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American Land Seller Podcast
Welcome to The American Land Seller, the podcast dedicated to landowners, buyers, and investors seeking expert insights into the evolving land market. Hosted by Koby Rickertsen, an Accredited Land Consultant and Multi-State Land Broker with High Point Land Company, this show dives deep into market trends, investment strategies, and real-world experiences in farm, ranch, and recreational land sales.
Each episode features industry professionals, seasoned investors, and landowners sharing their expertise on topics such as:
✅ Land market trends and valuation strategies
✅ 1031 exchanges and tax implications
✅ Seller financing and creative deal structures
✅ Conservation easements and government programs
✅ Navigating legal and zoning challenges
✅ Building generational wealth through land ownership
Whether you're a first-time land buyer, a seasoned investor, or a landowner looking to sell, The American Land Seller provides the knowledge and tools you need to succeed in today’s competitive land market.
American Land Seller Podcast
#33 - Dirt Smart: Why Land Education Makes or Breaks Your Career with Abe Mills and Jennifer Janet
In this episode of The American Land Seller Podcast, host Koby Rickertsen sits down with two nationally recognized leaders in land education—Jennifer Janet and Abe Mills—to unpack why ongoing learning isn’t just helpful in our business... it’s essential.
Jennifer Janet, ALC, is a Broker/Owner, an RLI Board Member, and serves on both the Education Committee and Curriculum Task Force. She brings decades of experience, a deep passion for teaching, and a unique perspective from mentoring agents and building a culture of learning in her own office.
Contact Jennifer:
Phone: (573) 768-1268
Website: https://www.jenniferjanetrealtor.com
Abe Mills, ALC, is a transitional land expert from South Carolina with a background in development and construction. He serves on the RLI Board of Directors, the ALC Designation Committee, and several influential committees through the National Association of Realtors. Abe brings a wealth of insight into how education shapes ethics, advocacy, and real-world success in land brokerage.
Contact Abe:
Phone: (864) 404-5424
Website: https://kwland.com/agent/abe-mills
Together, they dive into:
- What it really takes to earn your ALC designation
- Why education gives you a competitive edge
- The biggest gaps in knowledge for today’s land agents
- How being a student of the business can transform your career
Whether you’re just getting started or looking to sharpen your edge, this conversation is full of valuable takeaways you won’t want to miss.
👉 Like, share, and subscribe for more real talk from the top minds in land real estate.
📬 Learn more at: www.americanlandseller.com
Today on the American Land Seller, we hit on something that doesn't always get the spotlight. It deserves Education. I'm not just talking about textbooks and classrooms. I'm talking about the real-world, hard-earned wisdom, the kind that comes from staying curious, asking the right questions and never settling for just good enough. And I've got two incredible guests with me who absolutely live that mindset.
Speaker 1:Jennifer Janet is an accredited land consultant, a board member for the Realtors Land Institute and a driving force on both their education committee and curriculum task force. Jennifer isn't just passionate about land. She's passionate about learning land. From running her own firm in Perryville, missouri, to leading community education efforts and mentoring agents, she embodies the idea that knowledge is power, and she is not afraid to share it. Abe Mills is a top-producing land broker out of South Carolina who specializes in transitional land. Abe's background in building and development gives him a razor sharp edge in identifying value and opportunity. He's earned his accredited land consultant designation and also serves on the Realtors Land Institute Board of Directors, as well as their designation committee since 2023, and is deeply involved in ethics and land use policy at the national level. When it comes to combining experience, advocacy and education, it brings the full package. So, whether you're new to land or looking to sharpen your edge. This episode is for you.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the American Land Seller Podcast with your host, kobe Rickardson. Kobe is an accredited land consultant and multi-state land broker with High Point Land Company. Join us each week as we explore all things land. We bring you fresh insights and expert guests on sales, marketing, regulations, economics and so much more. Visit wwwamericanlandsellercom and find us on one of your favorite podcast platforms.
Speaker 3:Okay, Kobe and our special guests, let's get started.
Speaker 1:Hey everybody, welcome back to the American Landseller Great show. Today we're going to talk about education and the importance of, if you're in a specialty, understanding what you're specializing in. I guess that's a good way to put it right, guys. I mean, like we have with us today as our experts, jennifer Janet from Missouri and Abe Mills from South Carolina. Welcome you two. Thank you, so glad to have you here.
Speaker 1:I'm going to start with you, jennifer, because we want to put the chicken before the egg, even though we don't know exactly which one came first on that, but I would say the education portion of it. Abe is a little bit more of an expert on the accreditation process, so let's start with the education portion of it. You're a huge part of Realtors Land Institute education as an instructor, you're on the task force for developing the new curriculum that's coming out, which has been pretty incredible so far, and you serve on the education committee, so, and you're a board of directors member for that organization as well, so got a couple of big shots today. That's great. Tell us just a little bit about what got you into your passion for the education portion of the Realtors Land Institute.
