Experts in the second home industry initially applauded the National Association of Realtors new Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist (RSPS) certification as a necessary addition to training for professionals who work the special residential real estate market sector.

Officially recognizing real estate professionals who work the second home market gives consumers representation from a professional with training specific to buying and selling vacation, resort and investment properties.

"I think that the new designation will be helpful for people who are beginning their search for a second home, but it may be an even more important designation for those who are selling their recreational properties," said Toni Fladmark, publisher of Duluth, MN-based Cabin Life Magazine.

All the praise does, however, come with some qualifiers.

Detailed requirements for the new RSPS certification are available online, but generally call for the successful completion of two NAR-accredited courses and two NAR-accredited electives.

The courses are the two-day Resort & Second Home Markets Course and a two-day Tax-Deferred (1031) Exchange Course. The two electives can be selected from among nine courses including residential property management, small business property management, international real estate, real estate investments, commercial real estate investments, and a resort symposium.

The new certification is in response to the more than 140,000 NAR member real estate agents who already work in resort and second home markets -- a 30 percent increase from the previous year.

The certification also officially designates the resort and second home industry as a specific real estate industry specialty, along with commercial, international, buyer representation and other sectors.

NAR-sanctioned certifications, however, do not come with on-the-job experience requirements, which NAR reserves for its professional designations.

"As always, the most important thing for anyone looking for a recreational home -- especially a cabin, cottage, lake home or lodge in a prime recreational area -- is to find an agent who is very familiar with that particular area," said Fladmark.

"Many prime pieces of recreational property are sold rapidly, often without even really being on the market, so a real estate agent who, whether designated as a second home specialist or not, has deep local connections, may be the best choice to find that perfect piece of property for you," Fladmark added.

NAR fully expects that those who obtain NAR's RSPS certification will have in-the-field experience specific to the second home market.

"There isn't any question about it. Most of our people who get certification have already been around NAR for along time and just haven't had the opportunity to get certified in this specialty," said Ben Blair chairman of NAR's Resort & Second-Home Committee.

There does already exist a large pool of second-home market savvy real estate agents by virtue of the market sector's sheer size and property diversity within the sector.

NAR's "2005 National Association of Realtors Profile of Second-Home Buyers" report found that among all homes purchased in 2004, 36 percent were second homes purchases -- about two thirds of them were purchased as investment properties and another third as vacation homes.

Among the nation's entire existing housing stock of 115.9 million homes, 38 percent of them -- 43.8 million homes -- are second homes. Among the 43.8 million second homes, the vast majority, 37.2 million, are investment units while only 6.6 million are vacation homes, according to NAR, basing its findings on 2003 U.S. Census data.

In 2004, while the investment property segment of existing second home sales was larger than the vacation property share, vacation home sales grew faster. Vacation-home sales rose 19.8 percent from 850,000 in 2003 to 1.02 million in 2004. Investment property sales rose 14.4 percent from 1.57 million in 2003 to 1.80 million last year, NAR reported.

"We can definitely see a need for this new training and designation (sic). It's just one more indication of how robust the second home market is and will continue to be as baby boomers reach their prime earning years," said Yardley, PA-based Alfred Glossbrenner, who along with his wife, Emily co-authored and the self-published book/CD-ROM package "How To Make Your Vacation Property Work For You" (FireCrystal, $149.95).

The statistics, however, don't tell the whole second home story. A second home comes with a variety of uses.

Some investment second homes later become retirement homes. Second homes as vacation homes can be rented out when the owner isn't vacationing. And resort investment properties are also used by the owner when they aren't being rented out.

Managing such a purchase -- both as a structure and as an investment -- is alone enough to require specialized professional help, but there's much more.

"We agree that there's more to buying a second home, particularly as an investment, than buying your primary residence. You need an agent who knows the area, of course, but equally important is a deep familiarity with the rental market. Where can you command the highest weekly rates? Where can you expect the greatest appreciation? Are there any local restrictions on renting by the week? (This is a growing and disturbing trend, by the way.) These are issues that just don't come up when buying your primary residence," said Emily Glossbrenner.

Agents who represent second home buyers or sellers must be in touch with the unique discretionary spending and buying habits of second home buyers, second home financing, investment property management, local and regional market conditions and other elements of the second home market. Consumers are also better off with second-home savvy agents who have established a network of like agents throughout the nation, especially in resort and vacation markets and who've established a network of related professionals (property managers, contractors, and the like) property owners will need to maintain and protect their investment.

"I would expect a newly-minted RSPS agent to be able to advise clients or how to furnish a second home they intend to rent out, where to advertise it, and how to line up a trusted team of maintenance people one can call on (from a distance) when something breaks or goes wrong," Alfred Glossbrenner said.

Because of the distances often involved in second home market transactions, professional level communications steeped in technology is also key to good representation, said Christine Karpinski, real estate investor and author of "Profit From Your Dream Vacation Home" (Dearborn, $19.95) and other second home investment books.

"The agents need to have robust websites, filled with content about the area and be in constant communication via blogs and newsletters with prospective buyers. The designation (sic) should help inform agents on all this info," Karpinski said.

Marvin Floyd, general manager of VRBO International, LLC (Vacation Rentals By Owner) in St. Thomas, VI had some misgivings about the new certification and said real estate agents shouldn't have a monopoly on second-home market information.

"First, it is a great way for NAR to get revenue from the training courses," Floyd began and went on to say, "It's the education of potential owners that is the problem. Should that all fall on the agent? Obviously not, but at least, if the agent is honest and thorough, they will discuss the pros and cons of vacation rentals once they determine that (renting) is one of the reasons for the purchase."

San Francisco-based EscapeHomes.com, in a partnership with the Park City, UT-based Rocky Mountain Resort Alliance (RMRA) has long championed the in-house "Resort Specialist" (RS) designation as special representation necessary for consumers in the second home sector.

The Alliance's work was also key in NAR developing its RSPS certification.

"EscapeHomes supported and cooperated with NAR's efforts, which were made through their own committee work and we are pleased to see the results," said Clark Thomson, EscapeHomes.com's founder.

Published: November 4, 2005

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.