Minnesota Real Estate Continuing Education Broker and Sales License Courses

This package contains 15 hours of annual continuing education required for sales and broker license renewals.

Courses included in this package:

• 7/1/25-6/30/26 Salesperson & Broker Required Module – Contracts (3.75 mandatory hours)*
• Foundations of Real Estate Finance (4.5 elective hours)
• Lead Awareness and Compliance (3 elective hours)
• Marketing, Advertising, and Social Media Compliance (4 elective hours)

*The required module also satisfies the 1-hour broker module requirement but does NOT satisfy the 1-hour fair housing or 1-hour agency law required during each license period.

This package contains 15 hours of annual continuing education required for sales and broker license renewals.

Courses included in this package:

• 7/1/25-6/30/26 Salesperson & Broker Required Module – Contracts (3.75 mandatory hours)*
• Ethical Excellence: Raising the Bar (4 elective hours)**
• Upholding Fair Housing Laws (2 elective hours)**
• Lead Awareness and Compliance (3 elective hours)
• The Fundamentals of Commercial Real Estate (3 elective hours)

*The required module also satisfies the 1-hour broker module requirement but does NOT satisfy the 1-hour fair housing or 1-hour agency law required during each license period. 

**These courses were designed to meet the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and Fair Housing training requirements. Please confirm that your local association, which administers this training, will accept these courses.

This package contains 15 hours of annual continuing education required for sales and broker license renewals.

Courses included in this package:

• 7/1/25-6/30/26 Salesperson & Broker Required Module – Contracts (3.75 mandatory hours)*
• Foundations of Real Estate Finance (4.5 elective hours)
• Lead Awareness and Compliance (3 elective hours)
• Marketing, Advertising, and Social Media Compliance (4 elective hours)

*The required module also satisfies the 1-hour broker module requirement but does NOT satisfy the 1-hour fair housing or 1-hour agency law required during each license period. 

PLUS, this package includes the ProPath “Mastering the Closing Process” professional development program!

• Navigating the Financing Process: Master the ins and outs of real estate financing. Get essential knowledge, from loan terms and mortgage insurance, to distinguishing between pre-qualification and pre-approval. Learn how to connect with lenders, simplify the process for your clients, and provide personalized guidance.
• Navigating the Appraisal Process: Fully understand the appraisal process and learn how to demystify it for your clients. Learn how to identify factors affecting property value, recognize and report appraisal bias, navigate special loan appraisals, and acquire the skills to compile effective appraisal packages.
• Navigating the Inspection Process: Learn how to explain the importance of inspections, identify critical factors for buyers and sellers, and understand your responsibilities as an agent. Practice analyzing reports and communicating findings. Gain insights into selecting inspectors, scheduling, and pre-inspection preparation.

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.

The principles of Fair Housing within your real estate business are crucial to running a fair and honest business.  The fair treatment of all who are involved in a real estate transaction is established by Federal and state Fair Housing laws.  As part of your real estate continuing education, this course will discuss the protections provided by the Fair Housing Act, other Federal laws pertaining to the fair and equal treatment of protected classes and by state and local laws governing Fair Housing.

This course meets the Minnesota requirement for one-hour of Fair Housing for all renewing real estate licensees. 

Course highlights:

• A history of housing discrimination in the U.S.
• Protected classes under fair housing law
• Red flags of discrimination in real estate and lending
• Activities and scenarios to reinforce key concepts

This course does not meet NAR's two-hour fair housing training requirement.

The business of real estate hinges on the concept of agency, where designated real estate professionals represent the needs of the buyer and/or the seller. This representation assists in sale of real property between a seller and a buyer.

This course will walk you through those rights and responsibilities as a seller’s agent, a buyer’s agent, dual agent, subagent, and facilitator. You will also learn the proper disclosures required for each type of agency.

This course provides licensees with the one hour of require Agency Law needed to renew an active license.

Course highlights:

• Fiduciary duties and ethical responsibilities of a seller's agent
• Fiduciary duties and ethical responsibilities of a buyer's agent
• Disclosure requirements  
• Dual agency  
• Sub-agency
• Facilitators (non-agents)
• Establishing brokerage agency policies  
• Activities and scenarios to reinforce key concepts

For many real estate professionals, property management is a natural extension of their expertise. Whether you’re thinking about taking on your first property or looking to grow your property management business, this is a niche business requiring specialized skills and knowledge.

