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ALC Process

ALC Designation ALC Process

** RLI staff email addresses have changed from "nar.realtor" to "rliland.com". If you are submitting an ALC application, email us at alcapp@rliland.com. **

  

Changes to ALC Designation Policy

Starting September 1, 2024

The RLI Board of Directors approved the following changes to the ALC Designation Criteria. These changes will take effect on September 1, 2024. Any ALC applications/portfolios received on or after September 1, 2024 will be reviewed according to the new criteria. Any applications/portfolios received on or before August 31, 2024 will be reviewed according to the current criteria. These changes will not have any effect on those currently holding the ALC Designation.

  • Minimum Volume Requirements are increasing from $10M to $15M. The applicant’s portfolio must show a minimum of five transactions totaling at least $15M in sales. All transactions must be completed no more than five years prior to submitting their ALC application and portfolio. There is no change to the 25 separate land transaction path.
  • Attendance at the National Land Conference: ALCs are considered the most experienced and educated land professionals. Participating in the National Land Conference is an extension of that commitment. ALC applicants are required to attend an RLI National Land Conference in-person within five years prior to submitting their ALC application and portfolio.

For questions about the new policy, please contact Aubrie Kobernus at akobernus@rliland.com. 

Earning the Elite ALC Designation

Accredited Land Consultants (ALCs) are more than land professionals. They’re the most accomplished, the most experienced, and the highest performing land real estate experts across the country— whether they specialize in agricultural land, timberland, ranch and recreational properties, or vacant land for development.

Unlike other organizations, RLI does not have a candidate member status. You do not need to be a member of RLI to take ALC education courses or begin working toward your volume requirements.

You do not need to meet the volume requirements in order to begin the education coursework. Most applicants begin with education to learn the knowledge needed to achieve the volume requirements. There is no timeline to complete the education courses - completed courses do not expire. However, all coursework and the ALC Exam must be completed before you can submit your ALC Application and Portfolio. The transactions to satisfy the volume requirements must happen within a five year period prior to submitting an application and portfolio.

Professionals seeking to achieve the ALC designation must complete a multi-step process. Click on the categories below to expand details for each step of the process.

Successful completion of six Land University courses which are divided into three categories. LANDU® Courses are offered in a live in-person format or online through virtual instructor-led training (VILT). All courses, except for Land Investment Analysis, are two-day courses when offered in-person or four online live webinars when offered virtually.

Most applicants begin the ALC process by taking LANDU education courses. Through the education, applicants gain the knowledge needed to complete the volume requirements needed for the ALC portfolio.

Core Courses (Must take all three)

  • Land 101: Fundamentals of Land Brokerage
  • Land Investment Analysis (3 day course/5 webinars)
  • Transitional Land Real Estate

Specialty Courses (Pick two courses)

  • Agricultural Land Brokerage & Marketing
  • Subdivision Land Development
  • Land Real Estate Site Selection
  • Recreational Land Real Estate
  • Tax Deferred 1031 Exchanges

Elective Courses (Pick one or pick another Specialty Course)

  • Real Estate Mapping Technologies & Techniques
  • Timberland Real Estate
  • Valuation and Transactions of Energy & Environmental Assets
  • any other LANDU course offering (except for the prep course for the ALC Comprehensive Exam)

Approval for course equivalency:

Individuals who have successfully completed land-related courses provided by educational institutions or other professional organizations may apply for in-kind, or “equivalency” credit. Approval of course equivalency is determined by the ALC Designation Committee.

  • Each request for equivalency credit is reviewed on an individual basis.
  • Course outline(s)/syllabus, proof of completion, and related documents must be submitted for consideration.
  • Each equivalency submission requires a $25 review fee. If approved, there is an additional $100 processing fee.
  • Candidates may request no more than two course equivalencies.
  • Course equivalencies are not accepted in lieu of required courses.

All ALC applicants must successfully complete a comprehensive online final ALC Exam that covers the core components of the LANDU curriculum. All candidates have two opportunities within a six-month period to pass the exam with at least a 70% score or higher. The exam fee is $100 and covers both attempts. If, after the second attempt, the candidate does not successfully pass the exam they will be able to retake the exam after successfully completing the ALC Exam Prep Review.

To register for the ALC Exam, sign up for the online exam here.

