About

Welcome!

Americans have many ways and places to invest their money. They choose a product (whichever investment they desire) generally through analysis and comparison. Many times, however, the investor chooses a product because of the knowledge and sales ability of the salesperson. Many investors are missing the opportunity to achieve optimum diversification, enabling them to potentially increase investment returns with less risk, simply because they have not taken the time to understand real estate investing.

• This course provides an introduction to investment real estate.
• Real estate investment terminology, taxation, and principles of investing in real estate will be reviewed.
• Learners will complete and analyze cash flow and tax analysis forms, cash flows after-tax, as well as net operating income.

Topics Covered

Lesson 1: Real Estate Investment

Lesson 2: Risk/Profit

Lesson 3: Analysis

Lesson 4: Exercises

Lesson 5: Loss & Transfer

Lesson 6: Workshop

Lesson 7: Investment Property & 1031 Exchange

Lesson 8: Managing Investment Real Estate

Lesson 9: Fair Housing

Lesson 10: Financing Investment Real Estate

Lesson 11: Mechanics of the 1031 Exchange

Lesson 12: Real World Practice

Lesson 13: Other Types of Exchanges

Lesson 14: Real Estate Practice

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Discuss the basics of investing in residential real estate which include the profit and risk potentials.
• Explain the overall characteristics of real estate investments.
• Elaborate on the basics of comparing investment properties which includes a detailed approach to property analysis.
• Understand the various aspects of loss and transfer and investment property requirements.
• Explain Fair Housing and how its related issues impact the overall real estate investment.
• Gain an understanding of financing investment in real estate and other types of exchanges.
• Practice through various real estate scenarios by reviewing real-world case studies and get a deeper understanding of investment property.

Understanding the unique reasons why each client is looking to invest in real estate will help agents to best serve their clients and help accomplish their investment goals.

The question then is should a buyer pay all cash, assuming they have cash, or should they leverage their money to acquire more. History will provide that answer. In an improving market, where property is appreciating, and the income will service the debt, buying more property using leverage will give the investor greater wealth accumulation. However, if the market decreases in value, the investor may be underwater where the debt exceeds the value of the property. Ultimately time will correct the problem.

But as the nation learned in the last market collapse, many people will “walk” from debt if they believe they are upside down (debt exceeds value).

The leveraged property requires less cash and earns a higher cash on cash percentage.

About

This course aims to promote safety, integrity, and trust in the real estate industry to benefit consumers and practitioners. Real estate licensees are entrusted by members of the public on a daily basis in the form of access to their homes, safeguarding their sensitive information, and counsel in matters that impact their financial and physical well-being. When a homebuyer is concerned for the safety of their family in a home with high radon levels or in close proximity to fracking, they ask their agent. As such, agency relationships are nuanced with layers of responsibility that far exceed fiduciary duties. In this course licensees will expand their awareness of their obligations to the public and their understanding of how these obligations are met.

Additionally, licensees are invited to hold one another accountable to high standards of safety in real estate practice, not limited to issues such as lockbox use and indoor air quality concerns that impact consumers, but also regarding issues that impact occupational health and wellbeing of real estate professionals including issues of discrimination and norms in the industry that perpetuate risk-taking behaviors on the job.

Topics Covered

Lesson 1: Duties of Consumer Protection under License Law

Lesson 2: Best Practices for Safety and Accountability

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Define competence in real estate practice and safeguarding the interests of the public throughout various stages of the transaction process.
• Expand our understanding of discrimination in the context of fair housing and real estate licensee interactions, as well as court cases related to brokerage structure considerations.
• Identify, list, and evaluate the best practices set forth by the Colorado Division of Real Estate
• Recite the policies set forth by the Division of Real Estate pertaining to lock box codes and property access.
• Identify risks to consumers in the absence of adequate security protocols.

About

In this course, you will be exposed to a history of these changes in order to create a foundation for the explanation of the new law. The changes in 2013 will then be exposed and you will have an opportunity to both review and reflect upon these updates.

Topics Covered

Lesson 1: Moving Forward

Lesson 2: Other Issues

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, the learner will be able to:

• Define terms associated with the Oklahoma Brokerage Relationships Act
• Review historical perspective of the practice under the Act
• Explain the practice when one firm represents both parties to a transaction
• Identify what is confidential information
• Recite the rules relating to the law

About

With increasing concern about global warming, interest is growing among consumers about what “going green” means to them. Builders want to know technical details of what it means to “build green,” how many of these details have already been incorporated in their building practices, and what it will cost to add or change materials or practices. Due to the economic law of supply and demand, equally important in the advancement of green building and selling is how to create awareness and resulting demand for these better-designed, better-built homes. In this course, we will identify practical benefits that the “high performance home” provides and features that deliver these benefits. The biggest challenge in the green marketplace is how to communicate this value to consumers effectively enough to change buying preferences. Attracting busy consumers’ attention long enough to educate them about how to buy a home is no small task and demands the right media and message.

