I spent last week at the VA Association of Realtors annual convention. The best news I heard all week is that there is a proposal working its way through the system to increase the education necessary both to get a license and to keep one. This can only benefit consumers!

In order to get a license you are currently required to take 60 hours of course work and then pass the licensing exam.  Going forward once you pass the exam, you will then have to take 30 hours of practicum prior to obtaining your license.

Right now that 60 hour course is really designed to help you pass the test. It has very little to do with the actual practice of real estate.  In fact, the vast majority of the course material is never used again! The course does not deal in things that would seem to be required to any thinking person, such as how to actually write a real estate contract! So this would be a big step in the right direction!

In addition, the proposal would raise the current requirement of 16 hours of continuing education every two years to 20 hours.  While this is certainly a step in the right direction, I would have liked to have seen this increased even further.

Now the work begins to get this approved and implemented!