Real Estate Service Coach [RESC]: Tips for Salespersons

Showing posts with label Tips for Salespersons. Show all posts

8/03/2013

Request for Cancellation of Salesperson’s Registration with Negative Note

QUESTION: Rltr. John, my Salesperson violated the Real Estate Service Act of 2009 and I want to fire him. How do I write the request for cancellation of his PRC Registration?

ANSWER: See sample/guide below.

SUBJECT: Request for Cancellation of Salesperson’s Registration with Negative Note

ATTN: PRB-RES
Professional Regulations Commission
Manila

Please cancel the Real Estate Salesperson registration of [SalespersonName] with a negative note. I have forced him to resign and end his career as a real estate salesperson because he maliciously by-passed my supervisory function. Specifically, he solicited an Authority to Sell from a real estate owner named Daniel Gonzaga and kept the document secret from me; deliberately failed to have the Authority to Sell approved by me; and he offered the property for sale to a certain Lilia Sanchez. I discovered the anomaly after Lilia Sanchez contacted me to verify the legitimacy of the offer. Attached are the documents in relation to this case.

Sincerely,

Rltr. YourName
Real Estate Broker

If there is anything else important that I forgot to include in this article, or if you experienced a real estate transaction that is anomalous, scam, fraudulent scheme that you want me to document and expose for others to be warned, or if you want to donate to the war chest of real estate consumer rights advocacy, please feel free to email me at JohnPetalcorin@Gmail.Com. If you want to comment about this article, there is a provision for this purpose that you can find below.
Thank you so much for visiting my site. May God Bless You!

6/26/2013

How to avoid developers from stealing your leads

When you advertise a property for sale, it generates sales leads. If you show the name of the developer or name of the project, the interested buyer who saw your Ad will most likely go to the website of the Developer. When prospective buyers inquire via website of developers, the inquiry form goes to the developer and not to you. As a result, the leads generated by your internet Ads and fliers are stolen.

The solution is simple, just advertise the photo of the house or condominium, the technical information, the location, and the price, but NEVER show the Project Name or Developer Name in your picture and in the text of your ads. Thank you.

As licensed Brokers and Salespersons, you must promote yourselves more as a professional and increase client/customer confidence on you and your profession instead of promoting buyer confidence on the developer. Remember, developers are competitors because they directly sell to buyers too and they have lots of in-house colorum agents. You don't want to lead your clients/customers to the colorum and you don't want your leads stolen.

6/25/2013

Shaving Off Some Requirements to Practice

Been to BIR to return obsolete official receipts. First, you will be given a VERIFICATION FORM which requires you to go around a series of collector agent tables where they check for tax forms or payments you missed to submit in the past which they call "Open Cases". You have to settle the open cases before you get a clearance. I have open cases, just like all customers I fell in line with. We bottomed down to a compromise fee of P3,800 to close all my open cases. I was asked if I will be requesting for Authority to Print (ATP) official receipts, I answered "no" because I intend to shut down the real estate brokerage business for reasons that (1) PRC does not have a law enforcement memorandum circular, and (2) BIR and City Hall appears ignorant of RA 9646 and still accommodate the registration of colorums.

So, everyone, let's clear our open cases in BIR.

Here is the new procedure. We continue to serve customers on the following standard procedure:

(1) Without DTI-registered Business Name,

(2) Without City-registered place of business, and

(3) Without official receipts.

We will wait for PRC to issue memorandum on implementation of the Principal Place of Business provision of RESA as well as law-enforcement memorandum. Our LICENSING STRIKE is still active, which will only affect "renewal" of PRC license, HLURB-registration, and Business Tax Registration/Payment.

With PRC card and City-issued Professional Tax Receipt (PTR), we can continue practicing and servicing the customers. If we hit a sale and get commission, the payor of the commission have the obligation to "Withhold Tax", and we declare ONE TIME INCOME to BIR for whatever jackpot commission we earn (which is very seldom) as Brokers and/or Salespersons.

ATTN: Developers, Dealers, and Banks:

You may now remove the following requirements in accrediting INDIVIDUAL brokers: (1) DTI Reg Business Name, (2) City-hall Business Permit, (3) Official Receipts. In lieu of these things, you will only require PRC Card, HLURB Registration, and PTR. Whatever commission you pay to the Broker and/or his Salespersons, you withhold the usual 10% income tax and don't forget to issue (without delay before you forget) a Withholding Tax Certificate to the Broker/Salesperson.

Please pay the individual Broker or individual Salesperson even if his/her PRC license is expired while we are still on license renewal strike. The rationale of the Licensing Strike is the PRC to issue a Law Enforcement Memorandum Circular on RA 9646, because licensing is useless without it. PRC License Card of a practicing professional can be administratively renewed "retroactively" after payment of license fee and surcharge for all previous years that you failed to renew your license card. So I advise you only require the Registration Certificate (RC is the one that looks like a diploma) because the RC is lifetime. Please do not require them to show the updated or renewed PRC License Card during accreditation or during payment until the RESA Law Enforcement Memorandum is released and effective for implementation. The Salesperson have PRC registration receipts and still don't have PRC cards.

Also, please as a way to migrate those colorums to become PRC-registered, please revise your Accreditation Agreement with Brokers -- add a provision that will make it an obligation for Brokers to register Salespersons that you will nominate/give to them -- each Broker have 20 max per RA 9646. Take note, there will come a time that government will cross-refer its tax-withholding list against PRC registration list -- If you ever paid commission (as evidenced by withholding tax) to a person who has no PRC Registration (as a Salesperson or Broker), you are so screwed, the colorum will pay RA 9646 violation fine of P400,000 for every count of the crime and you are equally liable with another P400,000 fine for every count.

So, Developers/Dealers/Banks, the question is, when will you require DTI-reg Business Name and Official Receipt? The answer is simple. Ask the accreditation applicant first if he/she is getting accreditation for (A) his/her INDIVIDUAL PROFESSIONAL NAME or for (B) his/her BUSINESS ENTITY (whether sole, partnership, or corp). If the answer is "A", no need to require DTI-reg and Official Receipts. If the answer is "B", then require those two. Withhold 10% income for letter category A.

Withhold VAT or Percentage Tax for category B. Do not withhold the 10% creditable income tax for Category B. Take note, once you accredit a category B, it means you are automatically accrediting ALL real estate practitioners under that business entity and only get the TIN of the business entity.

For category A, each practitioner you must accredit EACH one and get their TIN individually. Do not withhold VAT or Percentage Tax from category A. Just withhold 10% creditable income tax for category A.

The confusion could have been resolved already if BIR and REALTER SOCIETY just pursued the Tax Workshop and Forum. Pero hindi natuloy for some reason. So mangangapa tayo nito.

6/23/2013

K12 may justify HS as minimum requirement for Salesperson

QUESTION: Rltr. John, I have here a letter from someone who only finished high-school and been a real estate agent for 12 years already. She said that income is not that rewarding to make her rich, but at least there is work to do and income to hope for. She wants to become a PRC-registered Salesperson but could not meet the 2nd-year college minimum requirement. What should justify the reduction of requirement from 2nd year college down to high-school?

ANSWER: The 2nd-year college minimum requirement is already a legislated provision in the Real Estate Service Act of 2009 (RESA). It connot be done via IRR because IRR must always not go against the legislated provisions. If there should be reduction, it should be done via legislation to amend Real Estate Service Act of 2009. If I would justify it, I would simply use the recently implemented K12 Program as a justification.

Many people have been struggling for the reduction. They didn't know the justification is just 3 letters -- K12.