Explore the role of the property manager, common tenant issues, and federal laws.

Course highlights include:

• Property management contracts
• Property types and evaluating factors
• Tips for building a successful working relationship with property owners
• Landlord and tenant obligations
• Tips for screening and retaining tenants
• Informal rental agreements and the risks involved
• How to deal with delinquent tenants
• Fair housing guidelines and exemptions

While conducting real estate business, have you encountered a situation in which you weren’t sure what the proper course of action was? What the right thing to do might be? Or maybe you’ve heard your colleagues’ stories and got that uncomfortable, itchy feeling that an action they took wasn’t quite on the up and up.

Let’s look at an uncomfortable truth: real estate agents have a small tarnished image problem. With every transaction being unique, real estate licensees often face ethical gray areas. Some real estate professionals simply don’t understand how to handle complex issues in the most ethical manner, and others bend the rules if they think it’ll keep a transaction on track or a commission in their bank account and not a competitor’s.

Aligned to the requirements of the current NAR cycle, this three-hour course helps licensees deepen their knowledge—and practice—of ethical rules of conduct according to the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice. The code isn’t applicable to REALTORS® only, who are duty-bound to uphold the code as a privilege of membership. The code’s guidance serves anyone possessing a real estate license, and licensees who heed the code’s various articles and standards of practice can do the greatest good of all: protecting consumers while also bolstering the reputation of all the industry’s professionals.

Course highlights include:

• Laws vs. morals vs. ethics
• Top articles of the code involved in the most complaints (plus a few more)
• A candid look at the industry’s image problem
• Common ethical dilemmas and using the code to solve them
• Foundation and enforcement of the code
• Competency in real estate practice as a matter of ethics
• Steering clear of procuring cause disputes
• Ethics concerns with technology and social media
• Tips and best practices to keep your reputation polished to a high shine

*This course was designed by us to meet the REALTOR® Code of Ethics Training Requirement. Please confirm that your local association, who administers the Code of Ethics training, will accept this course.

Real estate professionals wear many hats: expert communicator, attentive listener, trustworthy confidant, obedient servant, loyal advocate, and knowledgeable educator, to name just a few. To juggle these roles effectively—and within the lines of the law—licensees must remain informed. Real estate professionals are in a position to provide an invaluable level of consumer protection as they support consumers through their real estate transactions.

This course explores licensees' role as advocate and educator, and how they can protect consumers and their business from the threats of antitrust and fair housing violations and predatory lending. We'll start by looking at what federal protections are in place to combat these unfair practices. We'll also provide the steps you can proactively take to protect the consumers you work with day in and day out and the business you've worked so hard to create.

Course highlights include:

• Federal antitrust laws and violations
• Avoiding antitrust violations and protecting consumers from them
• Antitrust complaint process and penalties
• Federal fair housing laws and violations
• Redlining, blockbusting, and steering
• Buyer love letters
• Fair housing complaint process and penalties
• Predatory lending
• Truth in Lending Act
• Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act
• Protecting consumers from predatory lending
• Reporting predatory lending

Whether you're representing a seller who's listing a high-efficiency home or working with a buyer to find one, it's important to be able to recognize a home's green features and the value they bring to the property. This means understanding the benefit of big-ticket green items such as solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal heating and cooling systems, solar water heaters, or even energy-efficient windows, as well as knowing the value in quick-and-easy updates like low-flow faucets, LED lighting, and smart thermostats. It also means knowing the difference between HERS and HES and SEER and LEED. Of course, greening up a home isn't cheap. Letting your clients know about available federal and state programs and incentives is another way you can ensure your clients are getting the best service around.

