Wednesday, Mar. 9, 2004

 

Resources for Realtors

Local pros get support from various organizations

By MONROE ROARK
mroark@TheCitizenNews.com

Savvy local real estate professionals recognize the need for support in various areas and know how to take advantage of the latest technological advances that can help them boost their bottom lines.

There are a couple of organizations that are reaching out to meet those needs, either for the first time locally or by maintaining a longstanding presence.

First Multiple Listing Service, also known as FMLS, is working to serve the real estate industry in Fayette County by opening a new service center, its first on the Southside, in the Banks Crossing Shopping Center in Fayetteville.

It’s the fourth location in the past three years, joining FMLS centers in Sandy Springs, Cobb and Gwinnett.

The relatively small retail space contains a front storeroom with a wide variety of supplies, from for-sale signs to books and reference materials. The main room in the back of the store is a training center with rows of computers in a classroom setting.

According to Jonathan Rickles, who manages all four FMLS stores, the training available here is for current real estate professionals and focuses on the needs of existing FMLS members. There are no general licensing classes here, although some continuing education programs are offered.

FMLS membership statewide is close to 30,000, Rickles said, and he estimated the local membership contingent at several hundred. FMLS claims a listing database with more than 49,000 active listings located all over Georgia and the Southeast. A sales representative is working in Fayette right now getting the word out about FMLS’ new local service and trying to boost membership, Rickles said.

The closest company presence of this type aside from FMLS is Georgia Multiple Listing Service, which has a center in Morrow near Southlake Mall. That location offers many of the services already mentioned plus various licensing courses and exams for those wanting to break into the real estate business.

GAMLS also has a store in Fayetteville, so to speak, through the Fayette County Board of Realtors. Using a small space in the board’s headquarters on Brandywine Boulevard in Fayetteville, members can pick up supplies tailored for their businesses.

A multiple listing service, much as the title suggests, offers its members a way to share information so that a real estate professional can have access to tens of thousands of real estate listings for the benefit of his or her clients. Some boards have their own MLS operations, but the Fayette board does not, according to board spokesperson Cherie Jolley.

On the education and training side, however, the board offers dozens of opportunities each year for its members. This is a constant need, as a real estate agent must accumulate 25 hours of continuing education in the first year after licensing, and the requirements are varied and ongoing from there.

All of these organizations are taking advantage of the Internet to make their services available to the widest possible audience, in addition to what is offered in each storefront or office location.

For more information, visit www.fmls.com, www.fayetterealtors.com, or www.gamls.com.