This course covers major environmental hazards. Licensees need to familiarize themselves with environmental issues because they have a responsibility to disclose to buyers any information that might affect their decision to buy. Environmental hazards can dramatically affect a propertys value, so buyers, sellers, lenders and licensees all can be affected by them. This course includes the following lessons:The Indoor Environment The External Environment Legislation Disclosure and Site Assessment Real Estate PracticeStudents will learn throughout this course to identify internal and external environmental issues. They will learn about health hazards, environmental legislation, liability and responsibility for cleanup and protection. They will also learn about actions they should take and how issues affect licensees and lending. Licensees are not expected to be environmental experts, but in this course students will acquire a competency with environmental issues which will help them to elucidate issues for buyers, sellers and lenders. Knowledge of environmental issues also will help protect them from charges of nondisclosure. The conclusion of this course presents real world dilemmas and applications of the information presented. As the student completes this course, he or she should try to paint a big picture of environmental issues, which the course will address with comprehensive content questions, practices and case studies.

Real estate mathematics can be very daunting and confusing. However, by beginning with a review of basic math skills and reinforcing what is already known, students will soon learn to apply real estate terminology and specific formulas to problems and tasks common in the real estate industry such as area and volume calculation, the Rectangular Survey System, the Metes and Bounds System, proration, commission rates, and property values. This course will help students develop the skills to complete a review of settlement costs and explain this information to clients.

Human land use is one in a series of courses covering the many areas of Human Ecology. The emphasis here is to impart knowledge and understanding of the history of land use, ownership, controls, zoning, boundaries, viewshed analysis, geology, land use conflicts, court decisions affecting land use, and the relationship between human quality of life and land ownership.

Code of Ethics

1031 Exchanges

Real Estate Finance

Environmental Hazards

Tax Favorable Real Estate Transactions

Human land use is one in a series of courses covering the many areas of Human Ecology. The emphasis here is to impart knowledge and understanding of the history of land use, ownership, controls, zoning, boundaries, viewshed analysis, geology, land use conflicts, court decisions affecting land use, and the relationship between human quality of life and land ownership.

This property management course focuses on the operational aspects of running a property management firm. Students will learn how to analyze and manage liability risks and insurance and the security and safety responsibilities of a property manager. The course discusses the pros and cons of private maintenance companies, setting up a maintenance system, evaluating a property’s maintenance needs, and common maintenance problems that property managers deal with. Proper recordkeeping, promotion, and advertising are also covered. This course teaches students how to handle problem tenants, complaints, waiting lists, late rent, evictions, fair housing issues, and owner relations. The course also contains valuable information about the organization of a property management office, creating policy manuals, management costs and fees, the hiring process, employee management and evaluation, and what it takes to open and maintain a successful property management firm.

Bad Loans will delve into predatory lending practices and common mortgage fraud schemes. Students will learn to identify and avoid predatory lenders’ and fraud perpetrators’ tactics. The course examines the lines on mortgage forms, good faith estimates, fees, discounts, prepayment penalties, and how these items are used by predatory lenders. This course also features valuable information about dealing with issues such as late charges, tax reserves, property insurance, foreclosures, and note modification. Then students will explore popular mortgage fraud schemes and examples from real cases. Fraud tools such as flipping, straw sellers and buyers, “No Doc” loans, silent second mortgages, and false money will also be discussed.

The objective of this course is to answer this: How must the real estate profession change to make itself relevant to what will prove to be a radically more challenging future? This course will explore in detail the workings of human ecosystems, what it takes to achieve long-term sustainability and well-being, how we are falling short, and the role of an ethical, environmentally responsible real estate professional in helping turn things around

Students will be introduced to the concepts, types, and approaches to value. They will learn about market value; selecting the best comparables when estimating real property value; and accurately determining square footage. This course addresses how to correctly make adjustments to value, market timing, and the reasons why property sells.

Methamphetamine use has become a fast growing problem with meth labs springing up all across America. Not only is this substance highly addictive, inexpensive to produce and easy to use, but the chemicals used in processing this drug are volatile with very toxic by-products. This course is designed to heighten the knowledge and awareness of the imminent dangers, not only to the public, but to the environment and its effects on consumers, clients, real property ownership, and the real estate practitioner. Students will learn about the history of meth, its composition, how to recognize a meth lab, the cost and time involved in remediation of a meth lab, and where to obtain additional, updated information so they may stay apprised of new laws, policies and the latest methods for meth lab detection.

This course teaches the student how and why we communicate. Learning these basics will provide the student the basis for effective client communication. Knowing what the client wants and being able to find the perfect property based on good communication skills will result in more sales and satisfied clients.

This course covers broad issues on fair housing laws. Specifically, the student will learn: what fair housing laws exist, what classes of individuals are covered under these laws, how discrimination is defined in real estate, how can one avoid discriminating practices, and what the consequences are for non-compliance with fair housing laws.

