Volume X, Number 3 – October  2007

Designation Profile:

The FRI – The Height of

Excellence for Realtors

The FRI is one of the most popular designations within the world of real state. Since its initial inception, real estate sales representatives have earned this designation to help improve on their career success.

One of those gentlemen who have achieved such an honour is Ian Brown FRI. A man who is extremely proud of his designation, Brown explains exactly why he chose to pursue this particular venture.

“Three reasons,” he states bluntly. “I wanted to have a secure base for the forwarding of referrals outside of the company that I represent. I wanted to be part of a group of people who were as serious about Real Estate as a sales career as I am, and most importantly I wanted to be part of a NATIONAL identity.”

The Fellow of the Real Estate Institute is a mark of excellence given to only a selected few. They must meet strict regulations to qualify including many years of dedicated experience, strong ethics and be committed to continuing on with their designations.

Brown had over 20 years of experience in real estate before deciding to earn his FRI designation in 2003. Brown’s experience of earning the designation is still fresh in his mind citing that an FRI does more then enhance his education and abilities, but acts as a form of advertisement as well.

“While earning my FRI, I learned that the increased education would serve me well in enhancing my ability to convince the public to trust me, rather than having to spend all of my time attempting to do this.”

It has been something the FRI designation has been trying to focus on since its inception. “The FRI designation is what makes individuals stand out from the pack,’ explains REIC Manager of Education, Elaine Leibner. “It makes the individual more marketable to prospective clients, without having to go out spending extra money on advertising to help bring them in.”

Brown agrees. He has had too many instances to count where his FRI designation has had an impact on his career. “Many times I have had new clients ask - what does it mean? What does it stand for? Explaining to them the increased responsibility required with the ethical regulations at this level assures them that they can feel safe with an FRI. To build trust in the mind of the general public, this has always been the objective.”

The benefits of earning an FRI designation are endless; self promotion, improving the reputation of your company, more importantly it shows potential clients the dedication you have to your profession and what you are willing to help them achieve what they want.

Depending on the candidate’s province of residence and nature of position, a candidate needs to take as little as three courses in order to earn their FRI designation, such as Brokers who reside in the province of Ontario. In addition a candidate has 5 years to complete their required courses, making it much easier for them to work their designation in and around their current schedule.

It may be because of those different provincial guidelines, and as Brown believes, a provincial mindset, that play a pretty significant role in a person’s decision to earn their designation.

“Real Estate salespeople nationwide need to be encouraged to get out of the box, the box being their own community. They need to start thinking globally. REIC can assist the thinking in this regard.”

Brown, who also has earned his CRES designation, stresses that competition has become a major factor in why individuals might be hesitant to earn their FRI.

“Having worked within a company, building it nationwide, (Century 21), I can tell you that all companies work hard to promote their in-house designations. Since there are so many in-house designations within Canadian companies - the FRI must be promoted to outreach those other designations.”

There may be obstacles in one’s attempt in trying to earn your FRI - yet self promotion, education, further advancement in one’s career and most importantly self respect, more then make up for these slight barriers. It’s these benefits that bring prestige to the FRI and bring the top real estate professionals to REIC.
 

Top of the Page