6/10/2013

Verifying Salespersons in PRC Website

QUESTION: How do public determine if a person is a PRC-licensed Broker or Salesperson?

ANSWER: The public can verify if a person is a licensed Real Estate Broker, Appraiser, or Consultant via PRC website at http://www.prc.gov.ph
You can verify using two possible combinations: (1) first name and surname, or (2) license number and birthday.
You can only verify the supervising Broker of the Salesperson. Salespersons are not verifiable in the PRC website. It is for this reason that Salespersons must indicate their name and the verifiable information and contact number of their Broker in their marketing materials such as fliers, brochures, identification cards, business cards, and online advertisements. Example below is what you will see in the marketing medium of legitimate Salespersons that are verifiable in PRC website.

For inquiries, please contact:
Juan de la Cruz Ramirez*
Tel Nos. 02-1234567
Email: JuanDeLaCruz@Yahoo.Com
* PRC-registered Salesperson under
Real Estate Broker license of John Odonnell Petalcorin
Broker Tel No. 0921-7172040

Or

For inquiries, please contact:
Juan de la Cruz Ramirez*
Tel Nos. 02-1234567
Email: JuanDeLaCruz@Yahoo.Com
* PRC-registered Salesperson under
Real Estate Broker license number: 0010105, 09/15/1973
Broker Tel No. 0921-7172040

5/11/2013

My Best Offer for Salespersons and Referral Agents

Click here to read more about SALESPERSON ACCREDITATION - Opportunity for Real Estate Salespersons and Referral Agent

1/31/2013

How to frankly treat a Broker wannabe

QUESTION: Sir John, I want to become a Broker like you. Can you help me become a licensed Broker?

ANSWER: No, I won't help you. If the number of brokers will become too many, our professional fees will become cheaper. Mag Salesperson ka kung gusto mo mag-benta-benta. Starting June 2012, you have to be a graduate of 4 year course BS Real Estate in order to qualify to take the exam. If ever you will take the course, I wish you all the bad luck, I hope you will not graduate, I hope you will shift course in the middle. We will make the exam very difficult to make sure that you will not pass. Baka tatabihan mo pa negosyo ko, maging competitor pa kita, bababa kita ko. Makikisali ka pa sa hati-an ng pie ng professional fee. Never ask that question again to a hungry Broker because you will never like his frank answer.

1/23/2013

The legal way to avoid VAT - two steps only

I have been coaching here for over four years for free, with over 1,400 unique readers per month, but most readers could not even SUBSCRIBE to this blogsite. I rarely send a blog alert by email, so I did not notice this discrepancy until recently. Why not subscribe? It's not difficult, and it is free. Look at the right panel, there is a button there that says Subscribe [Step 1] Join this site and Subscribe [Step 2] -- I hate it when I notice a reader who is not in the subscriber's list! Please subscribe now, and when subscribe action is completed, you will receive the article titled: "The legal way to avoid VAT - two steps only" in the next RESC NewsLetter. I will send the article by email only to those I see in the subscribers panel.

The three types of broker-salesperson agreements

QUESTION FROM EMAIL: Rltr. John, what can a salesperson sell and not sell?

ANSWER: It depends on the agreement he entered with his Broker. There are three types of agreements: (1) Employer-Employee Agreement aka EEA, (2) Freelance Independent Contractor Agreement aka FICA, and (3) Joint Supervision Agreement aka JSA.

JSA

The JSA is a unique, innovative, copyrighted tripartite agreement that can only be availed if the Salesperson, Broker, and Developer are members of Realter Society. In JSA, the Salesperson pays the Broker P3,000 for annual training, minimum of P12,000 annually for the supervision, plus registration fees in PRC and HLURB -- but the Salesperson gets 100% of the commission. In JSA, the Salesperson sells only and exclusively projects that are carried by the Developer or Bank who signs his JSA booklet. In JSA, the Salesperson has a list of 56 Prospective Buyers (approved by the Broker and Developer) at the beginning of the JSA, the Salesperson will work on his Customer list for the entire year workload, and is paid by the Developer with a PF for each formal Sales Presentation plus Commission. The Salesperson under this JSA scheme is paid a PF for sales presentation because he trained hard through the sales presentation training course of the Developer and becomes an expert on a single project or two -- he can make a sales presentation with all the proper gestures without looking at any script. If the US Military have Navy Seals, the Developer have JSA Salespersons -- the ultimate sales machine who is 100% loyal to the Developer. JSA is a copyrighted agreement and has a warranty against defects. A fourth party, the founder of Realter Society, is the warranty provider, the supreme administrator, dispute judge, consumer rights advocate, and troubleshooter of the JSA.

FICA

In FICA, the Salesperson pays the Broker P3,000 PF for annual training, minimum of P12,000 PF annually for the supervision, plus registration fees in PRC and HLURB -- and the Salesperson and Broker makes an internal agreement on the commission sharing scheme. The FICA allows the Salesperson to sell whatever he wants, provided he will facilitate and get the necessary accreditation with the Developer/Bank for the Broker and for himself. Under this scheme, it is up to the Salesperson to negotiate his own agreement with the Developer, Bank, and Broker. A salesperson who wants self-determination, independence, and freedom is advised to choose this scheme -- he can maintain his PRC/HLURB registration and sleep all year without working as long as he pays the supervision professional fee of the Broker. Nevertheless, a Salesperson under this scheme can also seize the opportunity of freedom to maximize the span of his wings, maximize the listings and accreditation, and achieve unlimited income. No Developer would pay Sales Presentation Professional Fee (PF) to a FICA Salesperson. Disputes under this category will be resolved by IPORESP and may escalate to National Labor and to PRC.

EEA

Salespersons under EEA are trained by the Broker for free and paid by the Broker with minimum wage and standard government mandated benefits. In the EEA, the Salesperson is limited only to selling properties that the Broker is accredited or authorized to sell, except properties that the Broker have signed a JSA with another Salesperson within the Broker firm. Under this scheme, it is up to the Broker and Salesperson to internally come up with an agreement that will determine who pays the training, supervision, reg fees in PRC and HLURB, and the commission sharing scheme. Aside from doing salesperson job, the salesperson under the EEA scheme works 8 hours a day, so he can be ordered around by the Broker to render multi-task work as secretary, receptionist, book-keeper, documenter, errand, handyman, motorbike driver, lease presenter, cleaner, and even as in-house masseur of the Broker firm. No Developer would pay Sales Presentation Professional Fee (PF) to a EEA Salesperson. Disputes will be resolved in IPORESP, National Labor, and PRC.

BROKER'S SALESPERSON PORTFOLIO

Each Broker can only have a maximum portfolio of 20 Salesperson under the current RA 9646. Not all Brokers and Salespersons are born alike and in the same circumstances - there are those who wants to be a great salesman, those who just wants an employment badge, and those who wants wages. Each Broker will have to consider all factors around him/her and make a business decision on how to allocate his/her 20 Salespersons across the three types of broker-salesperson agreements: (1) Employer-Employee Agreement aka EEA, (2) Freelance Independent Contractor Agreement aka FICA, and (3) Joint Supervision Agreement aka JSA. In terms of Broker's workload, the heaviest is EEA, medium is FICA, and lightest is JSA. There is no promise as to which type will render the highest earning for the Broker; but in terms of risks associated with cost of operating a Broker's office , the safest is the JSA and FICA.