ALC Exam Review Prep Course $99

The ALC Exam Prep Course is a self-paced, interactive review of the content for the below core courses that students are tested on during the exam.

  • Land 101: Fundamentals of Land Brokerage
  • Transitional Land Real Estate
  • Land Investment Analysis

Applicants may purchase this review course online at anytime.

Applicants must submit a portfolio that substantiates specific levels of volume achieved in land sales or in providing real estate services related to land.

Variance Request Form: Land is different all across the country. As such, it is difficult to create hard rules that apply to all. The Request for Variance from ALC Designation Criteria form is to be used BEFORE an ALC application is submitted to request a variance in the ALC Designation rules and criteria stated below.

Definition of Land Transaction: The value of the land, including improvements that are agricultural in nature, must account for at least 51% of the total sale of the transaction in order for the transaction to be eligible. Agricultural improvements include, but are not limited to, barns, livestock operations, equine facilities, etc. All transactions submitted in a portfolio, including residential transactions, must meet the land definition criteria.

Timeline for Transactions: Transactions must have been completed no more than five years prior to the submission of the ALC portfolio, unless otherwise noted in specific specialty categories below.

Residential Definition: For the purpose of the ALC portfolio, a residential transaction is defined as a single-family parcel with at least five acres. The 51% rule on land value still applies.

Volume Calculations: For volume calculations in the Sales, Auctioneer, and Broker Management categories, the buyer side is equal to the full sales volume, the seller side is equal to the full sales volume, and if both sides of the transaction are handled by one agent, double the volume of the transaction for the purpose of fulfilling the volume requirements. For example, if John Doe is the listing agent on a $1 million-dollar sale, count $1 million; for the buyer side, count $1 million for the seller side; and if both sides of the transaction are handled by one agent, count $2 million for the purpose of fulfilling the transaction requirement.

Limitation on Personal and Family Dealings: No more than 20% of the transactions submitted in an ALC portfolio may be personal or immediate family dealings (meaning any transaction that requires disclosure in the state in which the transaction occurred.)

Transaction Supporting Documentation: Applicants must verify their participation in each transaction by either submitting a title/closing company verification as outlined in the Transaction Narrative Form or two forms of supporting documentation per transaction, which may include, but is not limited to:

  • A redacted HUD-1 closing statement with buyer’s/seller’s proprietary information removed
  • Proof of commission payment or verification of commission
  • MLS closing statement
  • Copy of executed contract or lease with all proprietary information redacted
  • Recorded and signed deeds

Specific Requirements for Qualifying Categories

Sales, Brokerage, Development, Consulting, Investing

The portfolio must substantiate that the applicant’s participation and material involvement as a broker, agent, consultant, Investor/Developer or employee directly resulted in at least five closed land transactions totaling $10 million, or 25 separate land transactions. For applicants submitting 25 transactions, no more than 20% of transactions submitted may be from one residential development/subdivision/project and if one buyer closes multiple parcels with the same seller on one closing statement on the same day, those transactions are counted as one transaction for the purpose of the ALC portfolio.

Appraisers

Appraiser applicants must be a licensed state certified general appraiser and submit a portfolio substantiating at least 30 land appraisals/valuations in the previous three-year period totaling at least $10 million. For each appraisal submitted, the appraiser applicant must submit an appraisal narrative form with supporting documentation.

Farm or Forestry Managers

Farm or forestry managers must submit a portfolio that substantiates proof of a minimum of 30 management agreements, timber sales agreements, active leases, or combination thereof, within the five years prior to applying.

Application Fee

All applicants must submit a non-refundable application fee of $350 at the time of application submission. If applicants choose to submit their application as a printed, hard copy, an additional $50 will be invoiced as an addition to the application fee. Membership in the National Association of REALTORS®, either as a REALTOR®, REALTOR®-Associate, or Institute Affiliates is required to hold the ALC Designation. Applicants must show proof of having an active real estate license or other professional license as appropriate for their qualifying category.

Application & Portfolio

Applications should be submitted electronically to alcapp@rliland.com in two PDFs with all files in the correct order as detailed below. ALCs are known as the most accomplished and most experienced land professionals in the country. One's ALC Portfolio is a professional representation of the applicant. We encourage applicants to answer all questions on the transaction narrative forms as completely as possible and have a trusted advisor review the final portfolio for spelling and grammatical errors before it is submitted.

