companies must find mechanisms that provide their personnel the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to achieve optimal performance throughout their entire time with the organization.
This trend has been adopted by a number of visionary leaders who have realized that training is not an unnecessary expense, but rather a productive investment to achieve greater economic, quality and productivity benefits in any industry.
The real estate career of Rafael Valdez, a certified instructor approved by AMPI, has been inseparably connected to training. When he was hired by Century 21 in 1991, he began to study the various geographic areas that then comprised the region. “At that time it was not difficult, as our industry was just taking off. And we were only 17 real estate agencies,” he says. And he enrolled in every course available to him, to become completely involved in the real estate process.
Over the years and on his own initiative, he began to compile the highlights of each of the courses he had taken. Collating these, together with the practical experience he had gained, he then produced a small manual containing a basic overview of real estate practices.
“I completed my manual at a key moment. On one hand, the Asociación Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarios (Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals) was promising us continuous training. And on the other, there already was a regulation that required 100 hours of professional training for an agent to become an associate.”
Rafael Valdez, AMPI certified instructor.
Subsequently, he approached SEP Jalisco (Jalisco’s Secretariat of Public Education) for a thorough review of his manual, and after a few slight changes, it was approved in its entirety. “Then I went to AMPI and presented it to them. They were delighted and invited me to teach a course based on it.”
Thus, in September 2008, the first course on real estate approved by AMPI was given at the Instituto de Formación para el Trabajo del Estado de Jalisco (IDEFT) (Institute of Training for Labor of the State of Jalisco) in Puerto Vallarta. “As my basic program only covered 40 hours of training, I started developing Bienes Raíces II and increased the content of each topic, to cover 100 hours.”
Since then, both courses have been taught four times a year on average. “Although my ideal number of attendees is 10, we have groups of up to 18 agents interested in taking our basic program, which includes topics such as obtaining and marketing exclusive listings, selling techniques, services to the buyer, Federal Zone regulations and formalizing land holdings.”
The second course is aimed at those real estate agents who wish to reach a higher level, as it explores issues such as the representation and commercialization of real estate developments, zoning, building regulations in Jalisco and Nayarit, as well as urban development plans for Puerto Vallarta and Baanderas Bay.
“The difference between my courses and those offered in other institutions is that I, as an instructor approved by AMPI, take the time to update the programs with the new laws being implemented. When you take my courses, you can leave the classroom, go to your office and begin applying the knowledge acquired.” The main characteristic of the courses created and taught by Rafael Valdez is that they are based on his experience, acquired over the years, and the specific needs of the Jalisco and Nayarit region.
When asked about the primary challenges facing his Bienes Raíces I and Bienes Raíces II courses, Rafael Valdez was clear: “To be useful to the community in general, not just meet the required hours, to be truly applicable at a professional level. That our program is always up to date and that it is practical, engaging and understandable.”
“Training is vital, not just in our industry. When this concept becomes the norm in Mexico, we will become a more competitive country, as it will improve company profitability, employee morale, problem-solving and the stability of the entire organization. It will reduce the need for supervision and, above all, increase the quality of work. Its importance to technical growth, organizational culture, skill development and corporate image is indisputable,” he concludes.
His next courses are tentatively scheduled to be offered in March and September 2017. For more details and information, contact Rafael Valdez at raval@prodigy.net.mx.