DIRECT PAY AUTHORIZATION FORM (DPAF)

QUESTION: Sir John, RA 9646 Sec 31 says, "No salesperson shall be entitled to receive or demand a fee, commission or compensation of any kind from any person, other than the duly licensed real estate broker who has direct control and supervision over him, for any service rendered or work done by such salesperson in any real estate transaction." My question is, can Salespersons receive commission directly from Developers?

ANSWER: It depends on what type of broker-salesperson agreement is entered into. The important thing is, as long as the Broker must authorize the payment, then it is perfectly legal -- there can be a Direct Pay Authorization Form (DPAF) for that purpose.

DPAF would be an internal form in the Broker firm and the form will specify the following: (1) the citation of the Agency Agreement that is used as legal basis of the compensation, (2) how much should the Developer pay to the Salesperson and how much should be paid to the Broker if there is a sharing scheme, (3) when should the payment be made, (4) the bank account information to where the payment should be made, (5) indication as to the type of tax to be withheld at source to be applied to the Broker firm such as income tax, percentage tax, or VAT, and of course (5) name, license number, PTR#, TIN# and signature of the Broker and Salesperson. By the way, whenever the Developer/Seller pays commission to the Salesperson or Broker, it should always issue a Withholding Tax Certificate; and take note also that persons with income below the taxable income threshold are exempt from income tax.

In JSA, the Salesperson is engaged only to one Developer, and it's rather simple because the Direct Pay Authorization is already incorporated in the JSA.

In FICA, it is complicated because the Salesperson is independent and engaged with several Developer/Seller, hence the Salesperson must have the Broker sign the DPAF each time he expects payment.

In EEA, the Developer can only pay to the Broker firm and never directly to any on its Salesperson employees. The Broker must issue Official Receipt for the payment.

PDAF eliminates the need for Broker to issue Official Receipt. Direct pay from Developer/Seller to the Salesperson is good because it prevents double taxation -- we don't want the Salesperson's compensation unfairly reduced by a two-layer taxation. The principle is, if the Broker authorizes it, then that's the manner the Broker wants the commission paid. If anyone or the BIR would counter my opinion, IPORESP can always have the RA 9646 revised on a rush via urgent Legislative Agenda.

Salespersons policy reform agenda

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

IPORESP will push for the removal of the Salespersons from the jurisdiction of PRC and move them to the jurisdiction of IPORESP. Salespersons minimum education is only 2nd year college, so it is not rational to have them regulated by PRC alongside with the other professions that require a finish of bachelor's degree plus board exam.

IRR AGENDA

IPORESP will push for two major IRR reforms for Salespersons, (1) rationalization of required entry-level salesperson seminar by reducing it to 16 hours, and (2) exempting the Salespersons from paying the PRC-registration anew in the event they need to transfer from one broker to the next in the middle of the three year PRC registration period.

BACKGROUND DISCUSSIONS

PROFESSIONAL FEES FOR SALESPERSONS?

Question: Rltr. John, ako po si ____, salesperson lang po asawa ko, apat po anak namin. Colorum kami dalawa noon, ngayon salesperson na asawa ko. Nagbayad kami ng malaki para sa 120 hours na Salesperson seminar, pero okay lang kasi binigyan siya ng certificate kahit hindi na siya pumapasok sa Seminar, so nakatipid pamasahe. Pero masaklap kasi taon-taon daw ang Seminar so bayad kami ng malaki taon-taon para sa certificate. Ako housewife lang. Noon meron silang natatanggap na P150 allowance galing kay maam (developer) kada araw na mag manning sila doon sa gate ng subdivision. Ngayon po na madalang na po ang benta, natigil po ang allowance nila. Paano nyo po matutulungan ang mga Salesperson na magkaroon naman sila ng source ng bread and butter katulad ng Professional Fees?

ANSWER: Ang salesperson ay hindi "lang". Without Salespersons, walang mabebenta na real estate. Wow, okay yan, apwn na biyaya ng Dyos. Mabuti naman at legal na angpag bebenta ng asawa mo, hindi na colorum. Yan pong FRAUD sa seminar attendence ay source po yan ng hanap-buhay ng mga garapata na seminar poviders, mga corrupt na nagpapahirap sa bayan natin.

Kahit anong profession, kailangan merong source ng bread and butter, aka Professional Fees. I will think it over kung papano i-insert sa Joint Supervision Agreement [JSA®] ang Salesperson Sales Presentation Fee na kailangan bayaran ng Developer sa Salesperson everytime na makarating sa point ng formal sales presentation ang Salesperson sa isang customer na naka-lista sa JSA®. Anyway, sa JSA®, 100% ng commission ay mapupunta na sa Salesperson. Ibababa din natin ang entry-level Seminar to 16 hours. Ang initial thoughts ko, kung nag train naman ang Salesperson on formal sales presentation ng project, I think we can include P2,000 Professional Fee na babayaran ni Developer to the Salesperson pag makapag actual na Sales Presentation siya sa customer na officially listed sa JSA® Booklet. So, 56x2000=P112,000 a year ay pwede na siguro. Iisipin ko pa eto ng maayos.

PREVIOUSLY COLORUM, NOW A LICENSED. CHAT MESSAGE: "Dear John, I used to be a colorum for over 11 years. I studied and passed the exam and now I am licensed. Few years back you were my enemy when I read your crusade statement against colorum. But things change already. Now, I already feel the same way as you, irritated with so many colorum around. But I hate my colorum boss, she fired me immediately after I got my license. Out of pride, I started my own realty business, income is very low because there is no bread and butter, no professional fees. So I have to shut down my realty business and I'll go back to my old business as car dealer. The licensing strike that you are commanding is is good for all of us, hence I will obey. My wife says I will only go back to real estate when you succeed in pushing the professional fees. God bless!"

COMMENTARY: Jean Regado: excuse me po against din ako dun sa mga garapata na nag seminar 60hunits ba u 8500 3500 naman ung 12 units pero isang beses lang naman parang kalokohan naman na yearly magtake ng cpe....tayong mga sales person huwag naman masyado magpaka tanga dun sa mjga garapata noh....60hours pala and 12hours...maganda yan sir john ah dapat nga developer magbabayad kc cla naman mas malaki pakinabang...dba tama sir john.....salamat.

COMMENTARY: Mary Jane De Guzman Abad: Sir Rltr John R Petalcorin ask lang po, db po 1 year lang naman pwede ng magresign sa Broker? kasi ayaw na namin sa Broker masyado mataas. madami na sya kagalit d2. mag 2yrs na po kami sa June 2013. Ngayun po nag resign kami 10 ng agents ko eh cancel na daw nya yung Certification nya sa PRC. at ako daw iba Blocklist nya porke nagre2sign ako sknya. Paki advice po ako? kung Ano po dapat gawin namin? Many thanks po.

ANSWER: Anytime, a person can resign from the Broker. ALL licensed real estate practitioners are ON LICENSING STRIKE RIGHT NOW, walang magpa renew ng brokers license until IPORESP lift the strike. While we are on strike, no salesperson is supposed to jump from one broker to another. So, you stick with your BOSS Broker while we are on strike. Prepare also for a National Strike because we are already planning it.

ANSWER: Good question. The Developer will pay PF in each presentation. Maybe the rate will be P2,000 for regular and P3,000 for presentation during tripping. Salesperson's PF has time, effort, and execution of trained skill, so it will have to be paid by the Developer/Seller whether the buyer signs a reservation or not.

COMMENTARY: Nikko Mahor: PF for SPs? Equivalent to the direct seller's incentive from the developer sa ngayon kung meron man. Pero mas maganda nga kung standard at integrated PF na sa JSA... Pabor sa SP yan. Basta additional income sa SP, aprub sa maraming SPs yan...

