The Texas Accredited Commercial Specialist certification teaches you how to represent clients, perform market analyses, negotiate, and understand property development and management. The TACS will also equip you with skills in marketing and business development. This certification shows that you’ve pursued an intensive course of study in commercial real estate and that you’re dedicated to providing the highest level of service to clients.
This certification is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Association of REALTORS®.
Certification Requirements
The Texas Accredited Commercial Specialist certification requires the completion of three 30-hour courses:
- TACS 1: Introduction to Commercial Real Estate. Topics include fundamentals of commercial real estate finance and economics.
- TACS 2: Commercial Real Estate Property Development. Topics include commercial leasing, property development, and appraisal valuation methods.
- TACS 3: Commercial Real Estate Marketing & Negotiation. Topics include assessing the merits of investment property, appropriate contract forms and addenda, and how to develop a self-aware business plan.
Click here to examine a more detailed outline of the courses and topics.
After successful completion of the three courses, candidates must provide the following:
- A letter from the agent’s broker, on official company letterhead, verifying the successful completion of at least two commercial real estate transactions, including transaction details. There is no set minimum dollar amount required for these transactions to qualify. Only original sales and leases will be considered; renewals will not qualify. These transactions may have occurred within a three-year period before the certification application or up to three years following the submission date of your application. The letter should also confirm the agent’s active participation in a Commercial Information Exchange (CIE). If the applicant is the broker, the applicant certifies that the transaction details provided are true and correct and understand that misstatements and fraudulent representations shall disqualify the applicant from receiving the TACS certification.
- Two written professional reference Letters of Recommendation from licensed real estate agents, excluding the candidate’s broker, who can speak to the candidate’s professionalism and standard of practice in commercial real estate.
Finally, the certification candidate must submit the Texas Accredited Commercial Specialist certification application and a $50 application fee to Texas REALTORS®.
For more information on the TACS program, please see our FAQs.
TACS Scholarship
The Texas REALTORS® TACS Scholarship is for members with less than five years of experience in commercial real estate who have faced discrimination, exclusion, or hardship in their entry into commercial real estate based on their status in a protected class. Protected classes include race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The scholarship aims to increase diversity in commercial real estate services by funding the scholarship recipient’s completion of the Texas Accredited Commercial Specialist program.
Meet the Course Author
Les Sweetow
Sweetow is the managing member of Real Capital Insights, LLC. He also serves as the head of client strategy and research – real estate for Stonecrest Partners and is a registered representative with Stonecrest Capital Markets, Inc. He holds both a series 7 and 63 license.
In conjunction with his master’s degree in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago, he has earned a bachelor’s degree in Technology from Arizona State University, a graduate certificate in Corporate Compliance from George Washington University, a professional certificate in Institutional Real Estate from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), and a professional certificate in Real Estate Finance and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Real Estate – Professional Development Institute.
Sweetow’s real estate career began in Colorado in 1989, where he was a top-producing real estate sales associate, having received several awards and distinctions for his performance. He was also licensed as a registered real estate appraiser. Sweetow maintains an active real estate broker’s license and is also licensed as a real estate continuing education instructor in several states offering courses in residential and commercial investment real estate finance and economics.