Professional continuing education credit available

Commercial Investment Division’s Northwest Louisiana Association of Realtors will hold their annual Northwest Louisiana Commercial Realtors Day on Aug. 21 at the University Center at LSUS.

Commercial Realtors Day serves as a way for commercial Realtors to obtain the majority of their continuing education in one day versus the whole year, and this year two classes (Negotiating without Law and Commercial Alternative to the Mandatory) will be available.

Commercial Realtors Day has only existed for a few years and was formerly called the Commercial Trends Conference but over the years has been altered to better reflect and promote the value commercial Realtors bring to a real estate transaction.

“The goal is to both pull together commercial Realtors for training and education but to also put a spotlight on the profession as a whole,” said Scott Hughes, association executive for the Northwest Louisiana Association of Realtors. Hughes also serves as CEO and corporate secretary for both the Association and the Multiple Listing Service of Shreveport.

During Commercial Realtors Day, guests kick off their morning at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and networking, followed by a four-hour continuing education course titled “Commercial Alternative to the Mandatory.” Attorneys Randy Roussel and Erik Piazza, of Phelps Dunbar, LLP, in Baton Rouge, will be instructing.

“Every year, every Louisiana real estate licensee is required to complete 12 hours of continuing education and four hours of content are mandatory,” Hughes said. “This class deals with the update to Louisiana laws and places focus on areas the Louisiana Real Estate Commission deems appropriate.”

The real estate organization has had their classes approved by the LREC for continuing education for real estate professionals. Given the legal nature of class content, CID was able to also apply this year to the Committee for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education and was approved for legal continuing education. This means Realtors and attorneys can now sit in the same class and each receive education credit. Real estate professional get four hours for each class, or eight total hours, while attorneys can receive 3.75 hours for each class, or 7.5 total hours.

Special guest Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report, will be the keynote lunch speaker. Cook is a political analyst who specializes in election forecasts and political trends. Cook is a Shreveport native and graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Followed by lunch, Oliver Frascona, an attorney with Frascona, Joiner, Goodman and Greenstein, PC in Boulder, Colo., will instruct “Negotiating without Practicing Law.”

This class is a four-hour class that helps real estate professionals understand the difference between offering advice versus giving legal advice. As Realtors, CID members are well-versed in real estate transactions, but that advice is not legal advice. The instructor for this class is a recognized national speaker on real estate law.

“In an association with over 1,100 total members, it is important to find a way to meet the needs of our commercial Realtors who are actually a small minority of our membership,” Hughes said. “With about 100 total commercial members, setting aside time to focus on their specific needs allows us to make best use of our resources to serve our commercial members.

“It allows us to create a day of highquality, high-impact content.”

Hughes said it’s not just important for each commercial Realtor to attend, it’s a vital way to build new relationships.

“North Louisiana is not a huge commercial market like Dallas or New Orleans. Activities that help pull our commercial community together helps strengthen relationships and ultimately helps our business climate,” he said.

For interested parties wanting to become a Realtor and deciding which type best suits your needs, Hughes offers this. “While residential is heavily driven and influenced by consumer portals and competition for buyer leads, commercial can be much more of an insider’s game.

Residential property is often widely marketed on MLS listings, while commercial property can often be tightly held or even privately listed,” he said.

“Commercial clients value relationships and industry knowledge very highly and need highly skilled agents to help them make what are often huge financial and business decisions. And these decisions are very often contemplated in an environment of high confidentiality as to not tip thief hand to competitors.”

–Derick Jones

If You Go

What: Commercial Realtors Day When: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 21. Louisiana State University in Shreveport’s University Center, One University Drive, Shreveport. Admission: $45-$95. Sponsor levels: $500, two tickets, name/logo in all advertising and recognition; $1,000, four tickets, name/logo in all advertising and recognition; $2,000, eight tickets, one table for eight at lunch, name/logo in all advertising and recognition. Info: 797-0054.