When Tim Corliss began his real estate career at the age of 22 in Los Angeles, he was still a "baby." Not only were other Realtors older than he, so were most of his clients. Over the next twenty-five years, as his customers began to age, Corliss found himself dealing more and more with senior issues, until working with seniors became his specialty.

Is it possible to make a niche out of an aging demographic? Absolutely. Seniors are the largest group of property owners in the U.S. The over-50 popul ation is growing at a rate of 20 percent per year. About 83 percent of seniors own their own homes, and nearly eight million of them will move in the next two years, according to research provided by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP.)

Does an age demographic necessitate a specialty? In Corliss' opinion, it certainly does.

Corliss, 60, believes that seniors have a number of differences from younger buyers that go beyond the generation gap.

"For one thing, seniors don't have a second chance to make their equity, so their use of equity is important," explains Corliss. "Two, many seniors haven't bought or sold for over 20 years. About 70 percent of them own their homes out right. In a lot of cases all they have is their equity. And three, The real estate industry has completely changed in that time - legal issues, technology, consumer issues, disclosure are all vastly different."

"The fear is the big problem. Seniors think, "What am I going to do?" " adds Corliss. "If Mom or Dad breaks a hip, everybody panics. They fear being taken advantage of."

Realtors need special education on the senior needs and the most beneficial financial planning strategies, advises Corliss. He sites an example of one client who would not have been well served by a traditional approach to marketing and financing a home.

"One of my clients is a widow, 67, living in Santa Monica. Her home is worth about 700,000. She was talking with someone about selling her home, and the equity in her home is all she has. If she sold her home for cash, she would have $ 250,000 tax free, but the rest is subject to state and federal income tax. Rounded up, she would pay about 40 percent to Uncle Sam."

"Forty percent of $450,000 is about $200,000. I suggested that she sell her home for $700,000, take $220,000 down, and carry the $500,000 note as first trustee at 6 1/2 percent due in 10 years. She skips paying the capital gains tax and gets a point and a half more than she would on a CD. Her CPA told her that was the right thing to do."

Corliss maintains that to help seniors, the Realtor needs to become part of the client's financial planning and advisory team. Ignorance of tax ramifications and investment strategies can unintentionally harm a senior's financial picture, costing them needless tax dollars and hurting their chances to generate interest income from their equity.

So he set out to do something about it. Corliss is a founding member of the SENIOR Advantage Real Estate Council which sponsors the SENIOR Advantage Marketing Program®, a NAR-approved-but-not-owned education and designation award program for Realtors interested in capturing the lucrative senior market.

"We take the Realtors and show them to how to be counselor-driven rather than sales-driven," says Corliss.

The Council, which has a star-studded advisory panel including past NAR president Ira Griffen, economist John Tuccillo and author Buddy West, offers twelve hour, two-day courses approved in 15 states. To date, over 900 Realtors in over 46 states have become members.

The course's function is to raise awareness, and in particular to ask the right questions Upon completion of the course work, members can receive the SRES designation, Senior Real Estate Specialist. Realtors holding certain designation such as CIPS,CRB,CRS, CCIM, GRI, and ABR can "fast track" through the program in six hours.

Using the counseling approach, attendees can learn skills such as learning patience, and they learn about reverse mortgages, tax reform laws, and tax, trust and probate considerations.

In addition to acquiring the SRES designation, members of the SAREM Program enjoy other benefits, client referrals, how to guides, marketing skills, forms and newsletters.

"Not everyone moves to Florida when they retire," jokes Corliss."Seniors are everywhere and they deserve the best help we can give them."

Published: January 21, 1999

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.