HomeBanc Institute Offers New Real Estate Consultant Designation Course Looking to revolutionize your approach to working with real estate clients? Look no further than the Consumer-Certified Real Estate Consultant (C-CRECTM) designation, the first international designation focused on the results-oriented skills required by more and more homebuyers. The designation is in response to the rising tide of "for-sale-by-owner" (FSBO) transactions that, for many homebuyers, are making the need for bundled, commission-based real estate services unnecessary. The HomeBanc Institute, the real estate education division of HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation, is one of the first organizations in the Southeast to offer this designation. "On-line trading hasn't eliminated the need for skilled financial advisors," says HomeBanc Institute Director Joe Kennedy. "It's the same thing in real estate sales. The rise of FSBO and on-line aggregators has created a pool of buyers and sellers who may not need bundled real estate services. But at some point in most transactions, people want experts they can turn to for help. As real estate professionals, we have to be prepared to offer that help as needed on a fee-for-service basis or we risk losing those customers and that income." Real estate professionals receiving the C-CRECTM designation will become experts in assessing clients needs for transaction services, bundling and unbundling services based on each customers needs, marketing their consulting services to clients and pricing those services appropriately. The HomeBanc Institute will offer the C-CREC course in Atlanta on January 25 and 26 and in Tampa, Fla., in the spring. The course is approved for continuing education credit in Georgia and will be approved for continuing education credit in Florida soon. For more information or to register, contact the HomeBanc Institute at (404) 303-4219 or visit the institute on-line at www.homebanc.com.