10 Days Left To Secure $500,000 In Grants!

ALISO VIEJO, CA, June 21, 2006 – If you want to become a real estate agent, but need substantive financial help to succeed, you should immediately apply online at www.RealEstateApprentice.com. Applicants have until midnight on June 30th, 2006, to apply for Season IV, according to the Real Estate Apprentice Foundation.

The Real Estate Apprentice Foundation is a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation seeking to help aspiring rookie agents become profitable real estate professionals by awarding 2,500 semi-annual educational and service/product-oriented grants totaling $500,000 to aspiring rookie agents seeking to pursue a career in real estate. Awards are sponsored by leading real estate industry companies and providers, and there are no application fees, no payback, no hidden agendas, and no strings attached. July 1st, 2006 inaugurates the foundation's next six-month season.

At the culmination of each six-month season one Grand Prize Winner receives an estimated value of $70,000 in products and services, while 10 finalists each receive approximately $7,000 and 20 semi-finalists are awarded approximately $2,500. In a decision made possible by the incredible generosity of the foundation's many sponsors, whether they win or not, each and every rookie agent who applies for the Real Estate Apprentice Grant program receives an award valued at approximately $250. Grants total $500,000 every six months, for a cumulative annual grand total of $1,000,000.

Exact selection by the foundation and the value of educational products and services awarded may very from season to season, depending on the products and services offered by the sponsors at the time. Applicants qualify to receive only one grant, and applicants will only receive the higher of any multiple grants for which they may qualify. Grants cannot be exchanged for cash nor transferred beyond the one-year time-frame in which they were awarded.

A Small Sample of Season IV Grand PrizeAwards

• Reimbursement of all fees for the licensing course the winning rookie already completed, as well as unlimited attendance to any other real estate course, sponsored by RealtyU® Real Estate Schools.

• Unlimited access for two years to the nation's finest online real estate mentoring service, including weekly counseling calls, hundreds of business tips, tools, and money-making systems, sponsored by iSucceed.

• An open platform Transaction Manager Software Solution that provides an integrated set of tools used during all phases of the real estate transaction, from listing to closing, sponsored by First American Residential Group.
  
  
• Hands-on technology and business systems consulting including: coordination of business vision and marketing plan; office setup for maximum functionality and efficiency; set up of electronic signatures, voice messaging; creation of a closing system; and contact management system including database management protocol and scheduling, sponsored by McLean International Consulting.
  
  
• A comprehensive personal identity and marketing package including a custom personal logo, stationary package, design and printing of 1,000 business cards, letterhead and envelopes; a personal marketing campaign; custom brochure; design and printing of 1,500 pieces; custom personal PowerKards at a 2,500 print run; and the design of a custom personal website, sponsored by Hobbs/Herder, Advertising and Design.
  
  
• A comprehensive suite of detailed information about any neighborhood in the country, including facts about schools, home values, crime rates, cost-of-living and other demographics. These tools allow real estate professionals to market their services by providing colorful, easy-to-understand, printable presentations that can also be emailed or linked to a website. The eNeighborhoods Power Suite also includes the Neighborhood Report, contacts, CMA, BuyerTour, Flyers, Campaign Manager and help website, all sponsored by eNeighborhoods.
  
  
• A comprehensive set of 20 – 30 real estate books, including:
  • 30 Days to Success by Santamaria
  • Starting and Succeeding in Real Estate by Nash
  • How to List & Sell Real Estate by Kennedy
  • Real Estate Field Manual: An Official Selling Guide by Nash-Price
  • 1001 Reasons for Buying and Selling a Home by Nash
  • Real Estate Dictionary: A Pocket Guide for Professionals by Jacobus & Olmos
  • Seven Figure Selling: Proven Secrets to Success from Top Sales Professionals by Kennedy
  • Five-Minutes to a Great Real Estate Letter by Mayfield
  • Five-Minutes to a Great Real Estate Sales Meeting by Mayfield
  • English-Spanish Dictionary of Real Estate by Jacobus & Olmos
  • Real Estate Confronts the Future by Swanepoel & Dooley
  • How to Become a Mega-Producer Real Estate Agent in 5 Years by Herd & Thomson Learning
    
    
• Versatile and user-friendly Mortgage Calculator and Laser Dimension Master with the complete starter package for the Qualifier Plus IIIx Calculator. The Real Estate Success Kit provides solutions to the most common residential real estate financial situations. Products to be provided by Calculated Industries
  
  
• $1,000 of free printing from the best online digital printing and mail house specializing in low cost high quality full-color direct mail with 24 hour turnaround, sponsored by ExpressCopy.
  
  
• Starter kits and a one-year subscription to VisualTours that allows agents to create stunning Internet and CD-based virtual tours for listings as well as neighborhood tours for out-of-town buyers. VisualTour's system is effective for open houses, CMA presentations, marketing to FSBOs, and as a sample of work when seeking a list with a client, sponsored by VisualTours.
  
  
• The ASR (Accredited Seller Representative) course and designation (once test is passed) for free, sponsored by the Seller Agency Council.
  
  
• The industry's best online business planning software free for two years, providing complete monitoring of all key business indicators, including marketing events, listings, sales, expenses, and much more, sponsored by CreateAPlan.
  
  
• A unified real estate management and business platform that provides task supervision, contact management, and fax delivery, sponsored by RealAgentSuite.
  
  
• Membership to The Real Estate Cyberspace Society, sponsored by Real Estate Cyberspace Society.
  
  
• Subscription to the online and print magazines Broker Agent News and National Real Estate, sponsored by RIS Media and Broker Agent News

The names and brief biographies of the winners from the first three seasons of the Apprentice's grant program can be viewed by visiting the foundation's website. To view a special story on the very first Grand Prize Winner, Kendra Shearer, watch The Real Estate Apprentice Story. The lively sound track is courtesy of The Walt Disney Company. Recent foundation news and all press releases are also available.

The Real Estate Apprentice Foundation's Grant Program is designed to spotlight the importance of real estate apprenticeships for the public good, the betterment of the U.S. residential real estate brokerage industry, and to raise the standard of real estate professionalism in general. Finalists are selected through questions and interviews, and are judged by a panel of industry leaders, authors, business professionals and top producers.

To apply right now for a grant from the foundation, visit the Real Estate Apprentice Foundation's website at www.realestateapprentice.com. Applicants will be required to answer three short essay questions, meant to assist the foundation in its evaluation of all applicants. Applicants are judged based on answers that demonstrate superb salesmanship and communication skills, entrepreneurial spirit, integrity, creativity and uniqueness. Selected semi-finalists will also be asked to respond to additional questions.

Applications will be deemed eligible for all entrants who took a prelicense real estate course through a State or Province licensed in the U.S. or a Canadian real estate school, or who were licensed within the U.S. or Canada between Oct 2, 2005 and Jun 30, 2006. Applicants must, at the time of award, have passed the apropos state or provincial real estate licensing examination and be a licensed agent in good standing. Proof of eligibility must be provided upon request. The foundation does not discriminate, judging fairly regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, political affiliation and sexual orientation.

Companies interested in helping make the industry stronger and in placing their products and services into the hands of rookie agents as a Real Estate Apprentice® sponsor should email Dr. Martin Oliver at Dr.Oliver@RealEstateApprentice.com, or call 949-600-7188.