FAQ
Consumers
Membership
Multiple Listing Service (StellarMLS)
Supra
Billing
Business Partners
Education
Dispute Resolution
Committees
Consumers
Requirements for getting your real estate license vary by state and year. Please visit http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/real-estate-commission/faqs/ for answers to your questions.
EPCAR only offers Post licensing classes. You can find the classes we offer on our calendar or visit the online links for partnered online classes.
A REALTOR® is a Real Estate Agent that is a member of the local, state, and national associations of REALTORS®. This means they must abide by the Code of Ethics and are therefore held to a much higher standard than a Real Estate Agent. REALTORS® are also the only agents that can use the trademarked term “REALTOR®”.
In addition, membership to a local association (i.e. East Polk County Association of REALTORS®) means they have access through the many benefits of EPCAR membership, to the most accurate real estate search engine, and have real estate insights, including up-to-date market information, that a non-member would NOT be privy to.
Here are some important reasons why buyers and sellers of real estate should be using REALTOR® services.
- Qualifying the Buyer - REALTORS® qualify prospective buyers to determine in advance their financial ability to purchase and schedules appointments prior to showing a home to save sellers time and help them avoid worry about strangers coming through the house unescorted.
- Advertising - REALTORS® have access to several forms of advertising including newspapers, homes, magazines, contact with out-of-town buyers and the Multiple Listing Service—the most active real estate search in the Outer Banks.
- Housing Trends - REALTORS® have current market information substantiating comparable selling prices for specific types of homes, allowing sellers to establish realistic prices while obtaining fair market value for their property.
- Sale Negotiations - REALTORS® are trained professionals who can answer the many questions posed by potential buyers and should work to alleviate any doubts buyers have about the process.
- Financing - REALTORS® should continually gather information on the latest and best methods of obtaining mortgage money and be prepared to assist the buyer to assure a speedy sale.
- Continuing Education - REALTORS® are constantly upgrading their professional abilities by keeping informed about market trends, the latest industry innovations, new legislation and civil rights. Members of the National Association of REALTORS® have the right to earn professional designations by completing additional education.
- Protection for Buyers & Sellers - REALTORS® subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics and accept the responsibility of promoting the interests of buyers and sellers by protecting them from fraud and misrepresentation.
Fair Housing laws prohibit answering certain neighborhood characteristic questions.
- Golf Tournament: Every year EPCAR has a golf tournament to raise money for EPCAR Scholarship Program and President’s Charity of Choice.
- Rudolph Round-Up: every holiday season EPCAR donates toy/money to Rudolph Round-Up.
- Polk County KidsPack: EPCAR’s Amazon Charity of Choice, with in-person volunteer options.
As an Association, East Polk County Association of REALTOR®s® represents members from real estate sales to property management on a local, state, and national level. In accordance with NAR’s Code of Ethics, and our Antitrust policy, EPCAR staff is unable to give recommendations. However, we encourage you to search for our members through the following avenues.
- REALTOR®s
- Brokerages
- Business Partners
We encourage you to search for our members using our Member Directory.
Find answers to this question here: https://www.nar.REALTOR®/education/designations-and-certifications
Our Community Partners are vital to our Association. Their support allows EPCAR to continually advocate for your private property rights. They are going the extra mile to help the community and are always giving back. Our Community Partners/Affiliates are professionals in businesses that are involved throughout your entire real estate transaction. Community Partners/Affiliates include Mortgage Lenders, Insurance Agents, Home Inspectors, Surveyors, and more!
Please visit our Professional Standards page with the information needed.
Please visit our Professional Standards page with the information needed.
Membership
To join EPCAR, you will need the following:
- License to practice real estate in Florida
- Proof that you are affiliated with a real estate firm that is a member of EPCAR
- An Add/Change form from your Broker in Charge adding you to their company roster.
- If you are a member of another Association, you will need a "Letter of Good Standing" stating that your National and State (if applicable) dues are paid and current, and that you are compliant with the NAR Code of Ethics.
- Once you have all of this, please fill out the following application for Membership.
- New Member Orientation: held once a month, must be completed within 60 days
- NAR Code of Ethics: the NAR Code of Ethics must be completed within 60 days from joining. https://www.nar.REALTOR®/about-nar/policies/code-of-ethics-and-professional-standards
- MLS Compliance course: must be completed within 60 days
- MLS Basic
- Both MLS classes can be taken online or in person
Primary REALTOR® Member Types:
- Designated REALTOR®/Broker: Florida Broker License and listed as the Qualifying Broker of an Office on DBPR
- REALTOR®: Florida sales agent license or Florida broker License but is NOT listed as qualifying broker on DBPR
- REALTOR® Appraiser: An Appraiser will be treated like a REALTOR®. If you are a sole Appraiser, you will be Designated REALTOR®/Broker
Secondary REALTOR® Member: A REALTOR® or Designated REALTOR®/Broker whose primary membership is with another Association—either in Florida or in another state.
