A Timely Designation For Today's Market

Ask the average real estate agent today. "How is your business?" You may find these common answers: "Could be better", "Tough", "Business is not good" and on and on. Then ask a top producing real estate agent how their business is and you may hear them respond with: "Business is great", "Fantastic", "Although the market is down, my business is up", I am certain we can agree that we would all like to be in the second category.

If we probe these top producing agents further and inquire why it is that they are so successful in this and any market, several responses will be given. We may hear these agents telling us that they focus on past clients, their database and working on obtaining referrals. They may respond by telling us that they are constantly farming and prospecting in their marketplace. Additionally, we may find out that they are consistently focused on continued education, business development and obtaining professional designations.

INDUSTRY DESIGNATIONS

Perhaps one of the most powerful ways in which an agent can achieve peak performance is by obtaining and maintaining professional designations. Such industry designations assist agents in targeting niche markets, providing the best possible service by implementing what they've learned and earning superior commissions and income. According to the National Association of Realtors, over 428.000 members holds at last one professional designation.

This is more than one third of its overall membership and an increase of over 21,000 from the past year. According to a recent survey commissioned by the New Jersey Association of Realtors, Realtors who have obtained a professional designation have increased by 8% from the previous year. These recent statistics are staggering, especially considering the decline in business that the real estate industry has seen over the past few years.

It should certainly be a telling sign of the positive direction that agents are taking for personal and professional development. With that in mind, we'd like to introduce you to one of the most exciting, powerful and value packed designations available today. Multi-FamiIy Specialist (MFS) is a professional real estate designation offered by the Council of Investment Specialists. This independent designation course trains agents on all aspects of multi-family properties.

In this constantly changing and volatile real estate market, agents are yearning for a niche that will set them apart and increase their business and productivity. These agents are turning to Multi-Family Specialist for the necessary training in this expanding field. Surveyed agents indicated that 95% of their business is that of single Family residential sales, with many targeting condo and townhouse sales.

Multi-Family Specialist trains agents on how to expand their market penetration to include multi-family properties as a means of offsetting their recent decreased sales, while also increasing their potential for growth by learning a new industry field. A key fact is that when the overall real estate market is down, residential rental prices increase. This is important because in most cases the prices of multi-family properties are predicated on the rental income.

As rents increase so do values for multi-family properties. This means that agents can tap into a marketplace that is virtually unaffected by the trends of the downturn in the overall marketplace.

CONVENIENCE TO AGENTS

Unlike most professional designations, agents can earn the MFS designation online from the comfort of their home or office. To cam this powerful designation, agents simply log onto www.MFSpecialist.com and click "Earn the MFS Designation". At their own pace, agents will be guided through the course curriculum. Unique to MFS, agents will follow along with a corresponding video for each section of the course. The course is designed with agents (and their often hectic schedules) in mind. The course allows agents to view and review any segment with video before taking the online exam at the conclusion.

CORE FOCUS OF MFS

Multi-Family Specialist is a dynamic and unique real estate professional designation that can be earned by real estate agents. This designation propels agents as the premier real estate professionals in their community, specializing in the market of multi-family properties. Different from any commercial real estate professional designation, MFS targets only multi-family properties ranging from two family homes to large apartment buildings

Choosing to earn this powerful designation is a smart decision. Our agents utilize this designation as a great tool to educate their investor clients regarding many topics. These top-producing and well-educated agents are able to intelligently represent both buyers and sellers of multifamily properties, while differentiating themselves from their competition. Additionally, a Multi-Family Specialist will create a powerful marketing plan to sell their multi-family properties or work aggressively with a multi-family buyer to find them a profitable property.

MFS COURSE CURRICULUM

Agents who earn the MFS designation will enjoy the variety of course subjects. The extensive "Topics of Expertise" that are covered will educate agents on all aspects of multi-family properties. Over 30 informative sections are covered in this important designation training. Several of these include:

1.) Determining for yourself and your clients if a property is truly profitable.
2.) Learning the key investment calculations to make sense of a multi-family investment property.
3.) How to read and create a strong and informative profit and loss statement.
4.)The steps to take in order to build the value of a multi-family property.
5.)The basic steps of a 1031 Tax Deferred Exchange.

BENEFITS OF EARNING AND MAINTAINING THE MFS DESIGNATION

Agents who earn the MFS designation and maintain their annual member renewal will find that there are many benefits to our membership. An important feature for our members is that they can upload their multi-family listings and their agent profile to the www.MFSpeeialist.com website at no additional cost to them. Here is just a sample of benefits to MFS designees:

1.) Distinguish yourself as the expert in your marketplace for all multi-family investment properties.
2.) Gain private access to the agent log-in area of the MFS website.
3.) Website benefits include the ability to:

a.) Upload up to 10 multi-family properties (per agent) to include:
- 3 properly photos
- Up to 2 documents (PDF,Word, Excel...) such as a survey, site map, profit and loss statement, and so forth.
- Give a description of the property to include up to 1,000 characters with a template design for each listing to include:
a. Price
b. MLS number(if applicable)
c. State
d. County
e. N umber of un its in property
f. Gross Income of the property
g. Gross Expenses on property
h. Net Operating Income of the property
i. Capitalization rate

b.) Agent contact information with a template to include:
• Agent name
• Agency name
• Office phone
• Cellular phone
• Email
• Website
c. Modify or delete listings
d. Search through the database of available properties from all MFS members
e. Participate in the member -'Forum" to share information within the MFS network
f. Utilize the "Key Calculations" tab where agents can simply enter the subject property financial information into the appropriate corresponding fields and the computer will calculate the results for them.
g. Access the "Document Search " tub to find customizable forms. newspaper articles and multi-family property tools

4.) As a MFS· designation holder. you can advertise the designation on all materials such as business cards, web sites, newspapers and mailings, thus empowering you as the multi-family expert in your marketplace.

DIFFERENTIATING FACTORS

Multi-Family Specialist- designees have the ability to differentiate themselves in this very competitive market. This is due to the fact that agents who previously only focused on single family sales can now confidently approach and target multi-family property owners and display the array of knowledge that they have in this specialized field. Additionally, MFS members can effectively demonstrate to investor purchasers their ability to translate facts and figures from an investment property to determine the true appeal of the subject property.

Only until the introduction of this informative designation, many agents have avoided the multi-family. By earning MFS designation adding this additional niche to their sales portfolio, agents are increasing their income dramatically. Earn the MFS designation by logging onto www.MFSpecialist.com and begin to tackle this untapped market today!