| ALISO VIEJO, CA, January 3, 2006 – As
the Real Estate Apprentice Grant Program launched its 4th season on January 1,
2006. The Foundation proudly announced today that its grants had quadrupled
in value since first opening its doors in 2004. Now, surpassing over $1 million
in annual grants, the Foundation expects to confer grants to over 5,000 new agents
entering the industry this coming year.
It
is a gratifying and yet humbling experience watching the Real Estate Apprentice
Grant Program mature in acceptance,” says Stefan Swanepoel, Founder of
the Real Estate Apprentice Foundation (www.RealEstateApprentice.com). The
fourth six-month Grant season started January 1, 2006 and is open to all new
agents in the United States. There are no hidden costs or fees to applicants
or awardees and no grant requires repayment. Applications are evaluated on the
basis of answers to essay questions that demonstrate salesmanship, communication
skills, entrepreneurial spirit, integrity, creativity and uniqueness.
According to Swanepoel, the purpose of the Grant is three fold: 1) To help solve
the problem of new agent failure; 2) To locate the most promising new agents
and help them achieve fast track long-term success; and 3) To introduce those
new agents to the best real estate products and services available in the industry.
Industry reports indicate that as many as 50% of all new licensees do not even
compete their first year in real estate. With the number of new entrants
now well over 200,000 every year, the number of failures are staggering. Fortunately
the news isn’t all bad - testimonies abound regarding the Real Estate Apprentice
Grant’s value and impact on Rookie real estate agents.
Every six months one Grand Prize Winners receives $70,000 in grants, while each
of 10 finalists qualify for a $7,000 grant, 20 semi-finalists each qualify for
a $2,500 grants and all applicants are awarded $250 each. “No other national
program has such a far reaching impact in helping new licensees in gaining a
better chance on succeeding in the real estate industry,” says Swanepoel.
Grant Participants that have committed to sponsor new agents and help make a
difference include: First American, Hobbs/Herder, RealtyU®, iSucceed, eNeighborhoods,
McLean International, Upward Motion, Thomson-South-Western, CreateAPlan, CourseDates,
Saris Technologies, ExpressCopy, VisualTour, Seller Agency Council, Real Estate
Professional Society, Real Estate Cyberspace Society, Calculated Industries,
RISMedia and Broker Agent News. Not only is sponsorship a great way to fulfill
a company’s corporate responsibility of giving back to the very industry
that supports it, but is it a unique way to illuminate the company’s products
and services and gain significant marketing awareness.
Every year 15 new Judges are appointed to help select the lucky recipients. The
Board of Advisors for the Real Estate Apprentice Foundation for 2006 include:
Jeremy Conaway, Allan Dalton, Thomas Dooley, Dr. Kenneth Edwards, Ken Jenny,
Greg Herder, Terry Moerler, Stephen Roney, Lennox Scott, Kendra Shearer, Stu
Siegel, Stefan Swanepoel, Kendra Todd and Skip Weber.
The Foundation maintains and posts complete details of all past winners, eligibility
requirements, judges and sponsors on their website www.RealEstateApprentice.com
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