It is supported by the Mississippi Association of Realtors. According to Dr. Donald Epley, holder of the Robert Warren Chair in Real Estate in the College of Business and Industry, the program is patterned after one the Mississippi Bar has been operating for several years. The program is the only one of its kind in the United States set up to support education, Epley said. It is potentially a very significant source of funding. Participation by real estate brokers is strictly voluntary, he emphasized.
Brokers maintain escrow accounts as a regular part of their businesses.
The account usually is a buyer's monetary deposit put in care of a third party a bank, for instance and not delivered to the seller until the sale is completed. All other clients' deposits are usually co-mingled in a standard account. At Mississippi State, the funds go to the Robert Warren Chair, administered by the Office of Development. No earnings can be made available to the broker. After reviewing our proposal, the Internal Revenue Service ruled that earnings specifically designated to the Mississippi State account are tax exempt.