Resort & Second-home Property Specialist
.....................................................................................................................................

The Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist (RSPS) certification prepares REALTORS® to service the growing resort and second-home market in their communities.  This designation is awarded by the National Association of REALTORS® Resort Specialty division to real estate practioners in the United States and foreign countries who meet specified educational criteria.

• This course is required to attain the RSPS Certification.
• Counts as one REBAC elective course to be applied towards the ABR designation.
  

Course Duration:  2 days

The course is designed to teach the essentials of buying, selling, or managing resort properties and second homes for recreation, investment, and development by U.S. and international clients and customers in the United States.

1. Skills and Knowledge Foundation

• Focus on developing the skills required to be successful in the second-home vacation and investment market.
• Use market statistics and knowledge of the motivations for a second-home purchase to develop a business strategy and make business decisions about capturing and serving the market.
• Identify the impact of trends and issues on business strategy and client and customer service.

2. Customers, Clients, and Properties

• Determine your market and customer/client profile.
• Compare and contrast characteristics of types of second-home vacation and investment properties.
• Explain second-home financing and ownership options.
• Help clients and customers evaluate and choose the type of property, form of ownership, and financing options that meet their second-home objectives.  

• Adapt customer and client services to work with affluent or international buyers and sellers.
• Make and receive compensated international referrals using the ICREA Transnational Referral System.

 4. Building Your Business

• Use information about trends affecting second-home vacation and investment properties to develop and improve marketing strategies and tactics.
• Develop communication and marketing tactics for building customer and client relationships with long-distance and long time-frame buyers and sellers.
  

5.  Overcoming Bad Publicity and Disasters

• Implement strategies to overcome bad publicity about second-home vacation and investment property locations.
• Formulate a disaster-recovery plan.    

• Explain investment terminology in relation to second-home vacation and investment properties.
• Explain the IRS guidelines for tax treatment of second-home vacation and investment properties including the fourteen-day rental rule and its implications.
• Analyze and explain the tax implications of converting investment property to personal use property.
• Recognize the applicability of the Foreign Investment Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA), comply with its regulations, and explain its requirements to clients and customers involved in a transaction with a foreign buyer or seller.
• Recognize situations in which a tax-deferred 1031 exchange would be possible and advantageous.
• Help the client or customer analyze the investment value of a property.

 7. Regulatory Matters

• Comply with SEC guidelines regarding investment advice.
• Recognize the impact of regulatory, insurance, growth, and environmental issues on the purchase, sale, and ownership of second-home vacation and investment properties.
• Tap into sources of information on complying with local, state, and national regulations of second-home vacation and investment properties.
• Participate in influencing regulatory and tourism entities to shape a favorable environment for the purchase, sale, and ownership of second-home vacation and investment properties.