Sabi nung partner ko lang na kasama din sa group na ito pero silent observer lang siya, "Sino naman daw na developer papayag diyan? Sanay na sila na TY na lang pagod ng mga tao, tapos paiyakan sa pagbigay ng commissions..." Hehehe Mawalang galang na pero may punto nga naman siya...

Yang CPE na yan masyadong pabigat kaya mas maganda kung tanggal na talaga yan tutal mas maselan pa nga ibang professions, wala namang CPE. Para pantay-pantay tayo sa ibang professions. Walang lamangan, walang gulangan.

ANSWER: May point siya Nikko Mahor. Kaya critical ang Salesperson membership in IPORESP. Pag watak-watak kayo mga Salesperson, hindi kayo magpa member sa IPORESP, trust me, we would not include you in the Mandatory PF. Developers sell 1 condo worth P200,000 with a price of P2,000,000 -- ang laki ng profit margin nila. We in IPORESP want to protect the Salespersons commissions and PF. But if the Salespersons won't rally behind IPORESP, bahala kayo sa buhay ninyo, kung paano kayo ini-exploit ngayon ng mga develoer, mananatiling ganyan ang kalakaran, kagustuhan nyo yan. Basta kami mga Brokers, sisingilin namin kayo ng PF for the training and for the supervision, safe na hanap-buhay namin, hindi kayo maging legal kung hindi kayo mag bayad sa amin.

Sa JSA, hanggang pag papa-schedule lang ng appointment for Sales Presentation ang libre na trabaho ng Salesperson. Pag meron nang appointment for Sales Presentation, the Developer will be alerted by the Salesperson, then the Developer must pay the Salesperson a PF first before the Salesperson goes to execute the Sales Presentation. This is how the JSA works.

In the new scheme, if the Developer will not pay the Salesperson's PF, automatically the JSA of that Developer can be terminated across the board, everyone will be alerted to drop that Developer from the JSA. Ang Developer na unfair, hindi natin yan i-patronize, hindi natin tutulungan maka-benta, bahala siya mag-isa.

COMMENTARY: Nikko Mahor: Ako member ako ng IPORESP sir John although under my legal name. Nikko lang gamit ko sa FB kasi social networking site naman ito, kung gusto pa nga na Diablo ang name na ilagay dito pwede rin... Hehehe. Kidding aside.

Oo nga, everyone should rally behind IPORESP pero tao lang naman lahat tayo. We join professional organizations for our own personal vested interests. Kagaya ko, yung 5 point agenda ng IPORESP, supportado ko yan. Pero everything else, medyo isip-isip muna, observe-observe lang muna. May mga panukala kayo na sagasa rin sa aming mga SP pero yun yung sa tingin nyo ay tama para sa amin. Doesn't necessarily mean na 100% agree ako sa lahat ng sinasabi ninyo pertaining to our service as salespersons. Pero they are ideas worth studying.

I would prefer an amendment to the RESA that will require SPs to have their own professional licenses similar to the license to exercise profession of security guards para they can be licensed for 3 years and if they change brokers, wala na masyadong mahabang usapan. A simple resignation letter and the usual clearance will do. Hindi yung pinananakot ng mga broker na tatanggalan kami ng accreditation AS IF SILA ANG GUMASTOS SA ACCREDITATION NAMIN PATI NA ANG SALESPERSONS SEMINAR. DIYAN KUMUKULO ANG DUGO KO.

Tutuo, maraming butas bangko din sa mga SP kaya naiintindihan ko rin kung bakit gusto mong patawan ng supervision fee ang mga SP na ibabayad sa broker. Eh paano naman yung scenario na ganito: lead generation - SP. tripping including cost of tripping and representation - SP. documentation - SP. reservation assistance and after reservation services - SP. Si broker, ayun tiga kolekta na nga lang ng cheke, iniipit pa ang release sa SP nya. Do you think, the broker in this instance is deserving of any supervision fee samantalang may over-ride na siya na 2%? I don't think that's fair pag ganito ang sitwasyon. OK lang ang supervision fee pag walang production ang SP at kung may mga marketing activities na broker-initiated. Pero kung lahat ride din lang sa developer at todo pasa sa salesperson, ayun lang, palagay ko excessive na pag humingi pa siya ng supervision fee eh wala naman siyang ginagawa.

ANSWER: Hindi mangyayaring yang pagkakaroon ng direct registration ng Salesperson sa PRC HLURB na hindi dumadaan sa Broker. Salespersons will always be under the supervision and license of the Broker. Pwede pa siguro sa DTI, pero now na nasa PRC na, impossible.

However, if the Brokers will continue to do selling by themselves, and will continue to see Salespersons as competitors instead of subordinates, and will never mature to becoming supervisors, the result is Salesperson will be abolished as part of RESA kasi walang masisilungan ang Salespersons. Kung mangyari eto, in your case, kailangan mo makatapos ng 4 year BS REM para maging Broker.

Naiintindihan ko naguluhan ka kasi dalawang scenario ang tinitingnan mo, (1) ang kalakaran ngayon na kung saan marami kang reklamo as a Salesperson, at (2) ang hinaharap mong pangarap na sana magka-totoo ang advocacies ng IPORESP. Pabaling-baling-baling ka sa dalawa kaya hindi mo na alam kung sino kausap mo, ang resulta pinapagalitan mo ang kaliwa sa mga kamalian na gawa ng kanan.

Brokers need money for the maintenance of an office that is used by 20 Salespersons. Nowhere else can Brokers get the money to maintain license but from the Salespersons. IPORESP upholds the principle that for every peso paid by any RESP, there must be corresponding service rendered. Kailangan merong contribution ang bawat Salesperson na ikabubuhay ng opisina ng Broker. Hindi pwedeng tawaging "contribution". That is why Salesperson will pay for the Broker's supervision services.

To maintain a legal registration, the Salesperson will pay P15,000 per year to the Broker. To maintain the license, the Broker will have to spend over P200,000 a year to maintain an office. Hindi madali maging salesperson, pero mas hindi madali maging Broker. And come to think of it, when the Salesperson resigns, nobody gets affected. But when a Broker resigns, 20 Salespersons, the entire office, loses their legality to operate.

In any organization, private or government, employees in the front line always thinks the company will run without supervisors and managers. This is what's happening now that is why the real estate service is very chaotic. When there is chaos, the workers at the lowest level of the production, the salespersons, are the ones will suffer the exploitation.

In IPORESP, we don't only discipline Salespersons, but moreso Brokers. As I said, as a Salesperson, if you don't like your Broker, then resign. When you jump to another Broker, you will have to pass through the same process again because the new Broker have a different standard, each Broker have different standard. A Salesperson Seminar will never give you a permanent tattoo that will serve as a badge to skip the seminar of the new Broker. New Broker, new seminar, new PRC registration process, new BOSS to respect, new specialization to follow, new location of office, new co-Salespersons in the office.

By the way, Salespersons will be like security guards. You can transfer from one Developer to another without need to apply for new PRC license, but just get the permission of the Broker. Pero ang opisina ng mga Broker ay hindi toilet bowl na basta-basta ka lang lilipat from one toilet bowl to another whichever is convenient for you anytime.

Regarding the commission override ng Broker, mawawala na yan when the PF is applied. As independent Salespersons, you get 100% of the commission, but you pay PF to the Broker with or without sale. Walang share ng commission ang Broker if the Salesperson pays the annual Professional Fee for the supervision. I have repeatedly explained this a many times already in my previous blogs.