Course highlights include:

• An overview of the green home movement
• Green terminology, certifications, and ratings
• A review of energy-efficient upgrades, including solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal heating and cooling systems, solar water heaters, and more
• Tips for assisting green homebuyers and sellers
• A review of the FHA's Energy Efficient Mortgage and the 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage programs
• Qualifications for the DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program
• Interactive activities and scenarios to seal in the new information and frame it in everyday context

The business of real estate has serious risks. In residential real estate transactions, you're responsible for assisting clients/customers in one of the largest purchases of their lives. In commercial real estate transactions, the stakes are arguably higher and often have millions of dollars at stake. The consumers we serve literally risk hundreds of thousands of dollars or more and require your expertise to hold it all together. In addition, people invest not just their money in a real estate purchase; they invest their emotions and their family’s well-being in these transactions. When things go wrong, they look to you as the cause first.

This 3.75-hour mandatory course will cover important laws, regulations, and best practices to consider in order to manage risk and ensure you maintain your license to practice real estate in the state of Minnesota.  

Course highlights include:

• Risk definition and overview
• Disclosure of financial interests
• Advertising disclosure requirements
• Compensation disclosure and disbursement
• Disclosure of material facts
• Contract details and interference of contract
• Requirements of Listing agreements
• Facilitator agreements
• Purchase agreements
• Negotiations requirements
• Trust accounts
• Cancellation of contracts
• License application process, including recent updates
• License maintenance procedures
• Examinations and education providers
• Continuing education and license education requirements

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.

Lead hazards aren’t just a concern for homeowners—they’re also a big deal for real estate professionals. If you're listing a home built before 1978 or guiding buyers through disclosures, understanding the risks of lead exposure isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. Federal laws require specific disclosures and safety measures and skipping them can lead to hefty fines and legal trouble.

This course helps you recognize where lead hazards lurk, stay on top of your legal responsibilities, and follow safe practices help protect you, your clients, and your transactions. But beyond compliance, having a strong grasp of lead safety makes you a trusted advisor. When clients see that you take their health and safety seriously, it strengthens your reputation and sets you apart as a knowledgeable, reliable real estate professional. Ultimately, keeping people safe, reducing risk, and staying compliant aren’t just obligations—they’re smart business moves supporting long-term success.

Course highlights include:

• Common sources of lead in residential properties
• Health risks of lead exposure
• Community-based approaches to lead hazard prevention
• Review of federal lead disclosure laws
• Compliance with lead disclosure laws
• Consequences of non-compliance with disclosure requirements
• Mitigating lead hazards
• Lead-safe work practices for renovations and repairs
• EPA’s Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program
• Preventing lead hazards long-term

Let’s face it—real estate is high-stakes. Whether you're helping a family buy their first home or representing investors in a commercial deal, you're navigating transactions that carry significant financial and emotional weight. In Minnesota, these deals are bound not just by handshakes and goodwill, but by detailed contracts—and when those contracts go sideways, guess who’s in the spotlight? You are.

Your role isn’t just about making deals happen. It’s about making sure they’re legal, ethical, and enforceable. That means understanding what makes a contract valid, what can break it, and how Minnesota laws specifically come into play.

This 3.75-hour mandatory course will walk you through key legal concepts, common contract pitfalls, and best practices that help you protect your clients, your reputation, and your license. It’s not just about staying compliant—it’s about staying sharp in a complex industry.

*Completion of this course will satisfy the 1-Hour Broker Module Requirement.

Course highlights include:

• Elements of a binding contract
• Agency relationships
• Disclosure issues
• Representation agreements
• Facilitator Services agreements
• Showing agreements
• Broker to Broker Compensation agreements
• Residential Purchase agreements
• Counter Offers and Addenda
• Common Contingencies
• Common Interest Communities (CIC)
• “As Is” Addendum
• Default and cancellation of purchase agreements

Real estate wholesaling is not a new concept. However, the practice, regulation, and public perception of wholesaling have changed significantly in recent years. For real estate professionals navigating a market where wholesaling is becoming more popular and increasingly problematic, understanding its legal, ethical, and professional implications is more important than ever.

This three-hour course provides a straightforward examination of wholesaling: how it operates, when it crosses legal and ethical boundaries, and why it faces greater scrutiny from lawmakers and the public. You’ll examine how some investors use wholesaling as a legitimate and transparent strategy to build wealth, while others exploit it to bypass licensing requirements, mislead sellers and buyers, and disrupt housing stability, particularly in vulnerable communities.