Speaker 3:Well, I really love the Realtors Land Institute. So that was the first part of that piece of the puzzle right. I really believe in their mission and how they're helping professionals distinguish themselves in the land industry. But I love to help people and I want to see them grow, and if we aren't growing as a whole entity, we aren't growing for the industry. So that's just really huge to make sure we're setting that bar high.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure, that's I mean, and that's absolutely true. Yeah, sure, that's I mean, and that's absolutely true. Do you? So I've kind of seen, since I've joined, like it seemed like when I first joined it was like maybe one or two accred that with your packets that you guys are reviewing and kind of just talk a little bit about just the basic overview of the process for getting your accreditation in land.
Speaker 4:Yeah, sure. So yeah, last year we hit 100, nearly ALCs, which is the record, you know. So, yeah, we're being seen more and more in the industry, you know, as, as the leaders, and, and uh, and yeah so the um, you know as far as the packet like well, do you want me to go through the? You know the whole.
Speaker 1:I just got to touch on just kind of um. You know, know, like where do you think that the excitement's coming from? You know, like that people are are wanting their alc, because I mean, we're going to go over later. It's gotten a lot tougher to get, yeah, yeah I thought it was tough back when I got it.
Speaker 4:So you know, yeah, I just just in general. It's more recognized, you know um, and, and, uh, and and, far more revered. So if you know someone is doing a land deal or any type of transaction like that and they have an ALC after their name, you know you're dealing with someone who's professional and knows what they're doing, and yeah so in regards to the process.
Speaker 4:You know there's a few different ways of getting your ALC, but the majority of people do it based on, you know, their transaction volume, and then they do some coursework, do an exam, and then they put together a portfolio, which we'll go into some detail a little later on on that.
Speaker 1:So yeah, no, I mean, I just think that the the education process with, especially with ROI. There are other organizations out there that you can get education from. Colleges. There are, you know, land classes at several colleges around the country. There's also the appraisers. They have their own organization which a lot of guys kind of crossover appraisers and farm managers. But, Jennifer, when we're talking about our particular organization and again the undertaking that you guys are doing, which we'll step into probably in the next segment, but it's just, it's the curriculum is pretty extensive. You know it's not like you're taking a three hour continuing ed class. This is like 18 hours, two days if you're in person, several weeks if you're doing it online. You know you've been a part of the education on both sides, learning and teaching. Explain the process of maybe one class that you teach and what that looks like.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so you are right, though, Kobe like 104 hours to get your you know to qualify to apply for ALC, that's huge.
Speaker 3:So not a lot of other designations have that, but I just want to point that out that I think that's a really big stride that we make to make sure that we are qualified and educated appropriately and we want to make sure it's relevant, right.
Speaker 3:So that's one of the reasons why we're updating the curriculum to make sure that our professionals have the most up-to-date information. When I teach a two-day, which is a 16-hour in-person course that is comprised of me sharing the information, the material, but we are talking about case studies, so we're doing real life simulations about a situation you may be in and how to apply this information that you are learning in that course. And, of course, there's a lot of networking going on. So we're hearing best practices from everyone in the room around the country, because not everything's the same in everyone's marketplace, and I think that's a big plus. You know you mentioned that you can go to a university and take these courses, but I think what you miss is are those pieces of all of the professionals in the room from across the country bringing insight and bringing in their tips.
Speaker 1:And the less talking at you and the more talking with you type of learning experience, which I think yeah, you're absolutely right there. It's like we're the professionals from around the world learning from each other and being guided by the curriculum, so that's a very good point. You know, like when I think I don't know which of us got ours first, but it was, I think Abe and I were pretty much right around the same time a couple of years ago Jennifer, you might've been a little bit more aggressive and gotten yours before us, but um, um, but I did like there's nothing like those classes, right, abe? I mean, like I, even the ones online are very quality, but I went, I was blessed with the ability to go to a couple of in-person classes and I mean you just have friends for life after those two days.
Speaker 4:Yeah, definitely, yeah, yeah. I'll never forget and I'll make this short, but I'll never forget the first time that I went into LAN 101. I flew to Rockwall, Texas, and Justin Osborne and another fellow ALC was teaching that course and I was actually and we'll get into this a little later, I think, but I was looking to do the fast track to my CCIM designation. So I saw hey, man, I can take some land courses here, which I do, a ton of land anyways and then get this ALC and fast track.
Speaker 4:I didn't realize that five minutes later I would have had an epiphany moment that, hey, I met my people, like I was looking, you know, and uh and that's what it's been like, you know and and we just left the national land conference in in Tucson, arizona.
Speaker 5:I don't even know how many people were there but there was hundreds, you know, but it feels like a giant family reunion.
Speaker 4:You know we meet each other and it's like like these are friends for life and people you can lean on when you need some information, if you bump into something in a certain type of a transaction you don't understand, it seems like there's always a light bulb that goes off like hey, I know who I can contact, you know, within our realms and uh, and they'll help me with this.