We’ll explore the most effective ways to utilize photographs, charts, certified green labeling, press exposure, Internet and print mailings.

When the connection is made between the value of today’s mainstream green “high performance home” and today’s energy-conscious, environmentally concerned consumers, sales of new and existing green homes will assume the commanding position in the marketplace that they deserve.

Topics Covered

Lesson 1: HPH Benefits and Features
Lesson 2: Your Market Niche
Lesson 3: Market Your Expertise
Lesson 4: Green Building Principles
Lesson 5: Building Zero Energy Homes
Lesson 6: LEED (Leadership and Environmental Design)
Lesson 7: Energy Star Homes

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Define green terminology and know what is included in various shades of green.
• Review the features of the high-performance home. This was covered in detail in the online course Green Building: Benefits and Features of the High-Performance Home.
• Identify the benefits that mainstream buyers will pay for.
• Explore tools and strategies with which to market to new homebuyers and establish relationships with area builders.
• Look at the enormous potential market for “greening” existing homes.
• Examine the most effective ways to market your business through press, the internet, and print.

About

Welcome!

Riding the Green Wave: The High Performance Home

This course is not about cutting-edge, experimental green; the high-performance home is an energy-efficient, cost-effective, well-built home that provides a healthy indoor environment and helps to save our global environment. Isn’t this the home that many of your clients want to buy? We’ll learn its six elements and testing procedures for new and existing homes.

Sales increase when buyers understand and develop trust in their real estate agent, their builder and the product. Your understanding of what makes the high-performance home today’s smart choice is an essential part of your future success in selling this “green” product to every new home buyer and also to many resale buyers.

Topics Covered

Lesson 1: Tight Thermal Envelope

Lesson 2: Solar Smart Design

Lesson 3: Heating and Cooling Issues

Lesson 4: Air, Moisture, and Combustion

Lesson 5: Water Management

Lesson 6: Lighting, Energy, and Green Products

Lesson 7: Diagnostic Testing

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify elements of the high performance home
• List in-demand benefits of the high performance home
• Compare features of each element
• Outline the advantages to buyers for each feature

About

This 8-hour Continuing Education Package includes the current version of the Annual Commission Update (ACU) 4-hour Mandatory course as required by the Real Estate Commission in Colorado. All licensees are required to complete this course every calendar year.

The package also includes the 4-hr NAR Mandatory Ethics Course - This review Ethics course is one of the courses used to meet the Quadrennial Ethics requirement for REALTORS®. This course also provides 4 hours of Continuing Education credit.

This Real Estate Course Program Includes:

Annual Commission Update (ACU) Course
This is the most current version of the annual mandatory course for Colorado real estate brokers. This years course covers general practice issues as well as the new eLicense system.

The Ethics of Technology: Etiquette for the Age of Engage
This course is designed to meet the REALTORS® Code of Ethics Training and also to give guidance to all real estate professionals working online and with social media..

Each course has exercises and quizzes and is completed with a multiple choice final exam.

About

This 8-hour Continuing Education Package includes the current version of the Annual Commission Update (ACU) 4-hour Mandatory course as required by the Real Estate Commission in Colorado. All licensees are required to complete this course every calendar year.

The package also includes the 4-hr NAR Mandatory Ethics Course - This review Ethics course is one of the courses used to meet the Quadrennial Ethics requirement for REALTORS®. This course also provides 4 hours of Continuing Education credit.

This Real Estate Course Program Includes:

Annual Commission Update (ACU) Course
This is the most current version of the annual mandatory course for Colorado real estate brokers. This years course covers general practice issues as well as the new eLicense system.

The Ethics of Technology: Etiquette for the Age of Engage
This course is designed to meet the REALTORS® Code of Ethics Training and also to give guidance to all real estate professionals working online and with social media..

Each course has exercises and quizzes and is completed with a multiple choice final exam.

About

This course covers the basic skills necessary to properly close a real estate transaction, including responsibilities from the contract through and after the closing, plus accounting for all funds received and disbursed, as well as a comprehensive review of the legal documents prepared by the broker.