Nikko Mahor's issue is he wants the Salespersons to be capable of executing the work of the Broker. Similar to his issue are several suggestions I got that Brokers will be authorized to do the appraisal kung kaya naman nila kasi madali lang.

My response is always the same, stick to the restrictions and limitations of your license. Salespersons cannot do Broker's work kahit marunong pa sila. Brokers cannot do Appraisers work, kahit marunong pa sila. Moreover, I don't like it when Appraisers and Brokers do the work of the Salespersons na directang magbenta-benta. I kept on maintaining that Salespersons shall have EXCLUSIVE RIGHT to function as salespersons.

Another thing Nikko Mahor wants is security of tenure of legal registration, meaning, long-term PRC registration (3 years) wherein in the event the Salesperson needs to transfer from one Broker to the next while still in the middle of the 3 year registration, they will be allowed the transfer with exemption from PRC Registration Fee. This we can do as a Policy Agenda under the IRR because it is just a lobby affecting the PRC Processing Charges and Fees. Nevertheless, this agenda will be easier to implement and the Salesperson will even get MORE than they are asking if it is inserted in the IPORESP Legislative Agenda that seeks to remove the Salespersons from the jurisdiction of PRC and put them merely under the Registration and Accreditation System of IPORESP.

1/21/2013

Here's a good deal for Salespersons

QUESTION: Rltr. John, what is your deal for the Salespersons?

ANSWER: Under the Garapata Regime, Salesperson pays around 15,000 for 120 hours Salesperson Seminar, and still has to find a Broker with whom he will share the percentage commission. There will soon be reforms.

Under the IPORESP system, Salesperson pays P3,000 for the required seminar because we will reduce it to 16 hours. Then Salesperson pays his/her own Broker P12,000 per year as Professional Fee compensation for the independent Salesperson Supervision and Management Contract. Under the Realter Society JSA, the developer is co-supervisor on the Salesperson and will have a free-hand on the deployment of the salesperson. Salesperson gets 100% of the commission from his/her developer of choice. A Broker with 20 Salesperson can survive as the Professional Fee for Salesperson Supervision will generate a sure bread-and-butter of P240,000 a year.

QUESTION: Bersabe Asis: do you man the broker will have no share on the sale of thier salesperson only 12,000 per year?

ANSWER: Under the Independent Salesperson scheme, the Salesperson gets 100% of the commission. If the Broker wants share of the commission, there is another scheme called employment scheme wherein the Salesperson is an employee of the Broker. The Broker have a choice on how to "diversify" his Salesperson portfolio. It depends on the Broker how many Salesperson employee he wants and how many independent salespersons he wants.

If I were to make a portfolio for myself, I would want to have 18 Independent Salespersons, one salesperson assigned to one Developer. And then I want to have 2 Salespersons working in my office on anything from errand, book keeping, secretary, documentation, and special brokerage operations.

The commission is theirs, 100%, but I need the 18 Independent Salesperson to bring in to my office all clients and customers so I will earn PROFESSIONAL FEES.

QUESTION: Sir John, how do you make sure the Broker actually supervise the salesperson?

ANSWER: That is very simple question. You read the Professional Fees. The Broker need to stamp clearance on Reservation Form, Contract to Sell, Deed of Sale, etc. Before a Broker stamps on the document, there is a strict IPORESP Due-Diligence Procedure. Any consummated transaction of Salespersons will end up into documents that would need a Broker's Stamp and so supervision will naturally come along with it. Of course there is Professional Fee for every stamping -- the customers will pay for that.

QUESTION: Is that Professional Fee rates fixed and mandatory? Could that go any higher or lower?

ANSWER: That is the minimum. It can go higher but never lower. For example, a Broker whose office is located in the Ortigas Business District is more accessible compared to a Broker with office in a far residential area somewhere in the mountains of Antipolo. Accessibility has a premium, so the Broker in Ortigas Business District may command a higher Professional Fees. We let the Salesperson choose.

Brokers pays for rent, overhead, electricity, water, VAT, business permits, license requirements, and daily work in office. The business risk is too high if the Broker's office will depend only on commissions. That is why Professional Fees are incorporated in the new set-up to ensure bread-and-butter and survival of Broker offices. Survival of the Broker, at the minimum, is one of the primary concern of IPORESP. On how to become rich, that's the Broker's free-hand to play the game of managing his Salesperson portfolio over and above the minimum survival line.

SHARING SOME THOUGHTS FROM EMAIL

PREVIOUSLY COLORUM, NOW A LICENSED. CHAT MESSAGE: "Dear John, I used to be a colorum for over 11 years. I studied and passed the exam and now I am licensed. Few years back you were my enemy when I read your crusade statement against colorum. But things change already. Now, I already feel the same way as you, irritated withso many colorum around. But I hate my colorum boss, she fired me immediately after I got my license. Out of pride, I started my own realty business, income is very low because there is no bread and butter, no professional fees. So I have to shut down my realty business and I'll go back to my old business as car dealer. The licensing strike that you are commanding is is good for all of us, hence I will obey. My wife says I will only go back to real estate when you succeed in pushing the professional fees. God bless!"

PROFESSIONAL FEES FOR SALESPERSONS?Question: Rltr. John, ako po si ____, salesperson lang po asawa ko, apat po anak namin. Colorum kami dalawa noon, ngayon salesperson na asawa ko. Nagbayad kami ng malaki para sa 120 hours na Salesperson seminar, pero okay lang kasi binigyan siya ng certificate kahit hindi na siya pumapasok sa Seminar, so nakatipid pamasahe. Pero masaklap kasi taon-taon daw ang Seminar so bayad kami ng malaki taon-taon para sa certificate. Ako housewife lang. Noon meron silang natatanggap na P150 allowance galing kay maam (developer) kada araw na mag manning sila doon sa gate ng subdivision. Ngayon po na madalang na po ang benta, natigil po ang allowance nila. Paano nyo po matutulungan ang mga Salesperson na magkaroon naman sila ng source ng bread and butter katulad ng Professional Fees?

ANSWER: Ang salesperson ay hindi "lang". Without Salespersons, walang mabebenta na real estate. Wow, okay yan, apwn na biyaya ng Dyos. Mabuti naman at legal na angpag bebenta ng asawa mo, hindi na colorum. Yan pong FRAUD sa seminar attendence ay source po yan ng hanap-buhay ng mga garapata na seminar providers, mga corrupt na nagpapahirap sa bayan natin.

QUESTION: Sir John, magiging isang beses lang ba ang PF ng Salesperson kahit dalawang beses siya mag present? First time sa bahay/office ng buyer and second time sa tripping project site or show-room. Saka lang ba babayaran ang PF pag maka-benta? ANSWER: Good question. The Developer will pay PF in each presentation. Maybe the rate will be P2,000 for regular and P3,000 for presentation during tripping. Salesperson's PF has time, effort, and execution of trained skill, so it will have to be paid by the Developer/Seller whether the buyer signs a reservation or not.

QUESTION: Sir John, what can a salesperson sell and not sell?

ANSWER: I will answer that in a separate blog, titled: "The Three Types of Broker-Salesperson Agreements".

1/20/2013

CEOs of Top Real Estate Developers

When the blog titled, "How Law Enforcement Catch Colorum in Bulk" materializes, the tycoons can afford to pay their corporate penalties for engaging the colorum real estate agents. But how about the individual colorum persons? Can the small ones afford the fine and imprisonment?

