Regrettably, resume padding is not all that uncommon in our society. We have all seen and heard stories about people who have made false claims about their achievements, experience, and credentials in order to enhance political careers, or to gain better jobs and/or promotions. In most contexts, doing so is not illegal. It is usually a "private" matter between employer and employee, and though it might rise to the level of a tort, generally the consequences are simply dismissal or loss of status, not to mention face.

It might come as a bit of a surprise, then, to learn that, in California, certain kinds of real estate resume padding constitute a violation of real estate law and can result in suspension or loss of license. This is a result of Assembly Bill 790 (Yee) which passed both houses last summer and was signed into law by the Governor September 5, 2006.

The resume padding referred to here is not the pervasively silly advertising according to which virtually every company and every agent is Number One! Rather, it has to do with the designations and certifications that an agent may falsely claim to have earned.

I really don't know, but I can't imagine that there is any other profession or vocation that outmatches the real estate industry in the awards of various certifications that are then attested to by an alphabet soup of initials following one's name on a business card, letterhead, or advertisement. To be Alice Agent, GRI, CRS, ABR, e-PRO would only scratch the surface of possible designations that an individual might hold.

I count seventeen designations available under the umbrella of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), some but not all of which are offered through the auspices of its nine institutes, societies, and councils (e.g. The Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council, the Council of Residential Specialists, and the Institute of Real Estate Management). There are also a number of designations and certifications, such as the Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) designation, that are not offered under the auspices of NAR, but are nonetheless recognized within the industry as marks of significant training offered under the auspices of well-respected organizations. (As a matter of fact, the SRES designation is soon to be brought into the family of NAR designations.)

Now, to be sure, the recognition and significance of most real estate designations are pretty well confined to those within the business. A GRI designation, by far the one most widely held, does not have the name recognition as MBA, CPA, or Ph.D. Nor are they closely analogous to more well-known designations in terms of the time and effort it takes to achieve them. The work involved in earning most real estate designations would not match that required to complete a single college-level course.

Having said that, though, it should also be quickly acknowledged that most real estate designations represent focused, specialized training, resulting in particular knowledge and skills that do add value to the services an agent may provide his or her clients. It is also clear that there is growing public recognition of the value of many of these designations.

You couldn't ask for a better indication of the fact that there is public awareness of the value of various designations than that some agents falsely claim to have earned them. Why would you bother faking it unless you thought it would help give you an edge in your self-marketing?

Hence the legislation referred to earlier. The office of the author of AB 790 stated, "With the enormous number of real estate licensees in the state of California, customers often narrow the market by searching for a broker with a specific expertise or training." The bill's sponsor went on to say that, "In a highly competitive market, some licensees are misrepresenting themselves to consumers by claiming a certified private designation or trade organization membership that they do not hold in order to increase their business."

Existing California law already made it a violation to use the term Realtor® unless a person were actually a member of that organization. AB 790 has expanded that to include making "any material false statement or representation concerning his or her designation or certification of special education, [or] credential… ." Violation of this provision may result in suspension or loss of license.

Published: February 19, 2007

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Bob Hunt is a director of the National Association of Realtors and is author of the recently published book, "Real Estate the Ethical Way." A graduate of Princeton with a master's degree from UCLA in philosophy, Hunt has served as a U.S. Marine, Realtor association president in South Orange County, and director of the California Association of Realtors, and is an award-winning Realtor. Contact Bob at .