Whether you are new to wholesaling, advising clients involved, or simply looking to avoid legal issues, this course is designed for you.

Course highlights include:

• Foundational principles of wholesaling
• Strategic uses of wholesaling
• State laws and licensing implications of wholesaling
• Red flags to indicate predatory wholesaling practices
• When wholesaling becomes illegal
• Ethical wholesaling
• Collateral damage of wholesaling
• Legal and civil penalties
• Effects of predatory wholesaling on housing market
• Real-world cases, interactive scenarios, and activities to understand wholesaling in your real estate practice

More than 80% of real estate licensees leave the business within the first two years, and this is primarily due to a lack of understanding of what it takes to succeed. Of those who stay, very few earn a lucrative living at it.

Don't be that licensee.

Whether you're just launching your business or you think it's time to level up, this course will give you the tools to launch your career from a solid foundation, one that lets you know what you need to do today, this week, this month, this quarter, and this year to execute your well-considered business plan.

This course will show you how to take stock, create a vision, and gather the tools necessary to achieve that vision so you can create a professional, exemplary, referral-driven business that serves clients needs and exceeds client expectations.

Course highlights include:

• Helpful ideas for defining your real estate business, vision statement and mission statement
• A Business Plan Worksheet that will help you determine goals and execute your plan
• Details about identifying strengths and weaknesses, and setting realistic, attainable goals
• An editable, customizable Business Plan Template
• How to calculate the action steps needed to achieve success as you define it

Fraud has become a major issue in the industry. Lawbreakers use real estate as a vehicle to steal the life savings of unsuspecting homeowners and defraud lenders out of millions of dollars for their own gain. Federal, state, and local governments have taken steps to combat real estate fraud, but it remains a major problem—one you need to have a solid understanding of to ensure you're able to shield your clients and yourself from being defrauded or unknowingly committing fraud.

Keeping It Honest: Understanding Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud has been updated to discuss the latest fraudulent schemes and explain recent government initiatives aimed at stopping fraud and protecting consumers.

Course Highlights:

• Fraud and its impact on the real estate industry
• The newest and most prevalent types of fraudulent schemes
• Red flag behaviors that suggest someone is engaging in fraud
• How to report fraudulent or suspected fraudulent activities to the proper authorities
• Key government initiatives aimed at stopping fraud and protecting consumers
• Activities and scenarios to provide real-world context for course content

The Fundamentals of Commercial Real Estate covers the need-to-know information on a broad range of commercial topics.

If you're an experienced residential licensee, a few of the fundamentals of commercial real estate will be familiar to you—the importance of location, for example. In other regards, commercial differs sharply from residential real estate. Executives, investors, and business owners in commercial real estate focus squarely on the bottom line.

This course will provide a foundation for the more complex aspects of commercial real estate as you gain more experience in the industry.

Course highlights include:

• Key terms and concepts of commercial real estate
• How to identify and meet the needs of commercial real estate clients
• How commercial and residential sales differ
• Valuation methods for real estate and businesses
• Tips on gathering the demographic and location-related details that clients need to make well-informed decisions

Financing is integral to real estate transactions, and the more you know about how buyers qualify, the better you'll be able to help both buyers and sellers in your practice. 

Course highlights include:

• Roles and regulations of FNMA, GNMA, FHLMC, FHA, and VA
• Affordability Worksheet, to assist clients in calculating their maximum affordable purchase price
• Homebuyer Do's and Don'ts 
• Calculating LTV, front-end and back-end ratios, and monthly mortgage payments
• Details and qualification requirements for several popular financing options

With more than 20 million veterans living in the U.S. today, real estate professionals can provide a valuable service to a strong client base by walking in their eligibility shoes.

If the answer to “Did You Serve?” is yes, this can open the doors of homeownership for Veterans and service members who may not qualify to purchase a home through conventional financing.