Topics Covered

1. Broker's Responsibility in Closing
2. Settlement Worksheets
3. Preparing the 6-Column Settlement Worksheet
4. VA & FHA
5. Closing Examples
6. Required Closings

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Define the broker's responsibility in a closing
• Prepare a settlement sheet
• List the necessary elements in a 6-column worksheet
• State the differences between VA and FHA allowable borrower expenses
• Complete a closing worksheet

About

The main purpose of this course is to inform learners of the License Law, Regulations, and Relationships that are available under the law in Colorado, before presenting the contracts and forms that are required for use in most real estate transactions. 

Topics Covered

1. License Law
2. Colorado Regulations
3. Statutory Requirements
4. Listing Contracts
5. Sales Contracts
6. Addendums
7. Closings
8. Notice
9. Other Considerations
10. Contract Problems

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Define the rules and regulations that govern the practice of real estate.
• Examine and explain listing contracts, sales contracts, and associated forms.
• Identify key notice and disclosure forms that may be necessary for use in a real estate transaction.

About

In this course we present actual cases that were undertaken by the Commission. Each case—be it an audit, complaint, or legal case filed against a broker, buyer, or seller—should be reviewed closely. By examining the information presented, students will be able to gain insights into how the Commission functions and what risks licensees face for failing to follow the law or rules.

We recommend you spend the necessary time to properly answer any questions posed in this course, and to carefully review the results, conclusions, and decisions that are outlined here. We begin by looking at actual cases before discussing issues that licensees face each and every day in the field.

Topics Covered

Lesson 1: Audits by the Commission
Lesson 2: Complaints
Lesson 3: Legal Cases
Lesson 4: Common Disclosures
Lesson 5: Other Colorado Legal Issues

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Recognize the types of fines and punishments that result from the inappropriate and illegal handling of money belonging to others by brokers acting as property managers.
• Describe the types of real-life situations that may arise between a broker and customer/client, which may put the broker and client in jeopardy of breaking commission rules and the law.

About

The purpose of this course is to keep real estate professionals up to date with current contracts, disclosures, and forms. The goal of this Colorado Listing Contracts course is to give the student a working in-depth knowledge of the Colorado Real Estate Commission-approved contracts and those that need to be prepared by a licensed real estate attorney associated with the listing of real property.

These contract forms will affect a sale or a lease of property under the freehold and leasehold estates. As a real estate professional, you should understand that it is your responsibility to adhere to the laws and regulations pertaining to all aspects of this course and the materials presented within. You will also come to find that, at times, the policies of your brokage firm will control. Listing brokers will need to adhere to the real estate laws of contracts and agency, the Commission rules, and firm policies.

While the objective of this course is to educate the licensee on how to win listings and the knowledge it will take to converse with potential principals in either a sale or a lease transaction. However, an important aspect of any listing presentation is to know when to thank the potential client for the opportunity and walk away.

All contracts used in this course are the current Colorado Real Estate Commission approved contracts. The contracts and addenda will prepare the listing broker for conversations that could surface during a listing presentation.

Topics Covered

This lesson focuses on the following topics:

Lesson 1: Basic Principles of Contract
Lesson 2: Pre-Listing Actions
Lesson 3: Exclusive Right-To-Sell Listing Contract
Lesson 4: Real Estate Practice
Lesson 5: Exclusive Right-To-Buy Listing Contract
Lesson 6: Exclusive Right-To-Lease Listing Contract
Lesson 7: Exclusive Tenant Listing Contract
Lesson 8: Addenda, Disclosures, & Forms

Note that as of 2020, the four Listing Contracts have all been updated by the CREC.

“The warning regarding wire fraud is found in this section of the contract.
Wire and other frauds occur in real estate transactions. Any time Seller is supplying confidential information such as social security numbers or bank account numbers, Seller should provide the information in person or in another secure manner.”

The sales contracts for residential property read exactly the same so that there is no confusion for the seller concerning what stays and goes. Remember, for many sellers, when a sales contract is entered into, that they still think the listing contract is their agreement, and if the sales contract is different, then the sales contract must be incorrect.
Always sit down with the seller and compare the two contracts so that the seller (and you) can see if the sales contract varies at all from the listing contract.

The broker has the right to cancel the listing agreement.

Review: Forfeiture of Payments: Buyer Default now includes three choices:

100% will be paid to the Seller
Divided between Brokerage Firm and Seller, 1/2 to Brokerage Firm but not to exceed Firm compensation agreed herein
Other: To be determined, fill in blank

If no box is checked or selection made, option #1 (100% paid to Seller) applies.
Good practice may be to discuss this in advance with the parties in order to make certain all parties are aware and understand how this is handled in your firm.

Quick Reminder: A broker shall not establish agency with the seller or landlord and the buyer or tenant in the same transaction. This is defined as dual agency and is not allowed in Colorado.