Speaker 1:So yeah, jennifer, I think that's a good point. That he makes is like the, the connections, and it is it. I tell people this like as a pitch for people to join all the time. It is not a joke. I can pick up, I can spin the wheel on the find a land consultant on our website and I could hit any given one of them and call them up and ask them about something and they would be happy to, for the most part, to help me out. I mean, is that kind of your experience too?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Yeah, I mean I call fellow RLI members, you know, from time to time and ask them bounce an idea off. I need your perspective on this. Tell me I'm not out of line or give me a little tidbit to help me make this deal work and keep it together. So I agree with that wholeheartedly. I feel like this is one of the sectors in real estate that, while we're all competitors with each other, it's not a cutthroat environment. We all want to genuinely see each other succeed in RLI and that's where that comes into play, where we're willing to help each other out Again, because we know how raising the bar makes us all better, keeps us all sharp and then helps differentiate us from those who aren't members of RLI.
Speaker 1:All right, Well, and it's almost like just a like. To me it's crazy because it's everybody's rooting for you, even if you're competing. You know like, it's like you know, dang it. Well, you know it's almost like high school sports. You know like, ah, we'll get you next time. You know, dang it. Well, you know it's almost like high school sports. You know like, ah, we'll get you next time. You know, I'm glad somebody you know, at least at a certain caliber you know, won the deal and and uh, and it wasn't to. You know like, you know somebody, just because of a cheaper commission or whatever standpoint.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I'd rather. I'd rather know that I got beat out from another land professional that is dedicated to their career than, like you said, someone who just walked in the door or oh, I sold them a you know a proper home years ago, or they're my grandma's best friend you know what I mean and don't have the qualifications, because that's going to hurt possibly, you know, hurt them possibly in that transaction, just what they don't know. They don't know, and that's huge in the land industry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it goes back to like my big push this year because I like I've been sharing this with people but, like when I was doing my goals for 2025, I always try and think of crazy off the wall stuff, you know, and whiteboard it out and try and figure out, like you know, what kind of audacious things can we possibly come up with. This year, and my goal that we ended up going with, that we put into our actual goal sheet, was I want to pay a hundred thousand dollars in referrals to residential or commercial agents, like I want. And so then you backboard, you know, storyboard that back to how do we get that going. We have to contact these guys and convince them that this is the best thing you know. And so you know, like it's, it's so much to your point is working with someone that's a professional in that area is just it's it's night and day different from you know, just finding somebody that'll do it for the cheapest. Do you guys agree with that?
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, definitely. We know they're dealing with a professional as well On the other side, right away, and you don't have to dig very deep if they have the.
Speaker 1:ALC after their name. That's true. I mean I speak highly for everybody that appears that is a member of Realtors Land Institute. But man, I don't think people realize that, how hard it is and how much knowledge and it's not just knowledge. Right, jennifer, you have to have land sales under your belt. You have to show that you can do it. You have to not only show that, it's not just numbers when you submit your packet. I guess we can go over that later, but it is. How did you do it? What were the challenges? It's quite the package to put together. I don't know if you can remember that far back.
Speaker 3:The portfolio is a lot of work and people get really intimidated by that aspect of it because you do have to write the narrative.
Speaker 3:You do have to you know explain what you learned and what you applied, that you've already learned, you know. So I do think there's a lot of weight in that aspect of it. And I feel like a lot of other designations in the real estate industry are just, you go to class you don't even have to take a test, sometimes at the end of the day and you get this designation or you get the certification, and that kind of dumbs down some of these certifications and designations and makes them, I don't want to say useless, because they do have value, but I think that it just works For the public. They think, oh well, you just went to a class and you got this ALC and it's more than that and it's expensive too. You know I mean that's another facet that we could talk about. You know you invest a lot back into your career in order to get to that level and I think that's a huge, huge statement there as well.
Speaker 1:Definitely can create just a monetary value right out the gate, from what it costs to get it, you know to. And again, I think once you start going to these classes, most of us are like excited to you know, after we're done with our ALC, if something new pops up, a lot of us will take the new classes, you know, just because we want to want to see what's out there. But all right, guys, we're going to take a quick break and we will be right back. The American Land Seller Podcast is brought to you in part by LandHubcom. Join us today and experience the expertise of LandHub's land marketing professionals. Whether you're buying or selling, let us show you the way in the ever-evolving world of land transactions. Visit landhubcom and discover what the future of land marketing looks like. Landhubcom, where your land journey begins. All right, we're back here with Jennifer Janet from Perryville, missouri, and Abe Mills. Do we know where you're from? In South Carolina. It's just like everything I read about you is just South Carolina.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's because I come from most of the state.
Speaker 1:I know you do. Do you live somewhere? Is there a place you live?
Speaker 4:What's up? I'm in the upstate, yeah, so we have, like Reno. Spartanburg are the two major thoroughfares there, and I'm kind of between the both. I live in Spartanburg County but my office is in Greenville.
Speaker 1:And you're just South Carolina, or are you licensed in other states?
Speaker 4:I'm licensed in North Carolina as well.
Speaker 1:North and South Carolina. All right, perfect. I just was laughing about that earlier. I was like I don't think it says anywhere in here where the guy's actually from. Maybe he's like the new realtor, van life or something, just running around in a van, never know. On this segment, because we're going to talk about the education portion of it, because I know that RLI is pouring a lot of time and energy and money into kind of going through tweaking the classes they want to. I think go through all of them in the next five years is the plan. It started with the money class, that's what I call it.
Speaker 3:Investment analysis.
