In South Africa, the course of study required to become a registered real estate agent is called the “Fidelity Fund Certificate” (FFC) course. The course is offered by various institutions and covers a range of topics related to real estate, including property law, ethics, and agency practice.
The FFC course has both theoretical and practical components and typically takes between 4 to 8 weeks to complete, after that the students have to pass the board exams which is called the NQF4 examination
The course material covers the following areas:
- The history and development of real estate
- The role and functions of the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB)
- Property law and related legislation
- The principles of real estate agency
- Real estate agency agreements and mandates
- The Marketing of real estate properties
- The Code of Conduct and ethics of real estate agency
- The handling of trust accounts and financial management
- The NQF4 Examination
Upon successful completion of the course and passing of the board exams, candidates will receive their Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC) which is mandatory to register with the EAAB.
It is worth to mention that the course and exams should be redone every 5 years to stay up to date and renew the Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC)