REALTORS LAND INSTITUTE
 Serving Land REALTORS® For Over 60 Years
 

the ALC Designation Requirements


The REALTORS® Land Institute serves its members who specialize in the sale, lease, management and development of land for all uses. RLI licensed members may be awarded the Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) professional certification upon successful completion of all knowledge and land transaction experience requirements. Those who hold qualifying designations may be awarded the ALC designation through accelerated or “Fast Track” programs.

  1. CANDIDACY:
    RLI members who successfully complete their first RLI-approved course automatically become candidates for the ALC designation. RLI members retain candidacy status and all coursework credit earned towards the ALC designation so long as they maintain membership in the Institute.
     
     

  2. ALC DESIGNATION REQUIREMENTS:

    • Knowledge Requirements: ALC candidates who wish to apply for the designation must successfully complete 120 credits of RLI-approved courses, including these three required courses: Land 101, Land Investment Analysis, and a RLI tax course (either Tax Deferred 1031 Exchanges, or Tax Implications of Real Estate). The three required courses comprise 60 credits or one half of all required coursework. RLI Land University courses of at least two days length count as 20 credits toward the ALC Knowledge Requirement. All other courses will be reviewed and granted credit based on their applicability to land specialists.

    • Experience Requirements: ALC candidates must document the following:

      1. Real Estate Experience

        • Resume showing 3+ years as a real estate licensee.
           

      2. Land Transactions  Please provide either:

      • $5,000,000 in land transactions (sale, purchase or lease)    or

      • A minimum of 25 separate land transactions, of which no more than 80% involve residential lot sales.
         

      Note:  In order to qualify, transactions must have been completed within the preceding 5 years of the ALC application date: for example, transactions since September 2002 qualify for a application made in September 2007.
       

    • ALC Application: ALC candidates must submit an ALC Application and the processing fee ($350), accompanied by documentation verifying the completion of all designation requirements.

    • ALC Designation: The ALC designation is awarded by the RLI Board of Directors to candidates who have successfully completed all knowledge and experience requirements. Once awarded, ALC designees must maintain membership in good standing with both RLI and the National Association of REALTORS® (either as a REALTOR® or Institute Affiliate member) to continue using the ALC designation.

        

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  3. DOCUMENTATION GUIDELINES:

    • Land Transaction Definition: A land transaction is considered one in which the value of the land is more than the improvements on the land. In the case of transactions containing residential or commercial buildings and other improvements, the value of the land must be no less than 51% and the value of improvements must not be more than 49% of the documented transaction.

    • Eligibility: While RLI education is available to anyone, the ALC designation may be awarded only to those who transact the sale, purchase, and leasing of land. Documented land transactions by real estate licensees who are members of RLI qualify for the Designation, regardless of the specialties practiced by the licensees. (No matter if the applicant is a real estate auctioneer, appraiser, farm manager, fee consultant, or any other specialists, what qualifies for the Designation are their land transactions.)

    • Proof of Transaction: Applicants must show proof of the transaction through property closing statements or an MLS sold sheet.

    • Calculating Qualifying Volume: The qualifying volume is determined by the percentage of the applicant’s involvement in the transaction.

      • When representing the buyer or seller: The applicant may claim 50% of the total for representing either side of the transaction. For example, if the applicant represented the seller on a $500,000 transaction, the applicant may apply $250,000 toward his/her experience requirements.

      • When representing the buyer and seller: In the case where the applicant represented both the buyer and seller, he/she may apply the entire transaction amount of $500,000.  In this case, the applicant cannot count this transaction total twice.

      • Team transactions:  The qualifying amount for team transactions is based on the percentage of participation. For example, as one of four team members, the applicant may claim ¼ of the total for the team. This means that if the total sale was $1 million and the team was responsible for one side of the transaction or 50% of the total, the applicant may claim ¼ of $500,000 or $125,000.

    • Proof of Volume: Proof of volume may be documented by a commission statement or a signed statement by the broker of record.

    • Proof of Course Completion: Applicants must provide a copy of the course completion certificate for each of the required and elective courses.

        

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  4. ALC APPLICATION:

    • Candidates submit the ALC application, fee of $350 and documentation of experience after they complete their knowledge requirements.

    • Applicants must state that the information provided is truthful and they acknowledge that if it is subsequently found to be false, they accept that the ALC designation may be forfeited; and that if they wish to re-obtain the ALC designation they must start the process from the beginning and complete all requirements, including the knowledge and experience requirements. Should they hold themselves out to the public to be an ALC designee, the Institute may seek recourse through the REALTORS® Code of Ethics and the respective state licensing authority.

    • Applicants must also provide a total of three (3) copies of their application materials to RLI National.

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  5. AWARDING THE DESIGNATION:

    • Upon completion of all requirements, the application is submitted to the ALC Admissions Panel and their recommendations are sent to the RLI Board of Directors for final approval. This may take up to 2-3 weeks.

    • Upon approval, the new designee is sent a packet with information on how to obtain the ALC logo to use on business cards, stationery, etc.

    • The ALC pin and certificate plaque are awarded during the RLI Annual Convention. Should the new designee not be able to attend this meeting, the awarding may be conducted by their local RLI chapter.

    • Once awarded, the ALC designation remains in effect so long as the Designee maintains membership in RLI and NAR. (The Designation is a professional certification whose continuance is dependent on maintaining membership in the Institute. Professional designations are not permanent to the person, as are scholastic degrees such as a BA, MA or Ph.D., that are not dependent on a continued relationship with the degree-granting institution.

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