Speaker 1:There it is. That's what I call it Investment analysis. There it is. Yeah, investment analysis, which I had Phil McAnis from Delaware top that class to me and he is pretty entertaining. I liked it. It was online and most people hate that class online, but I learned an awful lot from him. But that's the one we started with because that was going to be the toughest one. Correct, I think that was the attitude.
Speaker 3:That's correct, how'd that go.
Speaker 3:I think that went extremely well, being the toughest course, you know. Get that one out of the way and let's move on to the others. That is a three day course, so it's just much more intense, plus it's all the Excel spreadsheets and the others. That is a three-day course, so it's just much more intense, plus it's all the Excel spreadsheets and the formulas, so that one just required a little bit more work hands-on. And we debuted that last fall at mini bootcamp and I feel like that went well. We had a few little glitches. Those are all worked out and that's back up and running. So there are a couple other courses I know we've taken off the table just because they do need to be revamped and we're not going to teach those. I know, like Timberland, that's off the table right now until that one's restructured and updated. We're working on Land 101 now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think Land 101 is a broad class and I think it's going to be interesting to see what, like I know that the thing I think is really cool what they're doing with the task forces is they've kind of pluck farmland. I didn't see that when I took it, but you know, I think that we all kind of get that, you know, if it's not all about us, it's about everybody else, type of attitude. But so it'll be fun to see what you guys do with the land 101. And I think, like the what is the transitional land? That's the third one, that's kind of on the top three, the three required courses, and then you'll dig into the rest of them. So but that's really cool. You brought this up mini boot camp. Let's kind of explain to people what boot camp is and then we can describe mini boot camp. You've been a part of boot camp like the last several years, right as an instructor that's correct what is uh, boot camp and uh, and why should people check into that?
Speaker 3:boot camp is your ability to get all of your educational courses done at one time. That's a little intimidating, right? That's 10 days of courses and we rotate around the country, so a chapter can sponsor the bootcamp in their state. This year it'll be in Tulsa, oklahoma, and we hope to have Land 101 done for that debut at the bootcamp. Not sure if we'll get it done or not, but we're working. And really one of the other advantages I see or I saw personally when I was on the receiving end of a boot camp was that I could get it all knocked out at one time and there was a discount. So we get a discount if you're an RLI member and then if you take all of the courses together, there's another price break and that was just advantageous to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's. I mean, it seems intimidating. I think it's a couple thousand dollars for the whole thing, but if you break it down into what it costs per class, it's pretty. I mean, it's pretty crazy what the cost can be on it. We talked about that a little bit in the last segment, what the cost can be on it. We talked about that a little bit in the last segment. But, um, so, like um, I think that the one of the coolest things that I've seen in RLI is these people that go to these bootcamps. It's like graduating college together. It's just an intense week of, and so they're, you know, like, soon as they hit the conference, they're huddling up and they all know each other and they, you know, they've been through something together. And so, um, Abe, did you do bootcamp or did you do like I did, and kind of pick and choose?
Speaker 4:Yeah, no, I didn't. I wanted to do bootcamp, but I got going when COVID was rolling. So it was very difficult and whenever I saw an in-person class pop up for Land 101, I flew and I did most of my courses. I traveled to which I highly recommend. I mean, the boot camp is great. I love the idea, I'm all for that too. But if you do have the chance to fly around and take a course here and there, you've got to meet people you may otherwise not ever meet.
Speaker 2:And they might not even be rli members, a lot of these courses you know, realtors or or land professionals show up to get more education.
Speaker 5:They may not be an rli member.
Speaker 4:They may have just signed up for this and, and you know, in and to get more education in in that particular thing. So I mean I've flown I remember I went to wyoming and I'm friends, you know to this day, with some attorneys that were sitting in a recreational land, class of all things, and I mean you know.
Speaker 4:I don't think they're RLI members for sure, and yeah, they just want to get a little bit more information on the rec side for what they what they do so so yeah, I highly recommend it um, of course, you know, and online's always there too, so some of us can't do that and that that's all. That's great as well, but but the camaraderie in the, in the brotherhood or sister that you, that you gain, meeting these people and their lifelong connections, um, absolutely yeah, that's definitely true.
Speaker 1:I remember my Land 101 class, to your point. I had a lady from Memphis who was a specialist in affordable housing and that's what she did as a realtor and as an investor. She bought blighted buildings and held on to them until the city decided that's the direction they were going to start spending money. And then she made a fortune off of it, you know like. So she was speculating on, she'd hold, she was talking about buildings that she would hold and and pay security to watch for 15, 20 years, you know, because she knew that eventually that was going to be, that was going to be a place where they're going to come.