FERNANDO ZOBEL DE AYALA
Chairman of the Board
Ayala Land, Inc
29/F, Tower One, Ayala Triangle
Ayala Avenue, Makati City 1226

DAVID M. CONSUNJI
Chairman of the Board
DMCI Holdings, Inc.
3rd Floor Dacon Building
2281 Don Chino Roces Avenue
1231 Makati City
Philippines

LUCIO C. TAN
Chairman of the Board
Eton Properties Philippines, Inc.
8th Floor, Allied Bank Center
6754 Ayala Avenue
Makati City, Philippines

ANDREW L. TAN
Chairman of the Board
Megaworld Corporation
28/F The World Centre,
330 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave.
Makati City, Philippines

FREDERICK D. GO
Director, President and COO
Robinsons Land Corporation
Level 2, Galleria Corporate
Center EDSA corner Ortigas Avenue
1100 Quezon City,
Philippines

MARCELINO C. MENDOZA
Chairman of the Board
Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc.
Upper Ground Floor, Worldwide Corporate Center
Shaw Boulevard,
1552 Mandaluyong City
Philippines

HENRY T. SY, JR.
Chief Executive Officer
SM Development Corporation
One E-com Center, 10th Floor Harbor Drive
Mall of Asia Complex, CBP-IA
1300 Pasay City
Philippines

1/19/2013

Is a condo property manager required to have PRC license as Real Estate Broker

QUESTION: Rltr. John, is a Property Manager of a condominium required to have a PRC license as a Real Estate Broker?

ANSWER: It depends on the operations of the person. If the person operates as mere Administrator of the Homeowners Association, then there is no need for him/her to get Real Estate Broker PRC license. The appropriate designation or title of persons operating under this category would be Building Administrator, or Condominium Administrator, or Homeowners Association Administrator, but they must avoid using the designation or title Property Manager.

A person who carries the designation or title of Property Manager operates as a caretaker or leasing agent of individual condo unit in exchange for a professional fee or any form of remuneration of personal services. In order to operate legally as a an independent service provider, a Property Manager must get a PRC license as a Real Estate Broker, or he/she can attach as Salesperson under the license of the Broker. The provisions, responsibilities, and obligations between the unit owner and property manager is forged by a Property Management Agreement, or Lease Agency Agreement, or a Special-Power-of-Attorney.

If the person is only a caretaker, whether a family relative of not, who is given access to the unit and authority to lease it out without any kind of compensation, then a simple Special Power-of-Attorney that would work perfectly fine; as long as it is written in the SPA that there is no compensation for the SPA-holder. Voluntary SPAs are considered extension of the principals and exempted from the requirement for licensing in PRC.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: CONDO owners and tenants must read http://petalcorin.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-law-exempting-homeowners-association.html.

1/18/2013

Distinguish Intent to Buy from Offer to Buy

QUESTION: Rltr. John, what is the difference between an Intent to Buy and an Offer to Buy?

ANSWER: Intent to Buy is a signed statement of a potential buyer that is addressed to the Buyer’s Agent that is taken by the latter before agreeing to serve the buyer. It is not property-specific but only general statement of preferred type of property, location, maximum amount of willingness to pay.

On the other hand, an Offer to Buy is a signed statement of the potential buyer or a buyer’s agent addressed to the owner, seller’s agent, or attorney representing the owner of a specific property. Both are non-committal, subject to property inspection and negotiation. As part of the buyer-side due-diligence process, these two signed statements are always taken by the agent along with the proof if identity and proof of financial capacity. These are taken in order to filter out time wasters such as mere researchers and window shoppers who pretend as buyers.

Real Estate - How to Advertise Safely

QUESTION: Rltr. John, we are a law enforcement group tasked by DOJ to pursue violators of RA 9646 and PD 957, especially the illegal real estate advertisers. The manner of advertising in classified ads (print and internet) does not indicate the relationship of the advertiser to the property. In effect, we have a larger pool of advertisements to investigate. What is your policy suggestion that will reduce the pool of suspects?

FSBO means for-sale-by-owner.

REB means PRC– and HLURB-registered Broker.

SP means PRC– and HLURB-registered Salesperson.

SPA means holder of Special Power of Attorney.

DLR means HLURB-registered Dealer.

AUC means Bank or LGU Auctioneer.

The REB, SP, and DLR must indicate their license numbers. In Philippines, only REBs and SPs have professional authority to indicate themselves as contact person of project developments (condominiums, subdivisions, and burial lots) printed fliers and brochures that are distributed to the public. FSBOs, SPAs, DLRs, and AUCs are not required by law to have PRC license.

To prevent fraudulent advertising, the ads of project developments should show the project’s HLURB License to Sell Number; and the ads of individually titled properties should show the Real Property Tax Declaration Number. Upon verification, the advertiser should be able to show the property folder that contains the title of the property, basis of authority to offer it for sale or lease, proof of identity of the advertiser, and other relevant documents. In case of difficulties in the due-diligence process, either on the buyer side or seller side, please have it professionally done by a real estate broker.

1/15/2013

Overpricing by agent is unethical

QUESTION: Rltr. John, I hired an agent to offer my vacant lot for sale at P6.5M. He advertised it in the classified ads at P7M, while all the other similar properties of the same size in the area are advertised at P6.5M. Did he do the right thing?

ANSWER: In my opinion, your agent violated the Code of Ethics of Real Estate Service if he did it without your consent. Section 3 paragraph (f) of the old Code of Ethics says your broker “should not advertise any property without authority and in any offering, the price quoted should be in accordance with the price agreed with the owners as the offering price”. Offering it for sale at overprice would make it less competitive in the eyes of the prospective buyers.

1/14/2013

What is a real estate agent and its different types?

QUESTION: Rltr. John, what is a real estate agent and its different types?

ANSWER: An Agent is a general term for persons who act as bridge between two principals of a real estate sale or lease transaction. A Broker is a primary agent, and a Salesperson is a secondary agent under the supervision of the Broker. Sales Agent works for sellers; while its counterpart on the buyer side is called Buyer’s Agent.

Exclusive Buyer Agents (EBA) are the rarest among all types of real estate agents — they work only for buyers, and never for sellers. A Listing Agent is a type of agent who is affiliated with a multiple listing facility that is shared by several agents.

Agents are generally required by law (RA 9646 and PD 957) to be registered in Professional Regulations Commission (PRC); and also in Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) if they sell real estate projects (condominium, subdivisions, burial lots); but there are agents who are exempted from licensing.

Auctioneers are a kind of real estate agents that sell foreclosed properties of banks and tax-delinquent properties by local government units — they are exempted from the PRC licensing. Special Power of Attorneys are also exempted from PRC licensing provided that their service is free from any fee.

A Dealer is a principal of the transaction because he/she owns the property he sells, and is therefore not classified as agent; but regular dealers of projects are required to be registered in HLURB.

1/11/2013

Differentiate Active from Inactive Broker

Question: Rltr. John, what is the similarity and difference between Active and Inactive licensee in IPORESP?

ANSWER: Similarity, both are licensed and both are members of AIPORESP.

The PRC licensees are Salespersons, Brokers, Appraisers, Assessors, Consultants. In HLURB, we have Salespersons, Brokers, Dealers, and Developers.

Active means the licensee have a capability to render LEGITIMATE services. Capability means he has Principal Place of Business, Official Receipts, IPORESP-Trained in Professional Services Procedures, etc. If you go to the office of an active licensee, you will find him working, and he has Salespersons.

Inactive means the person has a license badge, but he sleeps whole day, or on vacation whole year round, day and night in the coffee shop, ir in the noodle shop; he has no office, no salespersons; probably he has another full-time job or he is retired already.

