The certificate course, which was approved last year on the recommendation of the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA) and the SA Institute of Valuers, is being launched at the Cape Technikon in July, and it is also available as a correspondence course through Technikon SA. The syllabus consists of five subjects:

• Property Valuation I.
• Property Practice I.
• Property Economics and Finance I.
• Law of Property Valuation.
• Principles of Property Valuation.

Assessment is in the form of written and practical examinations set by the SA Council for the Property Valuers' Profession (formerly the Council for Valuers).

The certificate is equivalent to the first year of the tertiary national diploma which is required for registration as a full-status professional valuer.

An estate agent who earns the certificate can then register as a Single Residential Property Assessor, a professional designation which was approved last year especially to accommodate estate agents. As the title indicates, such an assessor will be restricted to valuing single residential properties, but if he or she later wishes to become a full-status valuer, he or she can study further to obtain the diploma, and will be credited for the first-year subjects already passed for the certificate.

A registered Single Residential Property Assessor will be qualified to value residential properties for a range of purposes, including capital gains tax, insurance, mortgage bonds, investments, and deceased estates. What are the advantages to the estate agent of being registered as a Single Residential Property Assessor?

The IEA believes it will enhance his or her professional stature, and enable him or her to offer an additional service to clients - and, in fact, expand the client base beyond sellers and landlords. As the IEA national president Bill Rawson pointed out some time ago, it will also enable estate agents who want to "retire" from the hectic business of selling and letting property to remain active in the property market in a less strenuous capacity.

IEA Western Cape says it is proud to have played a role in having the certificate and the Single Residential Property Assessor designation established, and would like to encourage IEA members who are serious about their profession to obtain the certificate. There are still some places available on the course, and still time to enrol.