Course highlights include:

• A glimpse into the military lifestyle, what it means to serve, and how best to communicate with those who served
• Tools and techniques for informing veterans on the benefits available to them
• VA home loan program benefits, qualifications, and process
• Strategies for identifying appropriate home options for Veterans  
• Myths and misconceptions about VA loans
• Activities and scenarios to reinforce key concepts

The Sphere of Influence approach to building your real estate business is based on nurturing relationships within your circle of friends, family, past clients, neighbors and acquaintances. Not pounding the pavement, buying bus signs and billboards, or purchasing leads.

This course helps you turn your acquaintances into your biggest advocates through respectful, non-intrusive methods. 

Course highlights include:

• Tips to ensure you present a professional, enthusiastic image to your contacts
• How to plan and implement an SOI strategy
• How to build and maintain a contact database
• Tips for writing effective reconnection communiques

The internet is rich with promotional opportunities. Whether it’s a post on Facebook or a tweet linking to your new listing, a status update on LinkedIn, a virtual home tour on YouTube, or photo collage on Pinterest, there are plenty of ways to promote your professionalism, highlight your expertise, increase your connections, and showcase your listings.  

This course looks at how you can use the unique advertising and marketing opportunities available online to better serve your clients and customers, and further promote your own brand.

Course highlights include:

• How consumers—and agents and agencies—use social media and the impact on the real estate industry
• How to use various social media platforms—including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest—to promote your business and better serve your clients and customers
• How various social media platforms differ and how to select the ones that are best for you and your needs
• Tips for creating an online marketing strategy
• Legal and ethical issues surrounding online marketing
• Copyright law, trademarks, and public domain content
• Tips for avoiding common social media missteps

Unlike most owner-occupied homebuyers, real estate investors enter the market to make money. By learning about investor motivators and criteria, you’ll be in a better position to help your clients navigate this asset strategy.

Working with Real Estate Investors examines investor goals and strategies, different investment property types, key financial considerations, and your role in locating, negotiating for, and marketing investment properties.

Course Highlights:

• An overview of residential and commercial investment property types
• Short- and long-term investment property acquisition strategies 
• Financial factors that influence investor decisions, including depreciation, 1031 tax exchanges, and cash flow
• Financing options available to real estate investors, including conventional loans, commercial loans, and private money lenders
• Tips for locating and marketing investment properties
• Pros and cons of working with investor clients
• Ethical duties when working with investor clients
• Activities and scenarios to provide real-world context for course content

The real estate market reflects our nation's diverse population, and the successful real estate professional understands and adapts to each client's needs.

What's new in fair housing? What isn't? 

Course Highlights:

• The newest fair housing guidelines relating to criminal background screening, reasonable accommodation for assistance animals, and hoarding
• A look at the socioeconomic impact of discriminatory practices in housing
• An online test to check your own inherent bias 
• The court case that led to sexual orientation and gender identity being afforded federal fair housing protection 
• Resources that will help you identify and better serve the diverse populations within your market
• Statistics and demographics on homeownership from:
  • The National Association of REALTORS®
  • The U.S. Census Bureau
  • The National Fair Housing Alliance 
• Two proposed additions to the seven federally protected classes

Click a button. Raise a paddle. Buy a house. It's just that easy--and that risky. Auctions offer opportunities and benefits and they don't only take place on the courthouse steps. They also provide the opportunity to lose one's shirt.

In this course, you’ll learn how properties end up at auction and the types of auctions you and your clients may encounter. You’ll explore the benefits and detriments of buying or selling at auction, and you’ll finish with a greater understanding of your auction-related responsibilities when working with buyers, sellers, or on your own behalf as an investor, listing agent, referral source, cooperating agent, or even auctioneer.

Going once ...

Whether for a buyer or seller, the comparative market analysis, properly done, can mean several thousands extra dollars in their pockets, and can determine whether a deal can be struck at all. But because it’s such a well-worn tool, it’s tempting for a licensee to get complacent with the CMA, and “phone it in.”

Don’t be that licensee!

This course covers the how-tos of a professionally researched  comparative market analysis.          