PROFESSIONAL FEES

QUESTION: Rltr. John, businesswise, what will be the new practice when IPORESP becomes AIPORESP?
You will reap the fruits of your licenses and get the DIGNITY of the profession. All Brokers and Appraisers who want to be listed in the Directory as "ACTIVE" will be required to set-up an office and have Official Receipt. We will MANDATE charging of PROFESSIONAL FEES on the following services menu. Ang hindi susunod, ma charge ng violation sa ETHICS! Walang colorum na palalampasin, ipakulong lahat, mga developer na nag employ ng colorum kakasuhan at singilin ng IPORESP ng P200,000 proprietary infringement damages.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE MENU AND TARIFF

Percentage Commission (separate table of standard will be provided)
Verbal Consultation (in office) - P500
Verbal Consultation (outside office) - P1,000 plus gas
Issuance of Prescription (checklist of required documents) - P500
Entry/Edit/Upload of Record in PNLS - P500
Print-out of Listing Record from PNLS - P200/property
Acceptance of Authority to Sell/Lease - P500
Property Management - P20,000 per year
Stamping of Clearance on Reservation Form - P500
Stamping of Clearance on Contract to Sell - P500
Stamping of Clearance on Deed of Sale - P500
Stamping of Clearance on Start of Lease Contract - P500
Stamping of Clearance on Ending of Lease Contract - P500
Stamping of Construction Clearance by Real Estate Project Developer - P1,000
Record Verification in Registry of Deeds - P1,500
Record Verification in Assessor's Office - P1,500
Entry-level Seminar of Salesperson - P3,000
Management and Supervision of Independent Salesperson - P12,000/yr
Photography of properties for sale for advertising purpose - P1,500
Advertising clearance - P500
Regular Routine Appraisal for Tax update purpose - P500
Special Mandatory Appraisal of property for sale - P10,000
Successful Colorum Reporting - P100,000 (payable by IPORESP)
Waiving of Professional Service Fee, on case to case basis, would require BIR Clearance.

VAT ON PROFESSIONAL FEES

QUESTION: Are those rates quoted inclusive of VAT?

ANSWER: No. It does not include VAT. The service provider will add on it either 12%VAT or 3% Percentage Tax.

CALL FOR UNIFICATION

Now, why are you just sitting there? Everyone must help, you and me, everyone, in finding the RESPs and making them sign-up in IPORESP.

Meron pang mga provinces and municipalities na walang Brokers. Once we set up the AIPORESP, PNLS, and Professional Fee System, please try to explore the possibility of moving to the provinces and set-up your office there para maserbisyohan ang mga tao.

ADVERTISING CLEARANCE

QUESTION: Rltr. John, I read Advertising Clearance in the Service Menu of Professional Services. What is that?

ANSWER: With the PNLS up and running, LAHAT po na properties for sale and lease makikita po sa PNLS. LAHAT as in LAHAT, may broker man yan o wala.
Real Estate Advertising Companies, mga classified ads like Buy and Sell, SUlit, AyosDito, etc. whether online or print, will be Regulated. Bago ma ADVERTISE ang property, kailangan po ng Advertising Clearance and PNLS Upload, a procedure that is exclusively done by licensed brokers. Sa mga kaya po mag DIY sa pagbebenta ng properties nila, pwede po iwasan ang Agency Service (pagbabayad ng commission); pero hindi pwede iwasan ang pagbabayad sa Advertising Clearance and PNLS Upload.

SALESPERSON SEMINAR COST

QUESTION: Nikko Mahor: Entry-level Seminar of Salesperson - P3,000. Sir John, ang current price ay nasa 1.5k-2k lang po... you might want to adjust para pumareho lang sa existing providers.
answer: You need 16 hours of Salesperson Training -- essentials lang yan. At P200 per hour, that should be P3,200. Eight hours dyan ay sa Governance. Another eight hours sa Specific Products. Sila ang mag adjust sa akin. I am not the one who will adjust to them.

SALESPERSON SUPERVISION

QUESTION: Rltr. John, what is that Management and Supervision of Independent Salesperson (P12,000/yr) in the menu?

ANSWER: Salespersons need Brokers to attach their registration under; and also to supervise their compliance to governance. Salespersons can either be EMPLOYED under the broker or INDEPENDENT under the broker. Pag employed, COMMISSION SHARING SCHEME. Pag independent, yan ang P12,000 Supervision Fee na babayaran niya sa Broker.
But take note that JSA na ang gagamitin. Under the JSA, the Salesperson is provided by the Broker with a list of 56 Prospective Buyers to work on for the next 12 months, within the region lang para hindi siya masyado mabigatan sa transpo. Separate topic yang JSA.
So, each Salesperson wannabe is looking at investing around P15,000 while looking at a potential income from a list of 56 Prospective Buyers.

As a matter of cross reference, please read also my blog titled "Here's A Good Deal for Salespersons".

WHO WILL DO THE SALES WORKLOAD?

QUESTION: Sir John, pwede ba personal na mag benta benta si Broker?

ANSWER: Hindi. Ang benta-benta ay trabaho yan ng Salesperson at hindi makikipag kompetensiya ang Broker sa Salesperson.

MANDATORY APPRAISAL

QUESTION: Rltr. John, ano po yang Mandatory Appraisal?

ANSWER: Magkakaroon ng government legislation (probably amendment of Local Government Code) na lahat na real estate property ay kailangan ng mandatory appraisal report every five years for Assessed Value Update purposes. The Appraisal can be done by private Appraisers. The asking price of all properties for sale will use the data from the Appraisal Report.
So, the active Appraisers gotta have good walking shoes and must know how to do it in a quick manner. As soon as the law takes effect, we have 5 years to prepare the procedure and set-up the Appraisers' Principal Place of Business (PPB) nationwide to assure the public that we can absorb the workload that will arrive like a tsunami. People will surely fall in line on queue to get the Appraiser's service.

FREELANCE AGENTS?

QUESTION: Nikko Mahor:"Salespersons can either be EMPLOYED under the broker or INDEPENDENT under the broker. Pag employed, COMMISSION SHARING SCHEME. Pag independent, yan ang P12,000 Supervision Fee na babayaran niya sa Broker." Question: When you say independent, I take it to mean freelance, sir?

ANSWER: Freelance refers to TIME committed for work. Parang Part-time salesperson sa weekend, pub dancer sa gabi, katulong sa araw. Gets mo? Independent means the working relationship of between the Broker and Salesperson is on INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR basis. Now don't blink about the innovation that am about to say. Under the Independent Scheme, the Salesperson gets the Broker as Independent Contractor to provide him with Management and Supervision Services. So hindi na kailangan ni Salesperson magkaroon ng sariling Official Receipt. Only the BrokerOffices are required to have ORs. The Independent Salesperson pays the Broker P12,000 for one year and he/she gets one year Management and Supervision service -- the Broker will issue Official Receipt to the Salesperson for the P12,000 and also for the P3,000 training. As independent contractor scheme, the Salesperson gets 100% of the commission.

STAMPING SERVICES

QUESTION: Rltr. John, what is that Stamping? Where will we get the stamp?

ANSWER: IPORESP will have exclusive authority to manufacture and sell the TRODAT stamper for Project Development Consultants, Brokers, Appraisers, and Salespersons. Mabibili yan only from IPORESP. All stampers will have a print record in IPORESP. Just like in firearm registration, merong storage ng sample slug yung baril mo sa Firearms and Explosive Unit ng PNP. Ganun din yang mga Trodat Stamps na yan. In this way, IPORESP can quickly check if the stamped documents in the grounds are genuine -- for fraud detection purposes.
Under the new set-up, no real estate document is legal unless it carries the stamp of the licensed ones. No document gets stamped unless it passed through the due-diligence scrutiny of the licensed ones. Say goodbye to fraud.

