Certified Investor Agent Specialist™ (CIAS)

[Mitch Stanley]

Hi, I just attended a ARMLS Class & I explained I wanted to work Investors. He's employed by RE Max ( Me, Kelller- Williams Biltmore) & he signed up for this  per RE Max, CIAS Certification. 

I wanted to receive additional feedback on this educational Certification . Positive & Negative comments are appreciated. The attendee did state that he received a discount due to RE Max affiliation.

Thank you, Mitch Stanley

Realtor Keller Williams Biltmore 

Glendale,AZ

[David Oldenburg]

@Mitch Stanley Some would disagree, but I think all of the NAR acronyms, designations, and certifications, are a complete waste of time and money. The CIAS is a joke. I am an investor, a RE Broker, and run a 650 member real estate investing group, and spend most of my time investing or working with investors. There is nothing you are going to learn in an online course that is going to make you an expert at dealing with investors.

This is just like the many courses that teach you how to flip. I have yet to meet a single person who learned how to flip from a course, regardless of how much they paid.  My investing group is filled with people who have taken courses on investing and flipping, and 100% of the time people tell me they learn more in my free meetings than they ever learned in any course.  Why?  Because you learn by actually doing the deals, meeting and working hands on with others who are already doing it.  You see and learn those things that you will never learn in a text book or video.  

It is not illegal to claim who you are as a Realtor.  You just can't claim expertise in an area where you are not an expert.  For example, you can have a business card with your name, and a tagline underneath it, "I work exclusively with investors!" or "Helping One Investor At A Time" or "Your Real Estate Investor Realtor"... Once you get experienced and feel you have the experience, you can say whatever you feel works for you. I could easily put "Real Estate Investor Expert" under my name, but have never done it. Why?  Because no one cares!  They are doing business with me because of reputation, and people talking about me, not because they read an acronym on a business card.