Speaker 1:So I met some crazy interesting people and dealing stuff that I don't ever deal in, but I can say I think that there's maybe I don't know about you guys, but there are a couple of classes. I think VIT is the best Two that I came up with. Like I said, I know people say that they hate it, but I think that land investment analysis was one that you know watching him do this stuff on the screen, you know going through all the, all the um formulas and everything with Excel. Uh, that was one. I thought I liked that one better. Um, I guess, I don't know that I've ever seen it in person. And then the mapping class I thought was one that you could definitely get a lot out of, um, and you know, sitting there watching the screen. The rest, I think it's the teachers are fun, they're entertaining and all the teachers we have. I think you can talk to that, jennifer. The teachers are pretty great and it's not easy to get to be a teacher.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, it's not. And I do want to point out one of the other advantages to in-person is that sometimes the instructors kind of let the class lead the way a little bit. So while we're on a particular subject matter, so for instance, when I was teaching transitional land a couple of years ago, we actually went out on a site that one of the students had listed and we went out there as a whole after we got done that day and helped them analyze the property look for the highs, the lows, what some limitations were. I was going to hold it back from, you know, maybe converting into a different use, and I think that was so valuable to everyone as a whole. So sometimes you just get little other opportunities that pop up and I'm an instructor who runs with that Like, if the opportunity is there, let's go do it, if everyone's on board. So we did that and then headed out for dinner, you know, after that was completed. So, yeah, not that virtual is bad.
Speaker 3:I think that it's a great way to connect people and if you're on a time crunch and you want to get your ALC done or, like Abe said, if you're just wanting to pop in and learn more about a particular subject matter, then that's definitely the way to go. And you don't have to be an RLI member. And sometimes you take a course about land or you're wanting to just maybe learn a little bit more or find out if this would be a great new area to start focusing your real estate on. And you take the course and you realize, hey, this isn't for me and I feel like that then gives a really high level of appreciation for those that are specializing in land and gives a referral opportunities and helps people understand that we do have to stay in our lane. You know, as a realtor we are bound by the code of ethics. We should practice in the areas that we can specialize in Article 11. Yep Just gives opportunities for people to sometimes realize it's just not for them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like your point there. And to your point like it's just like Abe's story, right, he came into it because he went to it. For you know, I don't know if we talked about that on or off this, the podcast, but I'm gonna spoil it if we didn't. Um, you know you went to your uh. You know what you're trying to get, your ccim. You know you didn't care about the rli or anything, you just saw a class, this class. You know there's, there's a way to uh to workIM by getting your LLC maybe first. And so you went to a class and fell in love with it and I forgot about CCIM.
Speaker 4:Yeah. I didn't forget about CCIM, but you know, I had this newfound love for where I realized where. I belonged.
Speaker 5:You know, and some people.
Speaker 4:I've actually had a girl that came, took a land on the course and she, she said after the course, you know I'm petrified of land.
Speaker 1:now I realize that you, that this is really a specialty thing, and you know, she, she literally sends me our land listings you know so, so yeah, so yeah, Well, that's one thing, like, just on my own I'm working on maybe two or three, just smaller classes, that we can get continuing ed for some states and then just go teach residential agents, offer it to.
Speaker 1:You know the different MLSs, different boards, and say, hey, we'll come teach this, and so the people that are interested in it, we can show them the way, we can give them the path on how do you get more education into it, how do you become more, more grounded in this, in this thing, and the people that don't know what they don't know. Maybe you realize that, hey, I'm really great at marketing and selling. You know houses, but this is a little bit more intimidating than I ever thought it was, because it's real easy to go, look at a lot and say, well, there's no house on it. How confusing can this be? You know when, if you market it wrong and sell a property without you know water to it or power to it and you know in a price where it should have, that you know and you don't understand what you're doing, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble. Let's take another break and we will be right back.
Speaker 5:Land isn't just dirt, it's and we will be right back. Where do you even start? Who can you trust to guide you? For too long, land transactions have been treated like a simple exchange Numbers on a paper, a signature on a line. But it's more than that. At High Point Land Company, we don't just list land, we walk it, we learn its story and we find the right buyer who understands its worth. You are not just another deal, you are the steward of something bigger and we're here to help you navigate every step of the way. When it's time to sell, when it's time to buy. We're here Because land is more than just land. It's your legacy.
Speaker 1:All right, we're back here with Abe and Jennifer Guys. Thank you, If I don't remember. Thank you so much for taking your time to do this.
Speaker 1:This is important stuff, I think, and so we need to know about what's out there as far as education in order to specialize, and so I really appreciate you joining me today. Before we go on to accredited land consultant designation, jennifer, let's talk just real quick about virtual roundtables. This is something a couple of years ago that RLA Education Committee came up with, and it is really quite a neat deal for professionals to jump into, I think it's an hour right 60 minutes.
Speaker 1:It's a panel discussion. Tell us about what's next on that and the success that we've had with that.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So this is an opportunity to collaborate with your peers virtually, and in the past we've had conservation easements covered, equine properties, land estate planning. Now we're going to have our next one. Will be creating value for our clients, and it's just a great way to continue to learn from other people in our industry, find out ways that we can improve our business and that's part of our RLI membership, so that's free for us. And then we also have webinars that are done virtually as well, and again, another opportunity just for us to grow, create value, which obviously then pours over into our clients. We've got an upcoming webinar, I think at the end of this month, also the Land Market Studying Report for 2024.
Speaker 3:So that's just another way that our ally is pouring back into us as professionals and making sure that we're top of the top.
