Step 2: Qualifying Your Transaction -

Active Manager (must manage 3 or more agents)

a. Volume will be documented and verified.
b. Multiply the number of agents you manage by $5 million and then multiply the result by 75%. For Active Managers who managed 10 or more agents, candidates are to use 10 agents (maximum) as the number of agents in completing this calculation.
c. Minimum of 15 or more qualifying transactions equal to or greater than the dollar amount derived in (b) above.

Agents Total 75% 15 Avg. Trans.
3 15,000,000 11,250,000 750,000 250,000
4 20,000,000 15,000,000 1,000,000 250,000
5 25,000,000 18,750,000 1,250,000 250,000
6 30,000,000 22,500,000 1,500,000 250,000
7 35,000,000 26,250,000 1,750,000 250,000
8 40,000,000 30,000,000 2,000,000 250,000
9 45,000,000 33,750,000 2,250,000 250,000
10 50,000,000 37,500,000 2,500,000 250,000

Active Manager Category Can Include the Following Professions:
• Asset/Portfolio Advisors and Managers
• Corporate Real Estate Officers
• Pension Fund or Insurance Managers
• Supervising/Managing Brokers

Commercial Active Advisory

a. A minimum of $500,000 in gross (commercial & investment) income during the proceeding five-year period.
b. Income derived from qualified transactions as defined.

Active Advisory Category Can Include the Following Professions:
• Exchange Facilitator
• Accommodators
• Tenant In Common Sales Representatives

Sale/Purchase/Exchange

Qualifying activity: Completed property transfers.
Volume: Determined by value of property conveyed.
Substantiation: A copy of the recorded and signed deed or a closing statement signed by all principals or, in escrow states, by the escrow officer or other title company official, and the candidate.

Only submit pages that include significant elements:
– Legal description of the property.
– The agreed-upon sale price.
– Signatures (HIGHLIGHT YOUR SIGNATURE).
– Any other pertinent pages that document your role.

Commercial Mortgage Financing

Qualifying activity: Closed first-position loans on qualifying commercial property.
Volume: Determined by value of financing.
Substantiation: Copy of the signed loan documents, closing statements, and mortgage/deed of trust.

Commercial Consulting

Qualifying activity: Performance by a fee consultant relating to the transfer, leasing, or development of qualifying property where a complete consultant’s report, including analyses, was prepared and compensation was received. To qualify, all consulting activities must be at arms-length, without conflict of interest.
Volume: Determined by the value of the project.
Substantiation: Copy of the complete consultant’s report, commentary on course of action taken following consultation, submittal of the employment agreement,and copy of the paid bill for services for consultation.

Commercial Development

Qualifying activity: Completed developments, which result in substantial change in character or the use of property, that can be fully documented and analyzed.
Volume: Determined by the present value of the completed development.
Substantiation: The formal approval documents or permits, site/development plans, evidence of actual closing(s), completed property transfers, and an appraisal or other documentation showing the value of the completed development.
Raw land such as a ranch or farm is an acceptable qualifying activity as long as the transaction is not considered solely as a business transaction (such as a dairy farm) and the underlying real estate is held for investment purposes, in compliance with IRS Code 1221 and/or 1231. The real estate should be the underlying factor in the transaction, not the existence of any business transaction. If the raw land is considered to be a speculative investment hold transaction, substantiation of such future growth or change in use should be provided. Documentation of the expected changes to the property should be included; examples of documentation would be an aerial photograph to show the path of growth, supporting demographics, etc.

Exchange Facilitator/Accommodators

Only qualify if they can meet guidelines defined under consulting

Commercial Lease

Qualifying activity: Completed leasing of qualifying real estate, with a lease term of one year or more.
Volume: Determined by gross value of lease signed (exclusive of automatic renewals, options, etc.) Example: 3-year lease @ $10,000 rental/year = $30,000 volume.
Substantiation: Fully executed copy of the lease. Again, only submit pages that include significant elements: legal description of the property, the agreed-upon lease amount, signatures (HIGHLIGHT YOUR SIGNATURE), and any other pertinent pages that document your role.
While automatic options and renewals do not qualify, substantially renegotiated leases or renewals that are materially changed from the original lease may be accepted. Submit copies of both leases and highlight changes.
In the case of residential investment properties, a notarized statement or similar documentation must be provided to substantiate that the property is considered an investment and is non-owner occupied. (In the United States, copies of Schedule E compliance with IRS Sections 1221 or 1231 is required.)

Qualifying Residential Investment Properties are defined as:
Properties that are not owner occupied AND;
The property must be professional managed AND;
In single family, duplex, or tri-plex investment transactions, a written lease must exist and a copy of such lease must be submitted AND;
A property where financial analysis has been used in the marketing of the property. You are required to attach supportive documentation that demonstrates your use of the CCIM skills in the marketing of any residential investment property AND;
A property where the owner filed an income tax return showing income, expense, and depreciation for the property AND;
Notarized or similar documentation must be provided that substantiates the property as non-owner occupied investment. (In the US, copies of Schedule E compliance with the IRS Sections 1221 or 1231 must be provided) AND;
Any residential investment property submitted must qualify either under IRS Section 1221* or 1231*.

*Section 1221 - This asset is a property held primarily for long-term appreciation in value versus current income, such as a semi-rural site purchased and held for future appreciation as a community expands.

*Section 1231 - This asset is a property held primarily to produce income for use in a trade or business, such as a retail store, office building, apartment building, or warehouse held as a rental property or a user property.

Other Qualifying Professions

In addition to the traditional professions of brokerage, development, financing, and consulting, many allied non-traditional specializations qualify for the CCIM designation. The following list of occupations, under which portfolios are commonly submitted, reflects some of the many diverse specializations that may qualify:
Asset/portfolio advisors and managers.
Licensed real estate brokers, salespersons, and supervising brokers who demonstrate material participation.
Fee consultants to principals.
Corporate real estate officers, employees, financial analysts, etc.
Officers and salaried employees of development organizations.
Governmental real estate officers or employees.
Mortgage bankers or brokers.
Pension fund or insurance managers.
Principals acting on their own behalf.
Syndication sponsors.
Others whose real estate activities involve commercial investment properties.

Non-Qualifying Activities

Specifically excluded from qualification are:
Mortgage financing on residential property of less than four units.
Land: sales of less than four single-family unimproved lots that do not qualify under IRS Sections 1221 or 1231.
Transactions in which the candidate did not have material participation.
Business opportunities (exclusive of qualifying commercial real estate).
Sale or Purchase of personal residences.

Questions About Qualifications

Where there is a question of whether your specialization qualifies for the designation, refer it to the overall principal: There must be substantial involvement with real property of a commercial and/or investment nature.

As a standardized means of assessing that your experience qualifies for the designation, please follow the guidelines found under Required Contents. If you are unable to do so, provide as much documentation and explanation as you can. Your portfolio needs to clearly identify a character and level of activity consistent with experience requirements applied to all other candidates. The following factors will be taken under consideration:
Years of experience or business activity.
Nature of position or assignment and type of responsibility.
Evidence of achievement in specialty (i.e., corporate review, advancement, professional designation(s), advanced degree, special recognition).
Volume or quantity of work.
Samples of actual work product of each activity.


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