CUSTOMER HAGGLING FOR REDUCTION OF PROFESSIONAL FEES

QUESTION: Rltr. John, how will we handle the situation if the customer will haggle for reduction of Professional Fees?

ANSWER: You tell them you will lose your license if you will not follow the IPORESP Prescribed Tariff. As a professional, you will be trained and audited to follow PROCEDURE. If you will not follow procedure, say goodbye to your license. Discounts will be given to Senior Citizens, Disabled,and Student customers. Waiving a fee is hassle because it will require BIR approval.

ON CONSULTANTS

Consultant's specific JOB per RA 9646 is PROJECT DEVELOPMENT (Condo and Subdivision). In my old blogs, I already mentioned that ALL ENGINEERING PLANS for new Houses, Subdivisions, Condominiums, and Townhouses will have a separate box for Consultant's Stamp. Local Government Code will be amended to insert this policy in the requirements for issuance of Construction Permit.

QUESTION: Lebb Medina Tibio: You mean to say that all proposed projects done primarily by Architects Planners,Urban Planners and other allied services should pass the stamp box of the Real Estate Consultant for a fee? For what kind of scrutiny or review they may want to employ when the truth of the matter, these multi-discipline sectors such as Urban Planners and Architects are already experts in their field of endeavor.What value of service they may want to render? I think it's more complicated.

ANSWER: YES YES YES YES with exclamation mark! Must have a Stamp of the Real Estate Consultant to ensure that it is compliant to the restrictions of the "community". We will use the Consultants on technicalities they are trained for the benefit of the subdivision, village, or community -- especially on the ENVIRONMENTAL and CONFORMITY aspect. It's okay to be a genius architect who builds round-shaped buildings, but we are doing the Developer a favor here and we want the Consultants to do the job to ensure that you conform if the Master Deed if ever it wants a box-shaped buildings inside their village.

Urban Planners, Engineers, and Architects will still have their stamp boxes in the plans; but we will ADD the Real Estate Project Developer (Real Estate Consultant) box. In short, the others will still have a space to sit in the jeepney, pero umusog lang ng konti kasi papasok at uupo si Consultant sa jeepney.
Now listen to what I am about to say. The Term Real Estate Consultant will be changed to Real Estate Project Developer in RA 9646 amendment.

The term "Consultant" will then CAN be used by Brokers, Appraisers, Real Estate Project Developers, and even Salespersons.

EFFECT OF NUMBER OF RESPs ON PROFESSIONAL FEES

QUESTION: Sir John, what determines the rate of professional fees?

ANSWER: The number and provincial distribution of licensed Brokers and Appraisers will determine the market price of the real estate services Professional Fees. In economics, supply and demand determines the market price. No problem about the demand because IPORESP will surely push for the mandatory due diligence processes in all real estate transactions that will require all customers and clients to have their documents reviewed and stamped in Broker office. On the supply side, the fewer the service providers, the higher the fees; the greater the number of service providers, the lower the fees. That is why when I say that the LAW SAYS that the onset of 4 year BS REM as requirement for exam starts June 2012, it should start on June 2012. There should be 4-5 years moratorium of new licensees and the law already provides for this moratorium. It is very difficult to make a stable price determination if the number of service providers keep on growing.

ONSET OF IMPLEMENTATION OF PROFESSIONAL FEES

QUESTION: Sir John, when is the onset date of implementation of Professional Fees?

ANSWER: Professional Fees cannot be implemented effectively at the ground level without AIPORESP that will mandate the (1) office set-up requirements, (2) standard due-diligence procedure, business process, (3) standard rates on all RESPS, and (4) taxation. There are still procedural training to be done by Salespersons, Brokers, and Appraisers to enable them to perform services that gives them the right to charge professional fees. The Professional Fees is a program of IPORESP and we understand that there are real estate practitioners who oppose it, especially the old-minded ones. RESPs have to rally behind IPORESP, by signing up through the membership process of IPORESP.ORG if they want to speed up the implementation. RESPs who have not signed-up in IPORESP are assumed and considered to be anti Professional Fees, and the anti group puts a lot of stress on the program. For example, now, IPORESP is on Licensing Strike because of red tape in PRC -- the strike gives a lot of stress on the timely implementation of IPORESP plans and programs.

PROFESSIONAL FEE IS ALSO A MECHANISM TO ERADICATE COLORUM

QUESTION: Rltr. John, can professional fees help in the colorum eradication?

ANSWER: Once the Professional Fees are fully implemented, the colorum will be eradicated for many reasons, such as: (1) advertising companies online and print will no longer accept request for advertising without advertising clearance from a licensed broker, (2) deeds of conveyances will already be required to get a broker's clearance stamp before notarization, (3) among others. The PNLS of IPORESP is also a sure effective way to eradicate scams and fraud in the real estate market because there will no longer be property that will be advertised for sale or lease without proper due-diligence clearance by the licensed brokers.

Law enforcement in real estate advertising

QUESTION: Rltr. John, we are a law enforcement group tasked by DOJ to pursue violators of RA 9646 and PD 957, especially the illegal real estate advertisers. The manner of advertising in classified ads (print and internet) and fliers does not indicate the relationship of the advertiser to the property. In effect, we have a larger pool of advertisements to investigate. What is your policy suggestion that will reduce the pool of suspects?

ANSWER: The government should publish an advisory or the publishers should voluntarily implement a corporate policy that advertisers of properties for sale and lease must indicate the advertiser-property relationship codes. FSBO means for-sale-by-owner. REB means PRC– and HLURB-registered Broker. SP means PRC– and HLURB-registered Salesperson. SPA means holder of Special Power of Attorney (must be acting as agent without fee). DLR means HLURB-registered Dealer. AUC means Bank or LGU Auctioneer. The REB, SP, and DLR must always indicate their license numbers.

If you can't find any indication, you can proceed in setting it up for an entrapment.

Example:

For Sale. Condominium. Taguig. 1 BR. 1 T/B. Fully Furnished. RFO. For Sale at P2M or rent at P15,000/mo. FSBO John Doe 0921-000000.

For Sale. Townhouse. Alabang. 3BR. 2 T/B. Bare unit. Ready by March 2013. For sale at P5M. PRC #98767898. REB James Doe 0920-0000000.

For Sale. Subdivision Lot. Quezon City. 200SQM. Roads fully developed. For sale at P1.2M. HLURB SP#5437489. SP Julia Doe 0919-0000000.

For Sale. Commercial Space. Makati. 500SQM. Ground floor of 4-storey building. For sale at P45M. SPA Jigger Doe 0918-0000000.

For Sale. Warehouse. Paranaque. 12,000 SQM Lot, 5,000SQM building. For Sale at P120M. Banco de Oro AUC Jesus Doe 0917-0000000.

THE WORLD WATCHES US

Three days ago, while driving, I received a call from a lady (I forgot her name). She said she works for ???Pacific, a foreign intelligence research service provider for foreign embassies and missions here in Asia Pacific. She was asking my permission to extract some of the information in my blog site (Real Estate Service Coach) in connection to a report she is writing about anomalies and scams in Philippine real estate. She said that the purpose of the article is to provide the embassies with information that they can use to write advisories and warning light to expats and foreigners here in Philippines. Among the many anomalies, she said that colorum practice is on top of her list. She said she will give me a copy of the report when it's done.