Certifications

Thomas Forte is a Certified Waterfront Specialist (CWS) through RASM, the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. This is not a title an agent can simply sign up for. Earning it requires completing RASM's 7.5 hour waterfront course, passing a written exam, and closing at least two qualifying waterfront transactions within 24 months. The training covers the parts of a waterfront deal that a standard real estate license never touches: bridge heights, tides, and water depths, dock and seawall construction, and riparian rights, which are the legal rights that come with owning shoreline.

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For buyers and sellers in Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, that training matters where the money is. It means the person pricing or evaluating your home actually understands whether a boat fits the water, what a seawall has left in it, and what questions to ask before a contract is signed. The house is one thing. The waterfront is another.