Speaker 1:Well, I think like we're going to get digging right now to accredited land consultant designation. How do you get it? Why it's important, all that stuff. But you know, I think it's important to remember that once you get that, it's not over. This is a constantly changing business that you know, like we're. We just had an administration change that transport like I'm on the government affairs committee, like I I've never seen that group in like the last several years just twiddle their thumbs because it was like well, we're waiting to see what the new administration says about waters of the us and we're really kind of excited about the National Conservation Easement Bill that we're going to have. But it's just, it was a, you know, like waters of the US has been a big challenge and now it looks like it's going to be a lot simpler than it was. But the constant learning, the constant education that we have to have, I think RLI is just outright nailing it every you know, every step of the way.
Speaker 3:So absolutely, and if you can't get your ALC right now, that's OK, you know, still join RLI and come out and learn and grow your business In the meantime. Obviously, the ALC is the best thing that we want everyone to be able to accomplish through their membership with RLI, but there's still a lot of value, so I don't want to diminish that in any way or discourage people from joining RLI. If they're in a market that may take them a while to earn the ALC designation Still a great place to be.
Speaker 1:Wow, and you know like I'm going to throw out one of our alumnus from the podcast here, but Casey mock, I mean heck, he's been one of the featured speakers at the convention. You know, at the convention every year and just this year finally got his ALC. You know because because he had the opportunity to finish the classes and get it, but he was not in a hurry. You know because he's already part of the family and so everybody gave him a lot of guff about it, but it took him quite a while, but he finally got it. And so again, if you work on it just a little bit at a time, you're going to get there. All right, abe, now it's time to pick your brain. I will say that the the only review that I heard from talking to my classmates from my class last year that I taught on site selection.
Speaker 1:Their favorite part of it was the Abe Mills show at the end, where he came on and talked for about 45 minutes about how to get your ALC and answer questions. That was that was pretty awesome of you to do that and, jennifer, if you're teaching online classes, I highly recommend you have him or one of the committee members come on and talk about how to get the accreditation, because that was definitely, I mean, I think you finally hung up on this because you have to go somewhere, probably just like I've got to go. Guys, I'm sorry, email me your questions and I'll try and help you out. That was an amazing part that we added to my class. I know my guys really appreciated it. I think we got like seven from that class that ended up getting their ALC this last week.
Speaker 4:Their portfolios are put together.
Speaker 3:nice, I will say it was really great this year at the National Land Conference to see you know students that I've helped or written a letter of recommendation for cross the stage. So that was just kind of a neat thing this year.
Speaker 1:Some of those guys have been working on it for quite a while too like Warren Williams and some of those guys like.
Speaker 1:Casey Mock. That was kind of fun to see them, but that's the trouble with doing the online classes, because everybody knew who I was. I have 30-some on there. I don't remember they don't look the same or if they don't have their camera on or what, so that was kind of crazy. But it was great to see all those guys get their ALC. And it's still like 0.00, 0.002 something percent of the realtors in the world are ALCs. So if you every once in a while, catch Gary Hubble, he has that math right ready right away. So, yeah, all right, hey, what do we got to do? I want to get my ALC. What's the where do I start? We got the application kind of down. Now what? Yeah?
Speaker 4:So there, there are several pathways to the ALC, so it's not always and I want to point this out it's not always just just realtors, that that get there. You know, accredited land consultant designation.
Speaker 4:We have land specialists in different sectors, or you know within the land arena that are accredited land consultants, and for good reason, because we are land professionals and we want the cream of the crop involved. You know, and um so you, you know, you might have, you know, someone who is an auctioneer, you know, or something like that, that you know that has their accreditation.
Speaker 4:So yeah, but you know, the main thing is that there's the education portion of it and there's a volume portion of it and then, after you meet the volume requirements, which I'll go over here, you know briefly in a minute, but then you submit, you know, to take your exam and once you've taken your exam and passed that, then you submit your portfolio. And your portfolio just consists of the volume that you're using to, you know, in your portfolio, providing you're going the realtor route, you know, in regards to the portfolio, and then we've added leases too, so we've added a few
Speaker 4:things and there's some changes that have been daunting. I get calls almost weekly from people that have questions in regards to their ALC. And they're like why did you guys up the limits and you know different things like that and because we're evolving. You know, the industry is evolving and as it's evolving, you know prices across the board have gone up, so we raised, you know, our bar from $10 million worth of volume up to $15 million worth of volume.
Speaker 4:And a lot of people freak out, but we've not gone away with a 25 transaction rule, which is, if you don't meet the $15 million of required volume, you can submit 25 separate transactions in the landfill that have happened over the past five years, and you can go that route.
Speaker 3:So, honestly, we saw one, not too long ago and I think their total volume was in the hundreds of thousands it didn't even cross the million bar because they live in an area where land is cheap.
Speaker 4:They sell a few small lots here and there.
Speaker 3:They might have a $1,500 sale but it's still a land transaction when we look at that.
Speaker 5:So, and then the other thing is the fast track Fast track we fast track for not just CCIM, but there's like SIOR, there's CRE AFM you know there's a lot of you know different organizations that were willing to fast
Speaker 4:track and a lot of the fast tracks if you qualify for a fast track you don't get away from the volume requirements and things like that, but they do alleviate some of the classwork that you have to do.