Assistant (Unlicensed) Membership
Membership/Supra
Education
- Melody Kassay- Melody@epcar.com
Business Partners
- Melody Kassay- Melody@epcar.com
- Tenelle Sumner-Frasher- Tenellef@epcar.com
Info Hub issues
- Memebership@epcar.com
- Tenelle Sumner-Frasher- tenellef@epcar.com
Notice of Member passing
- Tenelle Sumner-Frasher- Tenellef@epcar.com
Any questions regarding your Florida Real Estate License should be directed to DBPR. Here you can find your license status, your continuing education, update your address. www.myfloridalicense.com
- At the time of application, your license must be Current/Active and placed under an office or sole proprietor.
- Must maintain a current license and notify EPCAR with TEN (10) days of changing offices.
- Agrees to complete a New member orientation covering the Bylaws and Rules and Regulations of the Association, the Bylaws of the State Association, and the Constitution and Bylaws and Code of Ethics of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION.
- Shall agree that if elected to membership, he/she will abide by such Constitution, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations, and Code of Ethics.
- At the time of application, your license must be Current/Active and placed under an office or sole proprietor.
- Must maintain a current license and notify EPCAR with TEN (10) days of changing offices.
- Shall agree that if elected to membership, he/she will abide by such Constitution, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations, and Code of Ethics.
- Obtain a Letter of Good Standing from your Primary board, indicating that you are up to date on payments, COE, and have no outstanding Ethics violations against you.
Cost varies on what time of year and what type of membership. Please see Join EPCAR for reference
There are several reasons why you may not be receiving emails from EPCAR:
- You unsubscribed after receiving an email. Click here to resubscribe
- Your firewall is identifying our domain name as spam.
- We are not on your safe senders list.
The Info Hub is your member connection and resource center!
As our valued member you have the opportunity to connect with other members by searching the Directory or registering for an upcoming event. You may also access your membership details, review account history and pay all your invoices online from the Account area.
- Login here
- Forgot your username/password?
-
Already a member, but don't have an Account? Create One
- Watch an overview tour to learn more!
Easy! If you have any change of information, please login to your account on the Info Hub and make the applicable changes. The changes will automatically upload to StellarMLS and Supra.
All information that was in Ramco has been transferred over to Growthzone.
Your NRDS number is the same as your MLS number.
The current Code of Ethics cycle is January 1, 2019-December 31, 2021. This is a National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) requirement. REALTORS® are held to a higher standard because they agree to abide by NAR’s Code of Ethics. While you may take a 3-hour course that may be used towards elective credit towards your current CE cycle within your state, there are other options to satisfy this requirement. This may include a 2.5-hour course with NAR or EPCAR CE or Online approved education provider. Click for more information.
You must login to the National Association of REALTOR®S® website.
- Please note that you must have your NRDS number to login.
- New Member Code of Ethics online through NAR
- In-person or Virtual Code of Ethics class
- Online 3rd party provider - please visit our online links to see the classes available.
- Through most 14-hour FREC license renewal courses
- Completion of NAR C2EX program
Please email your certificate to membership@epcar.com
Multiple Listing Service (StellarMLS)
Online- you can take the classes by visiting https://learn.stellarmls.com
- Online classes can be completed at your own pace, within 60 days
In person/zoom- you can register for in person/zoom classes here https://learn.stellarmls.com/course/index.php?categoryid=2&lang=en_us
- In-person/zoom classes are NOT self-paced and each classed is typically 2-3 hours long.
EPCAR will resume live MLS training once that option is made available again by StellarMLS.
You do not need to set anything up. Your StellarMLS will be set up with the information you provide on your application.
- If you are having membership issues such as inactive, incorrect information, change of office contact EPCAR
- If you have having listing, MLS education, or compliance issues contact StellarMLS at 407-960-5361
- REALTORS®- StellarMLS Billing Cycle is June 1st – May 31st. MLS renewal fees are posted to your StellarMLS portal each year on April 1st and due around May 15th.
- ASSISTANTS- StellarMLS Billing Cycle is September 1st – August 31st Assistant MLS renewal goes August 1st.
All issues and questions regarding ShowingTime™ should be directed to (800) 379-0057.
Supra
- A Supra Ekey is an app on your phone that allows you to open Supra Lockboxes.
- To get Supra Ekey please contact EPCAR membership at membership@epcar.com for the Supra Application.
Supra lockboxes are currently $125.00. To purchase one, please contact membership at membership@epcar.com
- If your battery is at 0% try opening the shackle. If the shackle is not opened for a long period of time, the Supra Ekey app will not have accurate battery percentage.