If you are located in Texas please note the following information:

Texas Provider Approval #0238 / Course Approval #04-00-104-24750

Provider Approval #0238 / Course Approval #03-00-053-18144

Asset Management is the term used for the decision-making process involved in maximizing returns on real property investments. This process includes such decisions as whether or not to renew a lease for a tenant, purchase or lease more assets, improve, sell or rent ones current assets, etc. The asset manager must be aware of market trends and indicators and must be able to accurately predict the cash inflows and outflows of his or her own holdings. This course provides an introduction to the basics of asset management. It introduces the student to the key ideas and concepts of management as well as the techniques a manager will use to evaluate the market and evaluate the financial impact of alternatives in order to make properly informed decisions. The student will learn how to handle distressed properties and how to successfully market a revenue-increasing strategy. The course ends with case studies and real world practice, which will aid the student in becoming confident and familiar with the various aspects of asset management.

This course covers the standards of conduct and ethical judgment by addressing the different concepts that contribute to ethical business practices. This course will introduce the student to ethics and morals by defining both terms in order to distinguish differences between the two. The student will also learn the four approaches to ethical decision-making; therefore, after learning the Articles and Standard Practices of the NAR® Code of Ethics, the student will be able to use the model identify any violations of the Code.

Provider Approval #0238 / Course Approval #04-00-104-24760

The objective of this course is to teach real estate professionals how they can help their clients with the process of buying and selling property on a tax-favorable basis. The first two lessons describe a method of real estate purchase using pre-tax dollars and of growing the estate within a qualified product. We will discuss the current tax advantages of using both qualified and non-qualified tax products such as IRAs, SEP IRAs, 401(k)s, Roth IRAs and charitable gift annuities. The use of these applications provides the real estate professional with an opportunity to create a long-standing and profitable relationship with his or her clients, as well as attracting a more sophisticated investor wishing to find an alternative to 1031 exchanges.Lessons three and four of this module will explain the many important aspects of Internal Revenue Code Section 1031. The course will focus on the benefits of the 1031 exchange for the investor, the licensee and the other parties involved in the transaction. The student will learn which properties qualify under Section 1031 and how to use the various types of 1031 exchanges to enhance the clients position in the investment real estate market. The concluding lesson in this module presents real-world dilemmas and concrete applications of the information presented in the rest of the course. As the student completes this module, he or she should try to develop a broad picture of tax-favorable real estate transactions and how they fit into the larger practice of real estate. The last lesson will help with this project by presenting comprehensive content questions, practice problems and case studies.

Provider Approval #0238 / Course Approval #03-00-053-18146

This course provides an introduction to residential real estate finance, including information on the underwriting process for FHA, VA, FNMA and FHLMC loans. It includes the following lessons:Introduction to Loans Conventional Loans FHA Loans VA Loans The Basics of Real Estate Financing Real Estate PracticeIn this course the student will learn the basics of the different types of loans available and the advantages and disadvantages of each; loan applications; appraisals; escrow; titles; and credit reports, including qualifying for loan amounts and verifying income and assets.The student will also learn how to calculate loan amounts, estimate monthly payments from property taxes, hazard and mortgage insurance, qualifying ratios and income.

Clear, mutually-acceptable agreements are an essential component of the legal transference of ownership. In the practice of real estate, contracts are the instruments used to describe and record the agreements surrounding the conveyance of property. Some type of contract is nearly always involved, whether a salesperson is promising to sell a property within a specified period of time, a prospective buyer is placing an offer on a house or a seller is considering an offer on property. Before entering into a legally binding agreement, real estate professionals must fully understand the contracts that govern their industry. Failure to understand contracts opens a licensee to various kinds of liability and can seriously damage ones professional reputation. Therefore, it is vital that real estate professionals learn this material so that they can protect themselves against errors, oversights and misunderstandings. In this module you will learn about the types of general contracts as well as the different kinds of real estate contracts. The module provides the student with an overview of the various types of contracts: bilateral, unilateral, implied, express, executed, executory, valid, void, voidable and unenforceable. Once the student is introduced to the different types of contracts, he or she learns what makes a contract legally enforceable, this being the five components that make a contract valid: mutual assent, legally competent parties, consideration, lawful objective and adherence to a statute of frauds. This module includes the following lessons: – Types of Contracts- Features of a Legally Valid Contract- Contract Fulfillment- Real Estate ContractsThe fifth and concluding lesson in this module presents real-world dilemmas and concrete applications of the information presented in the rest of the course. As the student completes this module, he or she should try to develop a broad picture of environmental issues and how they fit into the larger practice of real estate; the last lesson will help with this project by presenting comprehensive content questions, practice problems and case studies.