Speaker 1:So if you qualify under fast track, which you can find all the information right on IRLIlandcom if you qualify for that FastTrack like you don't have to take.
Speaker 4:Land 101, you don't have to take Land Investment Analysis or no no no, I'm sorry, you have to take Land 101, you have to take Land Investment Analysis and you have to take land 111,. You have to take land investment analysis and you have to take transitional land unless you're a CCIM. If you're a CCIM, that's the only one.
Speaker 5:There's a little caveat there, you don't have to take the land investment analysis.
Speaker 4:You can take a different course, one of the specialty courses. But you don't have to take the other courses if you're fast-tracked and yeah, so then you put together your portfolio and you submit it, and then usually there's people within RLI, who look at it before it even comes to our committee, so they may point out some obvious errors and send it back to you and you know, tell you what you need, but if not, it'll come to us.
Speaker 4:We review the application and then if we have any questions, need further explanations or just simply don't agree with one of your or more of your transactions, then we send it back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean just to make people feel a little bit better. What portion of your packets do you get that you kind of send back for clarification or for you know, we didn't like this. We need you to fix this type of thing.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so a lot of if that happens, it's usually in the narratives and usually it's because people don't explain themselves or we don't really nitpick volumes in the 51% rule. Let's say you had a house on 20 acres that you sold and you feel that the acre, the 20 acres, was worth more than 51% of the home value.
Speaker 2:If it's an absolute mansion on 20 acres and whatever we may look at it and say yeah, I think you're skirting the rules here, you know.
Speaker 5:But if it's just you know, a shanty on 20 acres or whatever.
Speaker 4:We can agree that, you know. Yeah, I think you're skirting the rules here, but if it's just a shanty on 20 acres or whatever, we can agree that, well, I'll agree that's a land transaction.
Speaker 4:Some of that we've seen a little bit of kickback with people trying to make numbers look like something they're not, and then the other would just be. It's usually just clarification within the transaction, like, hey, you, can you give us a little further clarification on on this or that, and where they didn't go in any detail and we're all in this industry, so you can't really pull wool over our eyes you know um and this is what we do every day, all of us, you know so.
Speaker 2:So yeah, don't try to hide something.
Speaker 5:Just be out in the open with it, you know that's key.
Speaker 1:I think when I submitted mine I tried to like there were cabins at the lake that I considered recreational properties, and I got sent back a nice message saying that that was not acceptable, because the you know, but my feeling was is it didn't matter what was on there, the land was worth more. Because the you know, but I my feeling was is it didn't matter what was on there, the land was worth more than the house. But that you know when.
Speaker 1:I you know I get it Then. Then where do you stop with that? Airbnbs are technically investment properties and you know, and so, um, but uh, yeah, it's. It's a fascinating process, it's not. It's definitely takes a while, you know. So if you're in a big rush, that accreditation is not going to be like at home, with diversity or something like that, where you can, you know, finish your class today and get your accreditation at the end of your process. You know it was quite a. You know it was different back when even I did it. You know, I think A when you did it it was a little different. They've got some pluses and some minuses, I would say, you know, because lots you couldn't have, you can have more lots or a certain percentage of development, whereas before we couldn't, we could maybe have two lots out of a development, and so that's changed. What do you remember about getting your ALC? That stuck with you the most?
Speaker 3:I think what stuck with me the most was that realization that this was my passion. Like I said, this is where I like, kind of like Abe said, like this is where I want to be, this is where I want to move my business, um, but just that, yeah, I could do it. You know, um, for me that was just a big accomplishment and I was super proud of that and I just have held that at such a high. I don't want a high coveted, but you know, I mean that's one of the reasons why we have the ALC process in place and that there's a small percentage Right, because we don't want to dilute this, we don't want to water this down and we want to make sure that everyone who is earning that designation is truly earning it and we're not throwing it around like prairie candy. That designation is truly earning it and we're not throwing it around like parade candy. So I think I just I felt very accomplished and just proud that I took that step and jumped in a very last minute.
Speaker 3:When I signed up, for it was Land U back. When I took it and did that, my kiddos were little and leaving for, you know, 10 and a half days was a huge feat for me as a mom, but also for my husband, who's going to be back home holding everything down and all the other grandparents that helped out along the way and just stepping away from your business. That was intimidating, like how am I going to keep my business moving forward while I'm here in a classroom? I mean our courses. We had one that went till 1030 at night, I think, and boom, we were back up and in there again at 8am the next morning. So it's an intense week, but that was just. It was just a great feeling to know that I, that I got it and I earned it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome when, when you were doing yours back, you know what. What was your big takeaway or your big other than the fact that the first class was like hey, I just changed my entire business model over over one text, Texas class, but kind of like what was the big takeaway from the whole process when you did your Z?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean my, my biggest thing was just the connections. Honestly, Like I realize, I made lifelong connections. And honestly the designation and I just had this conversation with someone you know, when we were at the National Land Conference.
Speaker 4:But he said I'm all done with everything, I just have to submit my portfolio and I said submit your portfolio because, I can promise you, this designation changed the trajectory of my career and he's like how can you say that? I'm in Colorado and I'm surrounded by all these guys and you know, like I said, you do things differently. There's plenty of land in Colorado for number one, so you know there's plenty to go around. And I said but you know, pick your passion in.