The following Sections exist in the Exclusive Right-to-Sell Listing Contract, but do NOT exist in the Exclusive Right-to-Lease Listing contract:

Section 15: Evidence of Title
Section 16: Association Assessments
Section 20: Forfeiture of Payments
Section 22: Disclosure of Settlement Costs

Some MLS’s accept this addendum, some do not, check with yours.

(Also rarely used; consult your Managing Broker prior to attaching this Addendum).

The CREC has stated that the Sellers Property Disclosure should be no more than six months old and/or completed again at the time of contract.

The Appraisal Institute also put out a new 3 page Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum in 2011 for use by their appraisers.

You can enter multiple sources, from a wide range of dates. For example, if the homeowner refinanced in 2019, you can use the square footage figures from the appraisal for your listing today.

There are also Lead Based Paint Obligations of Seller and Lead Based Paint Obligations of Landlord forms available for use when representing sellers or landlords and owners in rental property management. These can be found on the DRE/CREC website when necessary.

Make the form available to the Buyer and/or Selling Broker.

The source of water has always been a concern, but in the mid-2000's a new residential development near Pueblo ran out of water. The developer had been trucking in water and storing it in a tower. When the developer went bankrupt, the water deliveries stopped. This prompted new disclosure laws to be enacted, including penalties for failure to disclose.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Determine which forms are applicable to your client and situation, and when to use them.
• Properly complete the listing agreement for different property types, as well as other related forms and addenda.
• Explain the terms and conditions of contracts and disclosures to clients and customers.

While you obviously cannot run through a checklist of federal laws every time you participate in a transaction, it is important that you remember that there are rules and regulations that impact virtually everything you do in the process of listing, selling, and participating in the purchase of real estate as an agent.

The foregoing concepts should be familiar. They are yet another way of stating the rules of the law of agency in general and according to the Texas Real Estate Commission in particular, when considering the obligations of agent to principal.

Note that the licensee/license holder can have a license suspended or revoked for 33 separate listed actions or failures to act, including disregarding or violating a provision of Chapter 1101 or chapter 1102 of TRELA. One of those possible violations is acting “negligently or incompetently.” Another violation occurs if the licensee “solicits, sells, or offers for sale real property by means of a deceptive practice.” If a licensee commits a deceptive practice under the DTPA, it will undoubtedly constitute a deceptive practice under this section. You may recall that a violation of the DTPA does not require intent. So, a broker that violates the TPA without any intention to do so is also exposed to disciplinary action under TRELA. The financial and ethical exposure is obvious and serious.

The Fraud Act uses the phrase “actual awareness” to impose an additional level of potential damage award.

While not binding on licensees that are not REALTORS®, the Code nevertheless provides a wealth of guidance as to the appropriate conduct by a real estate agent. Though not specifically adopted by TREC, these guidelines echo many of the same principles and tenets as TREC and other authorities on the subject of agency. It can be safely said that observing these rules and standards of practice, whether you have become a Realtor® or not, will be of benefit to you in establishing an ethical professional reputation and, if necessary, a defense to legal or ethical complaints.

Professional Standards Hearing panels consider three main categories of factors which influence the panel’s decision. First, how did the respondent and complainant introduce the buyer to the property? Second, did the buyer make any decision or take any action that may have affected the transaction? Third, how did the brokers perform their duties and obligations?

You will see that the author makes a couple of references to Indian law. Don’t let that be a distraction. The principles stated apply to fraud and misrepresentation regardless, and the comparison chart in the article is a good shorthand way to differentiate these concepts.

Bear in mind that the laundry list and the specific sections emphasized are intended only to provide you with some warning signs about what may or may not be a violation of the DTPA. They are not intended to be a substitute for appropriate legal counsel.

About

The main course objective is to protect the public by providing an overview for new real estate brokers in the application of laws, rules, and standard of practices. It helps provide some guidance to new brokers by discussing the importance of setting up personal goals and a business plan as well as what equipment is necessary and how to go about getting started on marketing. Other practical information such as working with sellers and buyers, showing property, writing an offer, and the closing process are also addressed.

Throughout this course, learners will be informed about market trends, the proper mechanics of practicing real estate, and the basics that will formulate a successful real estate career.

Topics Covered

Lesson 1: Entering the Field

Lesson 2: Residential Competency

Lesson 3: Property Management Competency

Lesson 4: Commercial Competency

Lesson 5: Other Competency

Lesson 6: Offer to Closing

Lesson 7: Current Trends & Issues

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify the steps to entering the field of real estate
• List and recall the core requirements for competency in residential and commercial real estate
• Describe laws and rules related to property management
• Review and explain other core business areas in real estate brokerage
• Review and recite the process and steps involved in a real estate transaction