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Hi folks. Short Sale Designations. How many are there and does having one mean anything? Well there are a whole bunch of designations!!

Having a Short Sale designation means that the agent, at a minimum, knows how to put together a short sale package to send to the lender. They have probably been through several hours of training either live or via the internet.

I'm not aware of ANY designation that requires experience. And that's where the problem lies. An agent can have numerous Short Sale designations and market themselves as: "expert", "specialist", "professional", "genius", "certified", "consultant" and so forth. When the reality is they have NEVER listed and closed on one successful Short Sale. Misleading? You betcha!!!

My designation is real life experience. I don't have any Short Sale designations. I bet I could teach the course though. For me short sales were never difficult. They are a process. It took about 5 minutes to figure out what was included in a short sale package to the lender. All I did was ask them. From there short sales involve negotiating. Well heck I've been negotiating real estate deals for 17 years. A deal's a deal. Nothing new there.

Lender nuances, rules, regs and laws change constantly. These you stay on top of by being in the Short Sale business, listening, asking questions and researching. A designation class may get you started but it certainly won't make you an expert. Only experience will do that. And maybe after another 100 or so closings I'll consider myself one.

So if you are looking to hire a Short Sale agent, don't ask for their designations. Instead ask to see their track record. Here's mine.

Here's a list of some of the more popular designations. I'm sure there are more.

CDPE- Certified Distressed Property Expert

• A Certified Distressed Property Expert® (CDPE) has a thorough understanding of complex issues in today’s turbulent real estate industry and knowledge of foreclosure avoidance options available to homeowners. CDPEs can provide solutions, specifically short sales, for homeowners facing market hardships.

SFR-Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource

• For many real estate professionals, short sales and foreclosures are the new “traditional” real estate transaction. Knowing how to help sellers maneuver the complexities of short sales as well as help buyers pursue short sale and foreclosure opportunities are not merely good skills to have in today’s market — they are critical. And while short sales and foreclosures are not for the faint of heart, agents with the proper tools and training can use these specialty areas to build their business for the long term.

CSP-Certified Short Sale Professional

• Introducing the Certified Short-Sale Professional (CSP) designation course, the only complete short sale and preforeclosure designation course that shows real estate professionals how to become a short sale expert and generate substantial commissions helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.

SSG-Short Sale Genius

• In order to help homeowners recognize what level of expertise an agent has, we have developed a sliding scale designation to identify successful agents vs. just dealing with an agent who "attended" a training. Without the SSG designation, other agents and the general public can not identify who they are working with and if they really are "good" at what they do.

CSSN-Certified Short Sale Negotiator

• This is a one-day course and is focused on the short sale process and the different negotiation techniques required to successfully negotiate a short sale.

CFAC-Certified Floreclosure Alternatives Consultant

• Once you complete the course, you’ll be a trained consultant who understands the alternatives to foreclosure with an emphasis on the short sale process.

CSSA-Certified Short Sale Agent

• Certified Short Sale Agent training provides you with critical knowledge and techniques to increase your business through selling distressed real estate.

ADPR-Accredited Distressed Property Representative

• The Accredited Distressed Property Representative Designation (ADPR) designation is awarded to those who successfully complete the two-day course by passing the final examination.

This post might step on some toes but it is not meant to. Most REALTORS are on tight budgets now and need candid answers to questions about short
sales, short sale classes and which class or course is better.

I am not professing to be an expert on which class or course of
instruction is better but I will give my unbiased opinion as to which
is better in my opinion.

I currently hold the CDPE designation, I have completed the Short Sale Superstar Course and I recently finished the NAR Designation SFR course.

The CDPE and SFR course are very similar in structure as they teach the
history of lending and selling that put us into the situation we are
in. Both courses spend considerable time talking about aspects that
have nothing to do with actually performing short sales. Both courses
leave out key elements that you as a Real Estate Professional had
better know before you advise a client on a short sale. (especially
when it comes to tax consequences of selling short and Canceled
Debts).

The SFR course dedicates only about 2-2.5 hours on actually doing short sales. Part of the SFR course is doing 3, one hour webinars (you pick from a
list) that is strictly on the honor system.

The SFR course Itook pretty much had a "no question" policy. I feel this was because
of time constraints but I don't think it is reasonable or responsible
on the part of NAR to take such an important topic and condense it to
7.5-8 hours and then not allow a significant question and answer
period. This class should be a two day class at the minimum. That
being said, every class has a couple of village idiots that need to be
kicked out and I don't know how to handle them.

The Short SaleSuperstars course is definitely the least formal of the courses but I
feel it offers the most education by far. This class is taught over
the web through webinars created by Wendy Rulnick and Bryant Tutas.
Wendy and Bryant are ACTIVE REAL ESTATE AGENTS in what many consider
the epicenter of short sales and foreclosures, Florida. When you take
the Short Sale Superstar course you are learning from two agents who
ACTUALLY sell short sales. I think this is a key difference between
the courses, these guys sell short sales and don't just teach. I have
talked to Bryant several times on the phone when I had an issue and he
and Wendy are always quick to email a response to a question, something
that does not happen with the other two programs. The Short Sale
Superstar program is the only program that went over how to do a FHA
short sale.

None of the programs went over any type ofmarketing plan to get the phone ringing for short sales so the jury is
still out on that. Word of mouth, AR blogging and ads seem to be the
best way. My leads have come from my AR blog which I now have a 2nd AR
blog dedicated to Short Sales and Foreclosures.

Mysuggestion? Short Sale Superstars hands down. If you want a
designation get the SFR, it is the cheapest to get and some of the
information is really useful.....that being said, you had best do the
Short Sale Superstars IN ADDITION to CDPE or SFR.

My only suggestion to Short Sale Superstars? Create some type of designation for those that want one. CDPE did it so it should not be too hard.
CDPE is not recognized by NAR and quite frankly the CDPE is a step
above SFR yet much more expensive than either Short Sale Superstars or
SFR.