One Hand Washes the Other

As someone who works primarily in Jackson, there’s some fear every time I travel behind the Spud Curtain for business.

While the strict bailiwick of the Teton Board of Realtors is Teton County, Wyoming, and northern Lincoln County, the TBOR obviously covers much more ground. There’s no easy way to discern how many of our 650 members are based in Idaho, but I bet it’s safe to say a large percentage of the TBOR membership spends most of its time on the “quiet side of the Tetons.”

I’ve noticed some very real differences in license law between Wyoming and Idaho over the years. Blue Books. Limited Dual Agency. Renewing your license at the end of your birthday month. The list goes on and on.

Imagine my fear then when I heard Wyoming, Idaho and several other states were dissolving their reciprocity agreements (the Wyoming and Idaho relationship ended on March 23, 2009). Last year, I went the route of getting an Idaho primary license (vs. a reciprocal one), which basically entailed driving to Boise, sequestering myself in a hotel room for 48 hours to cram, and then taking the multiple choice test before driving back to Jackson.

But with the death of the reciprocal agreement comes some added continuing education requirements. While on the surface I selfishly don’t want to be bothered, this is probably good for our industry on the whole. Personally, I’m woefully ignorant on some of the nuances of Idaho license law… and I suspect I’d be even worse if I only held a reciprocal license. Some of the push to do away with the reciprocity was to ensure everyone is equally educated (which is not a guaranteed cure for my ignorance, but it's surely a start).

According to former Wyoming real estate commissioner John Gibbs from Buffalo, another problem was the respective real estate commissions were having a hard time keeping tabs on their reciprocal licensees. For example, let's say I'm a primary licensee in Wyoming with an Idaho reciprocal license. If for some reason I lose or don’t renew my Wyoming license, there’s a good chance the Idaho real estate commission would never know (and having a Wyoming license was the only reason I was issued an Idaho reciprocal license in the first place). Faced with this dysfunction in the reciprocity agreement, as well as – I’m sure – other administrative and logistical challenges of managing Realtors across the country, the real estate commissions did away with reciprocity.

So what’s this mean to TBOR members? Basically, it means a Wyoming licensee now needs to complete 20 Idaho continuing education hours (the real estate commission’s four-hour core course, plus 16 qualifying elective hours) every 2 years. Unlike some of the mandatory Wyoming continuing education requirements, most of the Idaho courses are offered online (http://www.mckissock.com/).

Am I glad that my continuing education requirements are now greater because reciprocity is gone? Of course not. But I’m hopeful everyone on both sides of the Spud Curtain will be slightly more proficient and professional as a function of this new climate between the real estate commissions.

For any and all questions about the old reciprocity agreement, continuing education or licensing in general, please check with the respective real estate commissions.


Wyoming Real Estate Commission (http://realestate.state.wy.us) 1-307-777-7141

Idaho Real Estate Commission (http://www.irec.idaho.gov) 1-208-334-3285

See you in class…