by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
A new designation, the Certified Distressed Property Expert, gives Realtors a new understanding of what homeowners in distress are going through and the knowledge to help them through their situation.
The designation is offered by The Distressed Property Institute and its Web site explains that a CDPE is a real estate professional with specific understanding of the complex issues confronting the real estate industry.
Through training and experience, CDPEs are able to provide solutions for homeowners facing hardships in today’s market.
Kathy Hicks, a Realtor with Re/Max Specialists, recently earned the designation
“There are only 8,000 Realtors nationwide with this designation, which was first offered in early 2008,” said Hicks. “In a real estate market that has had a huge paradigm shift toward working with distressed assets, training such as the CDPE designation training is invaluable.
“Demands placed on Realtors have gone way beyond the ability to properly locate a suitable home and facilitate negotiations for a buyer or market and sell the home for a seller.”
According to the CDPE, “The prospect of foreclosure can be financially and emotionally devastating, and often homeowners proceed without guidance of any kind.
“The developers of the CDPE Designation believe that in almost all cases, the best course of action for a homeowner in distress is to speak with a well-informed, licensed real estate professional. They have the tools needed to help homeowners find the best solution for their situation.
“While enduring financial difficulties is challenging for any family, the process of finding a qualified real estate professional should not be.”
Hicks said agents must now work and negotiate with a multitude of industry representatives including lenders, financial institution loss mitigation specialists, REO analysts, appraisers, attorneys, tax collectors, homeowner associations and other lien holders just to have a chance to put a successful sale together.
“The time required to do all of this work is at least 10 times higher than ever before,” said Hicks. “Agents successfully trained in these areas will have a bit easier time of doing the work and a much higher success rate for closing the sale.
“Agents choosing not to obtain this type of training are doomed to ‘try-and-fail’ until they figure it all out. In most cases, the agent becomes so frustrated that they either refer the business to other agents willing to do the work or simply hang up their hats and leave the real estate business.”
CDPE is not a prerequisite for doing a short sale or any other real estate transaction.
“It simply prepares the agent to have a better chance to complete the sale and help the home owner,” said Hicks. “The same can be said for obtaining other designations.
“By looking at my various real estate designations, it shows that I believe in continuing education on-going, at the highest level.”
Hicks is also part of a group called “We Can Help” that helps answer homeowner’s questions through free “Avoid Foreclosure” workshops.
“The ‘We Can Help’ group spun out of a Re/Max ‘think tank’ meeting,” said Hicks. “We are 12 Realtors who all have the CDPE designation.”
The Distressed Property Institute is based in Austin, Tex., and was founded by real estate veteran Alex Charfen.