How is the ACRE course different from C-CREC?

There are several differences from the C-CREC course. However, one similarity, is that neither is NAR recognized. Here are all the NAR approved designations recorded on Realtor.org.

You may have seen a reference to an NAR study on the C-CREC site, or the NAREC logo (National Association of Real Estate Consultants), but the course and designation are not recognized by NAR. NAR has a tendancy to wait until something has "critical mass" within the industry (the ABR, for example) before "sanctioning" it.

Regarding our differences ... unlike C-CREC / NAREC program, ACRE was created and developed BY real estate professionals. That's critical because it takes the consulting approach outside the theoretical realm and directly into the practical. Mollie Wasserman, the creator of ACRE, used the consulting approach in her own business for many years as an active agent with Keller Williams in the Boston area. She learned through trial and error what does and doesn't work in practice. It makes the ACRE program much more dynamic and robust because it's based upon real life experience and the evolving nature of the real estate business. Over the couple of years ACRE has been in existance, the course itself has evolved to incorporate lessons and experiences of the many agents around North America who are using it in their own businesses.

Another critical difference between the two programs is that our course fee includes with it one full year of interactive group coaching via our "Coaching Exchange", and complete access to our ever-growing library of marketing and presentation materials, tools and resources, etc. We include ongoing training via webinars throughout the year, topics based in large part on the requests of our membership. Virtually everything we have available is included in your course fee. While there are just a few items that would require and 'extra' fee, those items ALL have a free counter part.

For example, for those agents who want a more robust ACRE presence on their websites and don't want to create their own, we have a free, generic page that has an embedded video about Consulting designed for the consumer, along with content and numerous links (MyREconsultant). However, if an agent wanted to use that site but have it customized with their own logos, information, links, contact information, etc., there would be a charge for that customization.

Lastly, an important difference to note is that we believe that once you've earned the ACRE designation, it's yours. There is no "renewal" fee to maintain the designation. We feel that when you pay for something you should actually get something for that payment! We do, however, charge a nominal yearly fee for continued access to the Coaching Exchange after that first year. With the dynamic nature of The Coaching Exchange, material is always being added, discussions evolve, etc. These are all designed to help our members implement consulting in their own practices.