This package contains the following courses:

• Fair Housing
• Environmental Hazards
• Using the Internet to Serve Clients
• Contracts, Purchases and Sales Agreement
• ERC Relocation: Assisting Corporate Transferees
• Tax Favorable Real Estate Transactions
• Asset Management

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Asset Management will provide insight into decision-making techniques used in choosing a strategy to maximize the value of an income-producing property. Real estate agents who deal with residential/commercial property investments will benefit from this introductory course on asset management.

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Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code allows for a tax deferment on the exchange of "like kind" income-producing property. In essence, an individual may trade an old income-producing or commercial capital asset for a new one of "like kind" without paying tax on any of the gains. Instead, the tax is deferred until the chain of exchanges is permanently broken.

Commercial real property can qualify for a tax-deferred exchange, providing that the transaction is properly managed through the cooperation of many different professionals. This module outlines the uses of 1031 exchanges, covering what constitutes exchangeable property, the definition of "like kind," the roles of different professionals in 1031 exchanges, the benefits and drawbacks, as well as the different types of exchanges commonly used for real estate transactions.

A real estate professional familiar with the Section 1031, its meaning, use and scope, will be able to expand his or her clientele base and will be better equipped to advise investor and commercial clients over the course of their transactions, from the property finding phase through closing.

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This course provides a basic understanding of ethics and a clear idea of the requirements imposed by the NAR® Code of Ethics, the student will then explore the steps of the ethical decision-making process and the ways in which ethical conduct contributes to better business practices.

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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 one’s 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, the student will learn about the types of general contracts as well as the different kinds of real estate contracts. The module begins by providing 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.

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This course is designed to increase your knowledge about expanding environmental issues and laws that have an impact on environmental problems. This course Identifies the procedures used to locate toxic waste sites, the responsibilities for clean up and steps that may be taken to minimize future liabilities.

While real estate agents are not expected to be environmental experts, the same disclosure rules apply as to other facts about a property. That is, if environmental information is known to the sales agent and it would affect a prudent purchaser's decision to buy, it must be disclosed. Because of this, licensees should be familiar with the nature of these problems as well as the laws and regulations that are intended to protect both the consumer and the environment.

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Relocation presents an array of new challenges and opportunities to all real estate professionals. This course covers the definition of “relocation” and the development of the relocation industry. We explain how relocation affects the roles of various real estate professionals, including appraisers, home inspectors and real estate salespersons, and brokers.

We walk the student through a relocation transaction, covering the assignment, or re-assignment, of an employee through the selling of the employee’s home. Some of the steps in this process require specific explanation. This course covers those points in specific lessons; for example, we devote one lesson to how different companies manage relocation and the types of programs that they commonly institute. The latter half of this course addresses how relocation affects common real estate concerns. These concerns include disclosure law, agency, tax law, fair housing, and non-discrimination issues.

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This course is designed to increase your knowledge of federal and state fair housing laws and related civil rights and anti-discrimination laws that affect real property transactions. All real estate licensees need to understand who is protected by the fair housing laws, what acts are prohibited by these, and how the fair housing laws are enforced.

The more knowledgeable you are about fair housing, the less likely you will be to commit fair housing violations. Course topics covered in this course include transactions covered by the law, discrimination, HUD advertising guidelines, equal housing opportunity, the equal credit opportunity act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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This course discusses the application of current tax advantages of using both qualified and non-qualified tax products such as IRAs, SEP IRA, 401k, Roth IRAs and charitable gift annuities. The use of these applications will provide the real estate professional with the 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.

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In this module students will learn about the Internet and how it has affected the real estate industry. Students will also learn about the elements of websites and how to market themselves and their sites on the Internet. The final lesson teaches students to communicate effectively over e-mail.

The conclusion of this module presents real world dilemmas and applications of the information presented. As the student completes this module, he or she should try to paint a big picture of Internet issues, which the module will address with comprehensive content questions, practices and case studies.

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