Who Are the Seniors Real Estate Specialists®? Seniors Real Estate Specialists® are REALTORS® qualified to address the needs of home buyers and sellers age 50+. The SRES® Council awards the SRES® Designation to those members who have successfully completed its education program. By earning the SRES® designation, your REALTOR® has demonstrated necessary knowledge and expertise to counsel clients age 50-plus through major financial and lifestyle transitions involved in relocating, refinancing, or selling the family home. Your REALTOR® has received special training, gets regular updates, and is prepared to offer the options and information needed in making life changing decisions. Why Use SRES®? A Seniors Real Estate Specialist® is experienced and knowledgeable in meeting your specific needs. And that can make all the difference in the world.
As we age, we demand specialists in our health needs, so why not in our housing and equity needs as well? An SRES brings: - A customized approach to your situation; an SRES works with how your living situation fits into your overall plan.
- Expertise and patience without condescension.
- An awareness of options and solid, reliable referrals for specific situations to explore those options.
- A variety of choices to reduce out of pocket expenses, gain cash, or create or defer income streams to either stay independent or finance assistance.
How Can a Seniors Real Estate Specialist® Help Me? An SRES® designee can help you make wise decisions about selling the family home, financing, buying rental property, or managing the capital gains and tax implications of owning real estate, among many other issues. In addition to guiding clients to the right experts on tax laws, probate, estate planning, and a variety of equity conversion strategies, Seniors Real Estate Specialists® can offer clients relevant information on current trends in senior real estate transactions. The SRES® Designation course seeks to instill each student with the knowledge and understanding of, and empathy for, 50+ real estate clients and customers, while educating students on developing the business building skills and resources needed for specialization in the 50-plus real estate market. Your SRES Designee has: - learned the application of federal laws for Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA).
- adopted methods for counseling the 50+ buyer and sellers
- committed his/herself to focus on the transaction and avoid inappropriate involvement in family matters
- developed sensitivities to 50+ issues on priorities when counseling buyers and sellers, showing properties, and managing transactions
- established reputable services that win and sustain client and customer relationships and position his/herself as a trusted real estate advisor
- assembled a team of experts to help serve 50+ clients and customers
- been educated on the uses, benefits, procedures, and issues involved in reverse mortgages
- learned about the uses of pensions, 401k accounts, and IRAs in real estate transactions
- gained an understanding of how Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security impact 50+ real estate decisions
- the ability to help clients integrate disposition of real property into estate plans
- the knowledge to recognize mortgage finance and loan schemes and scams that victimize 50+ borrowers
A national program since 1998, the council now has Seniors Real Estate Specialists® in all 50 states and Canada and adds hundreds of new members every month. SRES members are not qualified to give legal or tax advice and the SRES Council does not guarantee the accuracy of its members' information. All clients are strongly urged to contact a real estate attorney or certified public accountant to obtain legal or tax advice. History of SRES REALTORS® who want to specialize in the real estate needs of maturing Americans are earning the Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) designation by taking the new SRES course designed and conferred by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council of the National Association of REALTORS®. The SRES designation was originally developed by the Senior Advantage Real Estate Council 10 years ago to focus on the needs of home buyers and sellers aged 50 and over. It became an official member of the NAR family of designations in March 2007. "Knowing how to best serve home buyers, sellers and investors at all stages of life is another way REALTORS® add value to the real estate transaction," said 2007 NAR President Pat V. Combs, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and vice president of Coldwell Banker-AJS-Schmidt. "As our clients mature, they have different real estate goals and needs from those of younger consumers. Given the importance of the emerging senior market nationwide, the number of REALTORS® earning the SRES designation is likely to increase dramatically over the next few years." According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 7,900 people will turn 60 every single day this year. In addition, real estate is the largest single asset class held by households that are headed by someone who is 65 or older, according to Harvard University s Joint Center for Housing Studies. The new SRES course includes topics such as distinguishing characteristics and trends related to the 50+ population; housing, finance, and retirement income considerations of these consumers; outreach methods for building 50 and older clientele; and counseling strategies to help clients and customers plan ahead for life transitions. Participants can learn: - Key differences in housing options, from age-restricted communities to age-in-place design to assisted living;
- Applications of the Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA);
- Ins and outs of reverse mortgages;
- How to use pensions, 401k accounts, and IRAs in real estate transactions;
- Ways in which Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security affect real estate decisions of clients and customers who are 50 and older;
- How to recognize and protect their clients from mortgage finance and loan schemes and scams that target 50+ borrowers.
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