Part 1. Application_Applicant’s Name

  • Application Form
  • (If you don't have Microsoft Word or Excel, click here to access the Application, Transaction Narrative form, and Volume Requirements Spreadsheet as Google docs.)
  • License (see next section for more information)
  • Course Certificates (only required for courses completed in 2016 or BEFORE. Courses completed AFTER January 1, 2017 do not need to submit course certificates as those are recorded in our system.)
  • ALC Exam Certificate
  • Letters of Recommendation (see section below for more information)

Part 2. Portfolio_Applicant’s Name

Applicants must submit a professional resume that demonstrates a minimum of three years of experience in land sales or brokerage or comparable real estate experience in auction, appraisal, leasing, development, farm management, consulting, brokerage management, or related services in land. If the applicant’s profession requires a professional license to practice (like real estate), applicants must provide proof of having a current professional license. Additionally, all applicants must submit a short essay why they would like to become an Accredited Land Consultant.

Applicants must submit at least two (2) letters of recommendation from current Accredited Land Consultants, one of which must be from an ALC within the applicant’s local market.  The letters of recommendation must be sent directly to RLI at alcapp@rliland.com. Letters will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Committee Review: The ALC Accreditation Committee will consider each application to determine if all requirements have been satisfied. Members of the Committee reserve the right to request additional information or an interview (via phone or in person) with any ALC Designation applicant should there be questions regarding the candidate’s completion of the requirements for the designation. The Chairman of the ALC Accreditation Committee serves as the liaison to all applicants. Applicants who are determined not to have satisfied the requirements will be advised of the reasons for that determination so that they may correct any deficiencies.

Review Timeframe: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and must be approved by both the ALC Designation Committee and the RLI Board of Directors, which meets monthly.  The timeline for approval depends on how many applications are already in the queue and when the application is approved in relation to the monthly Board of Directors meeting.  Since every application is reviewed by the ALC Designation Committee, which is composed of ALCs who are still actively selling land real estate, please be aware that timing can take anywhere from four weeks to four months or more, for an application to go through the entire process.

Watch for Tips to Complete Your ALC Application & Portfolio

The ALC Fast Track

A “Fast Track” to the ALC Designation is available to those real estate professionals who have already achieved specific levels of education on land and/or real estate. All Fast Track applicants for the ALC Designation must provide proof of holding one of the approved designations or degrees to qualify for the Fast Track:

Earning The ALC As A Fast Track Applicant

  • As a Fast Track applicant for the ALC Designation, the applicant will only be required to successfully complete the three Core courses (Land 101: Fundamentals of Land Brokerage, Land Investment Analysis*, and Transitional Land Real Estate) and will be exempt from completing the additional three courses listed under the ALC Education Requirement. Applicants applying for the ALC Designation that do not qualify for the Fast Track are required to successfully complete all six courses under the ALC Education Requirement for a total of 104 ALC Credit Hours.
    • *For CCIM fast-track applicants, because of their already-completed extensive coursework in investment analysis, are not required to take the Land Investment Analysis course. Instead, CCIMs applying for the ALC Designation as Fast Track applicants may choose to complete any course from the Specialty track under the ALC Education Requirement in lieu of the Land Investment Analysis course.
  • Course equivalencies are not accepted for Fast Track applicants.

Note: When applying for the ALC Designation, you will be required to submit proof of qualification for being a Fast Track applicant. Applying for the ALC Designation as a Fast Track applicant only allows the applicant to waive taking three of the non-core courses under the ALC Education Requirement, the applicant must also still submit the same formal application for the ALC Designation and meet all other ALC requirements as listed above on this page.

ALC Reinstatement Policy

The Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) Designation is awarded by the ALC Designation Committee and the RLI Board of Directors to land real estate professionals who have successfully completed allof the established education and experience requirements. After being awarded the designation, ALCs 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 and its marks in accordance with the official RLI Bylaws.

For accredited members whose membership lapsed for less than one year, there will be a $125 reinstatement fee in addition to the current year’s full yearly dues. For accredited members whose membership has lapsed for more than one year, there will be a $425 ALC reinstatement fee in addition to the pro-rated dues for the year in which they reinstate. Accredited members whose membership lapsed for a period greater than five years will be required to pay the ALC reinstatement fee and be required to retake the ALC Exam. Only upon successful passing of the ALC Exam will they be considered an accredited member in good standing.