Course Highlights:

• The three-step approach to market analyses: the market, the property, the numbers
• Sources for subject property data and market data
• How to prioritize criteria when selecting comparables
• How to adjust and homogenize selected comparables 
• How to weight selected comparables when selecting a list price range
• How to use expired and active listings to inform pricing strategy
• Market readiness strategies for the seller and the property
• Listing strategies
• Negotiating strategies for any market (creating win-win transactions)

Technology is a tool. Used wisely, it can free up time usually spent on mundane tasks to allow licensees to work at a higher (and higher touch) level of client service. Used poorly, it can waste a lot of time better spent elsewhere and worse—alienate clients, and even put them and the licensee’s reputation—at risk.

Clients and prospective clients want their real estate professional to be accessible and tech-savvy on their behalf.  According to a National Association of REALTORS® real estate report, staying up to date on new platforms and systems will remain one of the biggest challenges for brokerages in the coming years. The industry is constantly changing, and technology is a big driver of that change.  

This course helps real estate professionals work with technology and reinforces putting client relationships first in the push to provide cutting edge tools and services.

Course highlights include:

• Technology tools to enhance service to sellers, including drones, live streaming, single-property sites, and speaking photos; ways to minimize risks involved in their use
• How to use technology to secure buyer representation agreements, assist buyers with financing qualifications, and pre-showing data to help them make informed purchasing and financing decisions  
• Technological advances in transaction management, including document sharing, electronic signatures, cloud storage, and photo, document, and email organization software, and identify risk management safeguards for online data storage and transaction management
• How to keep online data secure
• Technology tools you can use now to provide enhanced client service, and emerging trends to watch for

Must a property manager accept a tenant's emotional support animal, and under what conditions? What proof can a property manager or landlord require of a tenant who claims a need for an emotional support animal? What about homeowners associations—must accommodation be made in these communities?

This course explores the issues and options for landlords and property managers surrounding assistance animals, helping real estate professionals who represent them to ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal access to housing in compliance with the law.

Course highlights include:

• The evolving fair housing law
• How the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act intersect--and don't
• Types of assistance animals
• How to handle reasonable requests for accommodation
• Case studies and legal trends 
• Examples and scenarios to help apply course content to real life

Note: This course does not meet NAR Fair Housing requirements.

Thanks in part to movements such as #MeToo and Time’s Up, sexual harassment and discrimination have moved to the forefront of the national conversation. Responsible agents not only reject sexually predatory behavior but also actively dismantle toxic workplace environments to ensure a safe place for all. It’s up to agents to reject behaviors or ideologies that could damage neighbors, clients, and each other.

In this course, we’ll take a closer look at how sexual harassment is defined and the impact such behavior can have on your clients, your brokerage, and your reputation. Additionally, we’ll discuss actions you can take to ensure that your office is inclusive and welcoming to all, and that your clients’ best interests are always protected. This includes tips for putting together a comprehensive office policy that thoroughly addresses sexual harassment and discrimination.

Course highlights:

• How sexual harassment is defined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)
• Protections offered through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the federal Fair Housing Act
• Ramifications of sexual harassment within a brokerage, including how it affects clients and customers
• Federal Sexual Harassment Housing Initiative
• Federal and state laws protecting sexual orientation and gender identity in housing
• Landmark legal cases relating to sexual harassment and gender discrimination
• Tips for putting together a comprehensive office policy that addresses sexual harassment and the complaint process
• Activities and scenarios to reinforce key concepts

There’s a reason real estate agents often rank among the least trusted professionals in the U.S. But what can you do to improve the public’s perception? And what should you do when you run into an ethical dilemma or into a licensee who’s not behaving ethically? As a real estate professional, you can help raise the bar and improve the reputation of the industry. You can lead by example.

Aligned to the requirements of the current NAR cycle, this course will empower you to recognize and respond to ethical dilemmas, inspiring consumer confidence. For answers, we’ll look to several articles of the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics, and draw from real-life ethical scenarios. In four short hours, you’ll be better prepared to exemplify the professionalism and cooperation that’s the true foundation of the real estate industry.