Speaker 5:whatever you're doing, pick your passion.
Speaker 4:I don't care, you know where you belong in this. You know as you go along the way, in regards to what type of land that you're going to offer and how you're going to do it. But I can tell you with honesty I got a phone call last year and it was one of the biggest landholders in the state of South Carolina and I didn't know it at the time.
Speaker 3:but this guy asked me to come out and take a look at this one piece of property.
Speaker 4:And I went out and I looked at this piece of property and I said well, I'm going to be honest with you. But I went out and I looked at this piece of property and I said well, I'm going to be honest with you. I am a land professional and this piece of property was.
Speaker 2:This was just a little mobile home and I said look, I will market your mobile home.
Speaker 4:I will do the best I can, but I can promise you that I am not a land, I'm not a mobile home pro, I'm a land pro, but I will do my best to market your property.
Speaker 5:I'm not saying I can't so anyways the guy didn't use me, but he obviously did some homework after he saw an accredited land consultant, you know whatever, and he was looking around whatever and he called me back and he said I want to tell you that we're one of the biggest landholders in the state and we are actually looking to dissolve our company.
Speaker 4:And we want you to list all the land, because we looked at you know, getting this designation truly changed the trajectory of my life and it is, you know, it's continuing and I'm sure Jennifer and Kobe, you can both say the same thing in regards to your businesses Like it really truly has changed and, yeah, I really encourage everyone that's going through it to just go for it.
Speaker 5:It's not.
Speaker 4:If you're in the landfill, it's not that hard to put 25 transactions on your belt in five years, or hit the 15 million mark nowadays. So, go for it, work your way through it and you'll soon find out why it's worth, you know, bearing that badge.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. I'm happy they added the National Land Conference to one of the criterias. With that that is cool. Because I feel like that is such a good piece to just our networking and and getting to know everybody on a different level.
Speaker 1:Yeah, If you go to the national light conference and don't get anything out of it, you didn't do it right, Like that's for sure, Cause I mean it's it's very well run, I think, and I'm not really a big conference guy, but it's very well run and it's not a waste of anybody's time.
Speaker 1:It's short, sweet to the point and you got a lot of info out of it.
Speaker 1:And the fact that I think you know, like one of the things that I think RLI and the ALC have really opened my eyes to is the fact that you know there's other solutions to a common problem. You know, like I may look at something and think my buyer is a farmer, or you know, or you know a producer, because I'm in an area where that's what we do we farm, we raise corn, soybeans, cows, and so I may look at that property and I may see that this is a pasture and it's worth X amount of money. But when I take the tools that RLI has shown me and I put that, you know, put it into land trust, which I've learned about through RLI or you know all the other stuff, it's incredible how we can find different values for the same piece of property if we just broaden our scale of what this can be used for, and so that's been pretty amazing for me. But, guys, thank you so much for being on here and taking part in this. It's been a lot of fun.
Speaker 3:Anything in closing that you want to add before we go? Yeah, I'm going to add that the bootcamp starts on May 28th and ends June 5th with the last course that day. Sign-ups and registration will open April 1st, which is just a couple of days away. They do tend to sell out, so if you have any desire to further your education with RLI, this would be the time I'll say that if you have any questions about the process you know we briefly touched on some things and you know, I'm just thinking.
Speaker 4:there's different parts of different rules and you know, like you know, no more than 20% of your transaction can come from your personal. You know thing.
Speaker 5:So you might have family and there's a lot of questions you may have, and don't hesitate to reach out to me.
Speaker 4:Like you know, kobe can certainly vouch that. You know I'll respond to every call every email. So you know my end goal is that you get your designation and it changes your life the same as it did our. You know mine, so I'll help you with anything that I can in regards to that. So you can reach me real quick abemills at kwcom and my phone number is 864-404-5424. Jot it down, that's my personal cell number. You can send me a text message. Just don't spam me to death.
Speaker 1:Jennifer, how do I get a hold of you?
Speaker 3:Jennifer at 573realtygroupcom, or my cell is 573-768-1268. I'd be happy to chat with you about any of the courses or just RLI in general and how we can help make you a better land professional.
Speaker 1:And I know, like those of you that are listening, that maybe have something for sale in.
Speaker 5:Missouri or Illinois. I think, jennifer, you're working on Illinois. You're going to be licensed there soon, if not now.
Speaker 1:And then Abe North, south Carolina. This isn't really their day job. They actually do go sell market and sell property. So sure They'd love to hear from you and I will put the contact information, with you guys's permission, in the show notes and so people can get ahold of you. But thank you guys so much for taking the time and we will see you all down the road.
Speaker 2:As we wrap up another episode of the American land seller podcast. Thank you for joining us. Visit wwwamericanlandsellercom and find us on one of your favorite podcast platforms. If you would be so kind and you enjoyed today's insights, please like, subscribe, rate, follow and review us on whatever app you are listening or watching on. Connect with us on social media for updates. Until next week, kobe wishes you success in your land endeavors. God bless you and have a great week. The American Land Seller is brought to you in part by LandHubcom.
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