Massachusetts Real Estate Continuing Education Broker and Sales License Courses

This package includes the total 12 module hours required for Broker and Sales active real estate license renewals.

Courses included in this package:

• A Brief Introduction to Real Estate Finance (2 mandatory module hours)
• Conducting Open Houses and Developing a Safety Plan (2 mandatory module hours)
• Environmental Issues (2 mandatory module hours)
• Real Estate Advertising Compliance and the Law (2 mandatory module hours)
• Understanding Title and Title Issues (2 mandatory module hours)
• USDA/Rural Loans (2 mandatory module hours)

This package includes the total 12 module hours required for Broker and Sales active real estate license renewals.

Courses included in this package:

• A Brief Introduction to Real Estate Finance (2 mandatory module hours)
• Conducting Open Houses and Developing a Safety Plan (2 mandatory module hours)
• Environmental Issues (2 mandatory module hours)
• Real Estate Advertising Compliance and the Law (2 mandatory module hours)
• Understanding Title and Title Issues (2 mandatory module hours)
• USDA/Rural Loans (2 mandatory module hours)

PLUS, this package includes the ProPath Sales Skill Builder professional development program!

• Sales Communication Strategies: Unlock essential communication skills, navigate legal and ethical communication, enhance problem-solving skills, and build trust. Get ready to build a robust set of communication skills you’ll use throughout your real estate career.
• Overcoming Obstacles: Discover how your thinking influences problem-solving, overcome mental obstacles, and develop practical solutions for real estate challenges. Refine your skills with practice and create plans for real-world situations.
• Tech Tools For Selling Real Estate: Ready to elevate your real estate game with tech magic? This course is your ultimate guide to mastering crucial industry technologies, from mastering CRMs and MLSs, to unlocking the power of social media, e-signatures, and QR codes.

Professional development courses do not qualify for CE credits. This package includes a total of nine hours of professional development content that is not included in the mandatory or elective course hours listed.

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

Understanding and abiding by fair housing laws is part of your responsibility as a real estate professional. The public expects and deserves competent, unbiased actions based upon thorough knowledge.

However, federal definitions of “protected classes” expand and change. As you learn about and review protected classes and fair housing laws throughout this course, you'll become better equipped to act with honesty, competence, and intelligence in serving your  clients and customers.

In this course, we discuss the protections provided by the Fair Housing Act and Massachusetts fair housing law, and how you can best protect your clients from discrimination.

Course Highlights:

• Benefits of fair housing principles in real estate
• How attitudes and laws have changed to support a fair housing mindset
• Regulatory changes relating to fair housing
• Fair housing law in Massachusetts, including protected classes in the commonwealth that expand the classes covered by federal fair housing law
• Nondiscriminatory advertising
• “Red flags” of discrimination, and what to do when you see them
• 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

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

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

This two-hour course helps licensees assist sellers in setting a realistic price range based on the current market. The course is an elective to supplement core course study.         

Course highlights include:

• Comparative market analysis vs. an appraisal
• Three approaches to value: sales comparison, cost, and income
• Selection of comparable properties
• The principle of substitution
• Uses of a CMA
• Massachusetts appraisal licenses and qualifications
• 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

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.

At some point in your career, a transaction may involve a property that’s part of a tax-deferred exchange. When this happens, will you be ready to guide your client through the process and ensure they meet the critical deadlines? By using an appropriately formed exchange, an investor can defer paying taxes on the profit from one investment and instead use all of the profits to fund another investment. An understanding of the basics will help licensees when working with investors who plan to use one or more properties in a 1031 tax-deferred exchange.

This two-hour course helps licensees become more comfortable with guiding clients through a 1031 tax-deferred exchange transaction and ensuring critical deadlines are understood and met. 

Course highlights include:

• Section 1031 tax-deferred exchange definitions
• Starker’s Exchange background and application
• U.S. Internal Revenue Code requirements
• IRS Safe Harbor Guidelines
• Investor taxes advantages
• Setting up an exchange
• Selecting a Qualified Intermediary

Aligned to the requirements of the current NAR cycle, this 2.5 hour course provides a careful review of the National Association of REALTORS®’ Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. The code outlines the ethical duties all REALTORS® agree to follow as part of the membership. NAR says these duties “provide a high level of service and professionalism to clients/customers and are the key factor separating REALTORS® from all other real estate practitioners.”

Beyond reviewing all parts of the code, you’ll also take a close look at recent revisions and real-life examples relating to various articles, and we’ll examine the benefits of mediation over arbitration. This version of the course has NOT been approved for CE credit. Also, in order to provide information to your local REALTOR® Association and facilitate reporting of the NAR Ethics requirement, please enter your NRDS ID (NAR membership ID) on the course affidavit upon completion of this course.

Course highlights include:

• The overall vision and goals of the Code of Ethics
• Specific ways real estate professionals put clients’ interests first
• The ethical duties licensees owe to the public
• Best practices when dealing with other REALTORS®’ clients
• The dispute resolution process for REALTORS® as specified in Article 17 of the NAR Code of Ethics
• The benefits of mediation, how to file an ethics complaint, and the complaint resolution process

*This course meets the REALTORS® Code of Ethics Training Requirement. You will need to confirm with your local REALTOR® association if they will accept it.

Fair housing law stands as a cornerstone of civil rights legislation, aiming to eliminate discrimination in housing markets and ensure equal opportunities for all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, disability, or any other protected characteristic. By understanding the importance of fair housing law, licensees recognize its pivotal role in fostering inclusive communities and combating systemic inequalities. This course explores the historical context, key provisions, and practical applications of fair housing law, equipping licensees with the knowledge and tools necessary to uphold these principles in their professional endeavors.

Real estate licensees play a vital role in upholding fair housing principles and safeguarding the rights of all individuals in the housing market. As gatekeepers of property transactions, licensees must stay abreast of fair housing laws and practices to ensure ethical and nondiscriminatory conduct. Beyond legal compliance, embracing fair housing principles fosters trust, promotes diversity, and enhances business success in an increasingly diverse marketplace. This course will empower licensees to navigate complex fair housing issues with confidence, fostering a culture of inclusivity and advancing the vision of fair and equitable housing for all.

This course was designed to meet the REALTOR® Fair Housing Training Requirement. Please confirm that your local association, who administers the Fair Housing training, will accept this course.