CRS 205, Financing and Tax Advantages for Agents and Their Clients had its premiere in San Antonio on May 29-30 hosted by the Alamo CRS Chapter and followed by Pro Act in Las Vegas on June 3-4th. The student reaction was even better than anticipated. "These are exactly the tools we need to compete in today's challenging market" echoed several students throughout the class.
In the mid-80's through the year 2000, CRS 205 was one of the most popular two-day classes. Attendance had dropped during the late 90's and during the housing boom, so the Council converted it to a one-day class. With the tightening of the mortgage market and the increase in housing inventory, it is more important than ever for a real estate professional to offer sound financial and tax advice to both buyers and sellers.
The proposal to bring the course back was spearheaded by Senior CRS Instructor and CPA, Doug Richards who feels that "understanding the information in this class is critical to succeeding with the increased competition in the marketplace." Doug has always believed that the course should be mandatory for getting your CRS designation.
Have you ever been asked a financial or a tax question by a client or customer? Of course you have. The more important question is "How did you handle it?" When some agents are asked a tax question, they quickly inform them to consult their tax professional. When asked a financial question, they forward them to a mortgage officer. Title questions go to Title officers; mechanical questions go to inspectors; and, before you know it, the only thing left for the agent to do is to show homes and taxi the buyers from place to place.
NAR adopted a strategy a few years ago that would position REALTORS® in the center of the transaction. I personally believe that it is the responsibility of an agent to be familiar with all parts of the transaction. When they recognize that a buyer or seller needs the help or advice of specialized professional, they should bring it to their client's or customer's attention.
Our position is not to simply find the right home for a buyer or expose the seller's home to the market. Our responsibility is to manage the transaction from start to finish avoiding as many difficulties as possible so that the experience is a pleasant and successful one that will lead to repeat and referral business.
The "star" of the course is a series of ease to use forms that help buyers and sellers make better decisions. By simply following the directions on the forms, agents are able to present information in a logical manner that will result in more transactions.
The Homeowner's Analysis shows a buyer the tax advantages and investment potential of owning a home. The Rent vs. Own shows the buyer the net cost of owning a home after monetary consideration has been given to tax savings, principal reduction, amortization, and appreciation so they can determine how much more it costs to rent than it does to own their home.
Considerable emphasis has been placed on how to make homes more marketable by improving the terms without lowering the price. Simple approaches to buying down the interest rates are easy to explain to sellers or buyers and much more effective than just reducing the price.
The tax sections of the course give valuable insight on the effect of basis to tax consequences and show agents how to use this information to their client's advantage. Discussions on gifting and inheritance, stepped-up basis, and how to keep track of capital improvements will lead to providing higher levels of service. Loan Originations fees, discount points, and PMI may seem like the same things to some people but treats them differently and significant tax advantages could accrue to your buyer if structured correctly.
The Council of Residential Specialists and its Senior Instructors know that a better understanding of this material will result in more sales today and in satisfied customers who will repeatedly do business with knowledgeable salespeople long into the future. Well represented, satisfied customers will also lead to referral business.
Click for a schedule of upcoming CRS 205 courses. Contact your local association or CRS Chapter and ask them to sponsor the 205 class for your area.