12-Hr. MA CE Package Plus Professional Development

If a buyer who's not paying cash can't obtain financing, the transaction will fail. To provide the best service to consumers,it helps to have a clear understanding of the financing process, from loan application through funding. This course provides you with the must-know financing facts to enable you to better serve your  clients who require financing.

Course highlights:

• Key players in financing
• The loan application package and process  
• Consumer options for loan packages and types
• The government’s role in real estate financing
• Loan terminology
• Activities and scenarios to reinforce key concepts

Open houses have been a standard practice in seller representation for decades, but they're not always a smashing success. By carefully selecting which listings are suitable for an open house, then preparing the sellers for the event, you're far more likely to have a productive open house.

During an open house, you're responsible for the security of the seller’s property, as well as the safety of the visitors and yourself. But open houses aren't the only safety risk real estate professionals face. Due to the nature of the business, licensees face more risks than the average professional. With a few strategies, common sense, and intuition, you can protect yourself, your family, and your business.

This two-hour course walks you through the steps involved in planning for and hosting a successful open house, including safety aspects to consider. We also look at safety concerns for real estate professionals.

Course highlights include:

• Evaluating when to choose an open house and when to choose a virtual tour instead
• Preparing properties and sellers for an open house
• Establishing guidelines for a successful and safe open house
• Developing an overall safety plan that includes marketing materials, client relationships, and home and office settings
• Protecting your personal safety through your everyday actions
• Activities and scenarios to reinforce key concepts

Environmental issues for properties can derail a transaction, cause safety issues for the occupants, hinder certain uses of a property, and leave licensees open for litigation for failure to disclose, negligent representation, and anything else the lawyers can dream up. 

This three-hour course helps licensees take a proactive approach to understanding what environmental issues may need to be addressed, such as testing and remediation. It also covers compliance requirements that may impact a property’s sale and subsequent use.

The course meets Massachusett’s continuing education requirement for real estate licensees to increase their knowledge and understanding of environmental issues in real estate.

This course covers:

• The relationship between caveat emptor and required disclosures
• Circumstances by which certain disclosures must be made
• Environmental hazards impacting the interior of a property
• Environmental hazards on property grounds and surrounds
• Laws and regulations related to environmental issues.

Successful advertising in real estate is more than just posting a property on the MLS or promoting your services on a bus bench. State and federal laws apply. 

In this course, we'll look at how to create compelling and compliant advertisements that adhere to federal and state standards, attract consumers, and serve your clients’ best interests.

Course highlights:

• Federal fair housing guidelines and how they influence your advertisements
• Tips for writing engaging listing descriptions
• Regulation Z and its trigger terms
• Advertising guidelines for apartment rentals, out-of-state properties, and inducements
• Sample advertisements
• Activities and scenarios to reinforce key concepts

To close successfully, the subject property must have a clear and marketable title. 

This course focuses on property ownership and titles.  With a full understanding of titles, title defects, and title issue resolution methods, real estate professionals can usher more transactions through the closing process.

Course highlights include:

• Property ownership types and how titles, deeds, and land records affect ownership
• What to look for in title reports and how to resolve title defects
• Methods for supporting your seller and your buyer clients when title issues are uncovered
• Activities and scenarios to reinforce key concepts

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan program isn’t as well known as the FHA loan, but maybe it should be.

What is the USDA loan? It’s a 15- or 30-year fixed rate loan available to low-income and moderate-income rural and suburban homebuyers. Contrary to what many assume, USDA loans aren’t just for farmers and you may be surprised at what consistutes "rural" for qualifying purposes.

As with VA loans, USDA loans are issued by approved lenders and guaranteed by the government—in this case, the Department of Agriculture.

This course offers a thorough look at the ins and outs of the USDA rural development lending program—covering everything from income eligibility to property criteria—so that licensees can help their clients understand and navigate this unique road the home ownership.

Course highlights include:

• Differences between USDA guaranteed and direct loans
• Income eligibility requirements and qualification ratios
• Buyer safeguards, seller contributions, closing costs, funding fees, and loan assumptions
• Eligible and ineligible properties and the appraisal process
• Steps in processing, underwriting, and closing rural development loans
• Activities and scenarios to reinforce key concepts