Now before you start yelling, there are many agents out there that are true professionals and treat their clients in a professional manner. This post is not directed at them.

But alas, there are also a number of real estate agents in Barbados that march to a different beat.

Here is a brief rundown of some of the frustrations that many people have encountered:

• Agents advertising properties on their web site that were either not for sale or rent OR they had no authority listing the properties.
• Agents taking anywhere from 1 week to 3 months to return phone calls or emails.
• Agents only wanted to show properties for sale, even though they were specifically told that the client was looking for a rental.
• Agents refused to show certain properties because of less commission.
• Agents had complete misinformation about several properties listed on their website.
• Agents not wanting to show a property because they did not want to deal with the realtor that was bringing the potential client. (And in the end that client ending up purchasing the property)

So, what is the problem?

Selling real estate is not rocket science. Hmm, but there may lie one of the problems. It is so easy for anyone to become a real estate agent in Barbados that the profession lacks professionalism.

There is no course of study, there is no exam to take and therefore the license received is a joke, it is nothing but tax revenue for the government.

But how can a course of study and a difficult exam speed up the time in which an agent will return my call? On the surface you would think it wouldn’t help, but let’s dig a bit deeper.

In Florida, the failure rate for people taking the real estate exam for the first time is 75%. Many people find the course content overwhelming as it covers a wide range of topics such as:

• In depth building terms and processes
• Tax rates
• Learning to decipher surveys
• Understanding the different Florida contracts
• Appraisal methods and in depth analysis
• ETHICS, and the list goes on

Many people do not even make it to the actual exam as you have to pass the class exam before you can take the real exam. I’ve heard many stories of people passing the exam for the first time and being congratulated by the proctor on the way out.

BEAVA listen up! This is what Barbados real estate needs.

When Barbados develops a real estate licensing system, only then will a sense of professionalism be brought to the real estate profession in Barbados.

1. We need a rigorous course of study encompassing a wide range of topics.
2. We need an equally grueling exam.
3. We need a 2 year probation period where new agents must work with an established brokerage before they can start their own brokerage.
4. We need a code of ethics that each Realtor must uphold themselves to.
5. We need a committee that will enforce these ethics and deal with agents that violate them.