“Mastering Real Estate Skills” A collaboration between UNIVA and AMPI Puerto Vallarta
“Mastering Real Estate Skills”
A collaboration between UNIVA (Universidad Valle de Atemajac) Puerto Vallarta Campus and Asociación Vallartense de Profesionales Inmobiliarios, A.C. (AMPI Vallarta)
by Francine Britton M.Ed.
Stretch your imagination, if you will, and picture a group of twenty (20) Puerto Vallarta real estate professionals ranging in age from 25 to 75 and … they are all “back in the classroom,” to experience a brand new accredited (by SEP and UNIVA) course entitled “Mastering Real Estate Skills.”
And it is not just any classroom – we are at the beautiful Puerto Vallarta campus of UNIVA (Universidad Valle de Atemajac) in a large space with plenty of room to spread out – and we will need it!
It is Saturday, November 9th and the first “official” class is entering the classroom, making name tags, finding a seat, and writing down a few words about themselves. Everyone is excited for this “in person course” having taken most of their Continuing Education classes with me via Zoom since October 2022.
This course is a chance for me to do what I do best (teaching in an experiential, participatory way) to impart the knowledge and skills all real estate professionals will need to rise above the challenges of the ever-changing Banderas Bay real estate market. And … to acquire SEP/UNIVA approved professional credentials. The goal of this course is: “Creating a Community of Like-Minded Realtors!”
As the attendees settle in, we focus on “hard skills.” These are things that can be taught like “win-win” negotiation techniques, “super-communicator” skills, and “problem-solving techniques,” such as creating a SWOT analysis, brainstorming, mind-mapping, and the 7 steps to a Solution template to solve real-life scenarios. It is a chance to learn skills that will Mastering these skills allow realtors to remain ethical and transparent with clients and each other in all transactions.
Then it’s on to “soft skills” often referred to as “character traits.” These skills are gained by mirroring the positive behavior we see in others and emulating and embracing things like being honest, fair, compassionate, kind, ethical, respectful, caring, and many, many more.
I believe that the best way to teach anything to anyone is to have them teach themselves. In this course, that is done through break-out sessions (the attendees form groups that remain the same throughout the course). They present their group work via role plays and by using the problem-solving techniques they have learned about. Each group will focus on solving real life ethical dilemmas and challenges regarding hard to sell properties, unusual or risky listings, and “what would you do” scenarios to meet client expectations.
The second session (two weeks later on November 23) has the attendees presenting their group projects by using all that they learned in the first session to create “The Ideal Realtor.” The presentations were outstanding and proved 100% mastery of all subject areas outlined in Part 1 of the course Syllabus. This homework project (done in collaboration during the two weeks between the classes) is 50 percent of each attendee’s final grade.
Part 2 of the course highlights the ABCs of the real estate process (with group work) from the first offer (the listing) to closing and includes an interactive Capital Gains Game that the whole group does together.
All is well that ends well (to paraphrase Shakespeare) and the course ends with a “reflection” activity that allows everyone to express (on big sheets of paper with colored markers,) what they are thinking, how they are feeling, and anything that they’d like to draw or write down to “reflect” on the experience of the course.
The course ends on the classroom stage with the awarding of certificates to be followed by each participant receiving an official SEP/UNIVA transcript for 25 UNIVA credits.
This unique, innovative 9-hour course was developed to give real estate professionals that belong to Asociación Vallartense de Profesionales Inmobiliarios, A.C., SEP credentials that will guide them as they become part of a “community of like-minded realtors,” 20 participants at a time.
This course is given with simultaneous translation so that attendees can listen, speak, do group work and present in the language they are most comfortable with. The course will be offered to Vallarta members 9 times during 2025. Participants earn 25 SEP/UNIVA Continuing Education Credits.
For more information and a schedule of the 2025 classes, members of the Asociación Vallartense de Profesionales Inmobiliarios A.C., can contact Ian Shepherd at .