Course highlights include:

• Meets both regular ethics renewal requirements and new licensee ethics course requirements
• The importance of ethical behavior in NAR members and non-members alike, fostering a spirit of cooperation
• History and evolution of the Code, the preamble, and the Code’s influence on state licensing laws
• Structure of the Code
• Review and application of articles 1, 2, 3, 9, 12, 15, and 16 of the NAR Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
• Case studies of real-life ethical challenges
• Mediation and arbitration, with arbitration as the monetary dispute resolution process between REALTORS®
• Application of Article 17 of the NAR Code of Ethics to the complaints and hearing process
• Grievance committee vs. professional standards committee
• The ethical dilemmas presented by newer technologies
• Best practices for demonstrating ethical behavior every day

*This course was designed by us to meet the REALTOR® Code of Ethics Training Requirement. Please confirm that your local association, who administers the Code of Ethics training, will accept this course.

Chances are good that, if it hasn't happened yet, you will one day work on a transaction involves 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?

With 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. 

This 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
• Licensee role in a Section 1031 tax-deferred exchange
• The non-exchanger's role in a Section 1031 transaction
• Reverse exchanges
• Rare exemptions to exchange deadlines

Proper document management provides proof that a licensee did what was required, when it was required. It serves to protect the consumer and it reduces the licensee's risk of litigation.

Get ready to become more comfortable with selecting and using transactional documents. 

Course highlights include:

• Common documents used in real estate transactions
• Common contract clauses, addenda, and contingencies
• Avoiding the unauthorized practice of law
• Multiple offer management
• Document signatures, notarizations, and identification
• Transaction management methods and best practices
• Document management and retention methods and best practices
• Technology and security for document management
• Legalities of electronic communication
• Activities and scenarios to reinforce key concepts

The inspection period is a big hurdle to jump over on the way to closing. The inspector’s job is to call out defects. The buyer agent’s job is to negotiate repairs. The seller agent’s job is to mitigate damage. It can sometimes be hard to hold a deal together.

Protecting your buyer as a buyer’s agent means understanding the importance of the home inspection contingency and its deadlines, and identifying the need for specialized inspections.

Protecting your seller as the listing agent means helping the seller understand disclosure obligations, prepare for the inspection, and respond to a buyer’s reasonable repair requests.

Course highlights:

• The importance of the inspection contingency
• The licensee’s role in the inspection process
• Licensee and seller disclosure obligations
• Red flags related to common structural, plumbing, and electrical issues
• Specialized inspection types addressing radon, asbestos, sewer lines, septic tanks, mold, lead, and wells
• Interactive activities and scenarios

Whether you want to develop a niche business working with first-time homebuyers or simply increaseyour overall knowledge so you can better help inexperienced first-time homebuyers, this course willprovide you with the necessary foundation to serve this unique population.First-time homebuyers often rely heavily on agents’ expertise, and many feel overwhelmed, intimidated,and fearful of the prospect of buying a home. Your knowledge and calm influence can lead them towardtheir goal of homeownership, step by step.In this three-hour course we’ll explore the key characteristics of this niche market, how to cultivaterelationships with these buyers, and how to prepare them for the transaction ahead.

Course highlights include:

• First-time homebuyer market stats
• Pros and cons unique to working with this market
• Housing affordability’s impact on new buyers
• Targeted marketing approaches and conveying homeowner benefits
• Providing value to first-time homebuyer clients
• Walking clients through each step of the transaction
• Financing, loans, offers, negotiations, and closing

Did you know that a report issued by Census.gov, An Aging Nation: The Older Population in the United States, notes that “In 2050, the population aged 65 and over is projected to be 83.7 million”? That’s almost double what that population numbered in 2012. This population group’s numbers are rising fast, and that adds up to opportunities for licensees.

The senior market needs the services of real estate professionals who understand its unique real estate needs. Working with seniors comes with some of its own challenges, concerns, and rewards. A comprehensive understanding of the particulars and practicalities of this market segment will equip licensees to serve older adult clients with the respect and honor they deserve.

In this course we’ll explore best practices in addressing the distinctive considerations in the senior marketplace. Course highlights include:

• Senior market stats in the U.S.
• Important financial and lifestyle considerations for older clients
• Seniors and legal competence
• Senior seller and property preparation for listing
• Four significant considerations for older adult buyers
• Potential snags and how to overcome them
• Options in senior adult communities, both traditional and noteworthy
• Housing programs for low-income seniors
• The senior market as a niche