- If you are unable to open shackle or battery percentage does not change, contact EPCAR for a replacement.
- You can contact EPCAR membership.
- You can call Supra at 1-877-699-6787
- You can login/create a supraweb account and update yourself.
You can call EPCAR for a new code, but if we're not open, you can call Supra directly for a new code. Also, you can log-in to your SupraNet account and generate a code as well.
There could be a few things happening.
- First make sure that your Supra ekey is active, bluetooth is enabled in your phone, and that your Supra account is up-to-date and in good standing. Your monthly Supra key payments are auto-debited, so if your credit/debit card number has changed recently, you may have an outstanding invoice with Supra.
- Lockboxes must be "Activated" to successfully communicate with a key; you can achieve this by pressing on the bottom of the lockbox until the lockbox flashes a red light indicating it is ready to communicate with you ekey.
- Perhaps you do not yet have cooperating access with the Association that own lock box, meaning you're showing a listing where the box has been hung by someone from far outside of the participation area.
Call EPCAR and we can request access for any association showing area, but we need at least 48 hours notice.
EPCAR strongly cautions agents to contact us before finalizing any lockbox purchase. Association staff are able to provide critical information regarding lockboxes, including remaining battery life, which Associations the lockbox cooperates with, and/or if a lockbox is eligible for sale to another agents, as the lockbox may belong to Supra in which case it is non-transferable. Always call EPCAR staff before exchanging money for a used box.
Sharing keys is a violation of the EPCAR Key and Lock Box Rules and Regulations, and also violates the lease agreement with Supra. Fines for sharing a key start at $1,000.00 per occurrence and can include the loss of membership in EPCAR.
Unfortunately, the box must be cut off of the doorknob or doorknob removed. If the box is not working, Supra will swap out the box.
You may already have access if your association has a cooperation agreement with us, but if they do not, we will grant you access. You just need to call us at 863-294-3163 with your Serial Number and PIN and we can make sure your key cooperates with EPCAR lockboxes, at no charge.
Billing
EPCAR bills annually for Local, State, and National dues on October 1 The final due date is November 1st, with 2 late fees assessed before services are affected.
- Online:
- Logging onto the EPCAR Info Hub by visiting www.epcar.com and clicking on the “My Account” button on the homepage or using the Info Hub app on your phone (preferred method!).
- Over the Phone: 863-294-3163 via Visa, MasterCard, discover, or American Express.
- In person or via mail: 700 Ave B SW Winter Haven, Florida 33880 (Please, no cash).
- Visa, MC, Discover, AMEX
- Check/ Money Order
Yes, through the Info hub and member app you are able to set up a yearly auto draft.
No, EPCAR does not allow advance payments.
Business Partners
Business Partners are individuals of firms who, while not engaged in the real estate profession, have interests concerning the real estate industry. Common Business Partner members include mortgage, title, and home warranty companies, as well as inspectors, insurance agencies, and foundation repair companies.
Our Business Partners can be involved in several different ways. We currently have several classes that can be sponsored, a Business Partner of the Week in our two weekly newsletters. We also have events that business partners can sponsor such as, our golf tournament, after hour events, and general membership meetings.
If you are wanting to sponsor a class(es), please contact Melody Kassay at Melody@epcar.com
We give our business partners the opportunity to teach their own classes, however, we ask that you fill out these forms so we can approve it.
Education
EPCAR only offers Post licensing classes. You can find the classes we offer on our calendar or visit the online links for partnered online classes.
- 9/30/22-9/30/24
- 3/31/23-3/31/25
- 3/31/24-3/31/26
- 9/30/24-9/30/26
Please refer to our event calendar
- Online:
- Logging onto the EPCAR Info Hub by visiting www.epcar.com and clicking on the “My Account” button on the homepage or using the Info Hub app on your phone (preferred method!).
- Visit Calendar and register.
- Over the Phone: 863-294-3163 via Visa, MasterCard, discover, or American Express.
- In person or via mail: 700 Ave B SW Winter Haven, Florida 33880 (Please, no cash).
- Post-license education must be completed before the initial expiration date of the license (before your first renewal).
- Sales associates must complete a FREC 45-hour post license course or successfully complete GRI Modules 101, 102 & 103.
- Brokers must complete a FREC 60-hour post licensure course or successfully complete GRI Modules 201, 202, 301 & 302.
- After your first renewal, your license must be renewed every two years by completing 14-hours of continuing education, including 3 hours of Business Ethics and 3 hours of Core Law.
You can check what classes you have taken, still need to take and when your license expires on the DBPR website. Myfloridalicense.com
Dispute Resolution
Our process for filing a complaint against a EPCAR REALTOR® member is on our Professional Standards page
Committees
Visit our Committee page to learn more about what each committee has to officer.
Some of our committees have restrictions and/or requirements. Learn more about our committees here