What Is the Buyer Agency Professional™ Designation (BAP™)?

The Buyer Agency Professional (BAP) designation) prepares real estate agents to have the knowledge and skills needed to effectively navigate the evolving landscape of representing buyers in residential real estate transactions.

This article breaks down what happened in the industry to create the need for this designation and how real estate agents can benefit from earning the BAP designation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Commission Changes Overview
• Course Details
• Exam Details
• Exam Results
• Designation Application
• Digital Badges
• Continuing Education
• Reasons to Enroll
• BAP™ vs. ABR® Designation

 

Commission Changes Overview

Due to the verdict of a lawsuit in November 2023, listing agents will no longer be able to negotiate buyer-broker compensation at the time of the listing. Previously, in more than half of the states, multiple listing services included the buyer agent commission as part of the full commission in the listing price. So, a 6% commission on a house sale would be split between the seller agent and buyer agent.

Moving forward, only the seller agent commission will be part of the listing price and the buyer agent will need to negotiate directly with the buyer. Since a decent number of states already have this rule as part of their state legislations, the expectation for this lawsuit is that there will likely be additional state regulations and/or a federal rule put in place to address this on a broader scale. 

This means that buyer agents will need to:

• Enter into a buyer agency agreement with the buyer
• Possess a buyer representation presentation (much like a listing presentation)
• Have a strong value proposition (i.e., to differentiate themselves from the competition)
• Improve their compensation negotiation skills

This process will be new to many agents who represent buyers, so to help with these new responsibilities, Kaplan Real Estate Education developed the Buyer Agency Professional™ (BAP™) designation.

BAP Course Details

There are several important details about the Buyer Agency Professional course that you should take note of. This course is for professional development only and does not provide legal advice; the course does not qualify for a certification, real estate continuing education, or any credit.

BAP Enrollment Requirements

To enroll in Kaplan Real Estate Education’s BAP course, you should be a practicing licensed real estate agent or managing a team of real estate agents who represent buyers in real estate transactions. 

BAP Course Format and Duration

The BAP course is an 8-hour Live Online professional development course.

BAP Course Topics and Tasks

There are four different topic areas and three different tasks you’ll need to complete during the BAP course:

Topics

1. Understanding new responsibilities
2. Using best practices for securing your professional fees
3. Learning about professional service agreements
4. Marketing yourself

Tasks

1. Developing a unique value proposition
2. Developing a buyer agent presentation
3. Creating a menu of services for buyers

BAP Exam Details

After completing the course, you’ll be required to take and pass an exam to earn your BAP designation. The exam can be completed immediately after finishing the course or within 6 months of finishing your coursework.  

BAP Exam Format

The format for the BAP exam is multiple choice and consists of 20 questions. The exam must be taken within the course access period (6 months) and there is no time limit once you start the exam; however, if you are inactive for 20 minutes during the exam, you will time out and have to retake the exam from the beginning. Note that the exam is not closed book and is not proctored. 

BAP Exam Questions

To give you an idea of what to expect, here is a sample question from the BAP exam:

Which of the following is a benefit of having a written buyer agency agreement?

A. All of these are benefits.

B. It sets expectations by detailing the scope of the services the broker is required to provide to the buyer. 

C. It protects the buyer’s brokerage if the listing brokerage/seller is not offering buyer broker compensation. 

D. It establishes your allegiance to the buyer and theirs to you.

BAP Exam Results

Once you finish the exam, you will receive your results immediately on screen. To pass the exam, you must answer 75% (or 15) of the 20 questions correctly.

Exam results are presented in a pass/fail manner. If you pass the BAP exam, you can move on to the next step, which is applying for the BAP designation. 

How Hard Is the BAP Exam?

The BAP exam will require you to pay attention during the course and demonstrate your understanding of representing buyers in residential real estate transactions.

Applying for the BAP Designation

After finishing all of your coursework and passing the exam, you can apply for the designation. Once you complete the requirements of the professional designation program, you’ll receive notification via email (typically within 48 hours of finishing the course) to apply for authorization to use the designation. To apply, you must submit the Online Application found within your student portal within 6 months of completing your education.

Earning and Sharing Your BAP Digital Badge

After receiving access to your digital badge via email, you are free to add it to your LinkedIn profile and your resume/CV.

BAP Designation Renewal Requirements

BAP designations remain active for two (2) years. After that time, you will need to submit a renewal application within your student portal. Renewal applications will be accepted up to 120 days before the expiration date, so be sure to pay attention to your inbox for any emails about BAP designation renewal. 

Designations not renewed will go into an “expired” status and the authorization to use the designation is automatically withdrawn.

To be eligible for renewal of your BAP designation, you need to meet the requirements below on or before their expiration date.

• Completed four (4) Continuing Education (CE) credit hours related to any combination of the following topics within the previous two-year period:
  
  • Ethics
    
  • Buyer representation
    
  • Consumer protection
    
  • Negotiation
    
  • Financing
    
  • Property valuation
    
• Closed four (4) real estate sales transactions in which you represented the buyer in the transaction within the previous two-year period.
  

Top Reasons to Enroll in the BAP Designation Program

Below are some of the best reasons to enroll in the BAP Program if you represent buyers in residential transactions. 

Setting Yourself Apart from Other Buyer Agents

Differentiating yourself from your competition is always important, and creating a menu of services will be another way for you to stand out. 

Learning How to Better Market Yourself

Improving your marketing during this time of change is even more important, and the BAP program will help you develop a compelling value proposition for when you need it most.

Staying Ahead of Potential New Rules and Regulations Impacting Buyer Agents

The changes in real estate commissions are monumental and there may be more to come, which is why being a part of the Kaplan Real Estate Education community will help you stay on top of those changes long after becoming a BAP designee.

BAP™ Designation vs. ABR® Designation

Both Kaplan Real Estate Education’s Buyer Agency Professional designation and the National Association of REALTORS® Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) designation aim to help real estate agents represent buyers in residential transactions. Where they differ most is that BAP is specifically designed to help agents adjust to the latest changes and responsibilities of representing buyers in residential transactions.

Below we compare some of the main components of each designation. 

Course Comparison

Buyer’s agents should be prepared to adapt to these new commission changes and both Kaplan Real Estate Education and the National Association of REALTORS® offer designation programs to help navigate representing buyers. Although the courses are similar, there are a few features that help distinguish Kaplan Real Estate Education from the National Association of REALTORS. 

	Kaplan Real Estate Education BAP™ Course	National Association of REALTORS® ABR® Course
Course Duration	8 hours	12 hours
Course Format	Live Online	Live Online
Market-Changes Covered?	Yes	No

Source: NAR website. Accessed April 2024.

 

Ready to Enroll in the BAP Course?

Get prepared to secure your fees and learn how to compete more effectively and market your services in this new world with Kaplan Real Estate Education’s Buyer Agency Professional designation program.

 

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Note: The course is for informational purposes only and does not/is not intended to provide any legal advice. Completion of the professional development course does not qualify for a certification, real estate continuing education, or any credit other than a designation or digital badge. The BAP designation is not associated or affiliated with the Realtor Association Board. 

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REALTORS®, REALTOR®, and ABR® are registered trademarks of the National Association of REALTORS®, which neither sponsors nor endorses this product/site.