Mid State REALTORS Preferred Courses

• You are a Salesperson or Broker and need to renew your license
• You want to save $$ on your CE courses.
• NAR EthicsThis course was designed to meet the NAR and ethics requirements in your state.
• Accessible Narrated Audio with Adjustable Speeds

• You need to renew your license and you only want the elective courses.
• You want to save $$ on your CE courses.
• NAR EthicsThis course was designed to meet the NAR and ethics requirements in your state.
• Accessible Narrated Audio with Adjustable Speeds

Most people have questions about taxes in a real estate transaction. It may not be apparent, but taxation is an indirect—yet important—factor affecting the value of property. In this course, we will see how taxes impact buying and selling real property. As a student, use this unit for general knowledge about real estate taxation; however, always refer your clients and customers to an expert for their own tax information as well as current tax laws.

The federal government taxes individuals and other entities based on their earnings by means of a progressive income tax. In a progressive tax, the more you earn, the higher your tax rate. The important consideration of a progressive tax is that the taxpayer’s obligation increases as income increases, moving the taxpayer to higher tax brackets. One of the reasons for buying real estate is to get relief from taxes.

The tax benefits of homeownership differ from those available to owners of investment property. The legal reduction of tax liability, otherwise known as a tax shelter, is available to all owners of a primary residence as well as to a taxpayer owning investment property. However, different rules apply to each type of property. The rules must be followed carefully to earn the desired tax shelter.

The three-hour Charting Your Success: The Code of Ethics, Buyer Representation, and Your Value Proposition online course is designed to meet the continuing education in ethics curriculum requirements as well as the NAR Code of Ethics requirement. The chapters cover the purpose, structure, and applicability of the Code of Ethics with an in-depth look at Articles 1 and 3 against the backdrop of recent litigation aimed at the real estate industry’s cooperative compensation model. The course demonstrates how buyer representation and ethical practice are part of a licensee’s value proposition and provides perspective on how high ethical standards can be used when adapting to market changes. The course mixes presentation of facts, concepts, key terms, and real-life examples to illustrate the topics being taught, as well as videos and quizzes for self-assessment.

As our nation changes over time, you need to stay aware of demographic shifts that impact the buying and selling of real estate. Demographics refer to statically gathered information that characterizes a given population by distinctive criteria. For instance, demographic analysis may divide persons into groups based on age, income, gender, or religion. And persons in a defined demographic group tend to demonstrate similar characteristics, such as preferred methods of shopping or a bias toward buying products with certain features.

In this course, we focus on demographic groups of people called generation groups. In Chapter 1, you will learn about the label for generation groups based on birth year and life experiences. In Chapters 2 and 3, you will learn about generational-specific buying and selling trends and how to better identify and serve the individualized needs of group members. Specifically, Chapters 2 and 3 cover a detailed review of the following four topics based on current home buying trends to ensure agents have important tools for guiding different generation group members through the home buying process:

• Environmentally-friendly homes
• Accessory dwelling units
• Planned unit developments
• First-time home buyer preparedness

The most basic definition of disclosure is to reveal something that was hidden. In real estate, sellers are required to disclose property defects that are visible or hidden if there is a possibility that knowledge of the defect will have an impact on a potential buyer’s purchasing decision.

Completing the disclosure process as required by federal and state laws and regulations is imperative to the soundness of a signed purchase agreement and buyer satisfaction. This course will cover key information to ensure you are better able to fulfill an agent’s duty of disclosure for both seller and buyer clients.

This course covers information to aid real estate licensees in better understanding the purpose of workforce housing and different processes for developing and financing workforce housing projects. Additionally, buyer home financing solutions are covered. This course is intended to enhance the knowledge and effectiveness of real estate licensees and is approved for 4 hours of continuing education. 

In today’s technological society, we have more computing capabilities than ever. We are dependent on computers and other devices for our daily communications: from emails to social media to cloud-based apps and storage. We cannot imagine life without this! But what many of us don’t realize is that ruthless cybercriminals are waiting for opportunities to target organizations by spreading chaos and disruption to our network systems with the intention of stealing data and money. In this course, you will learn why real estate organizations are targeted, preventative measures to protect your data, and guidelines for establishing a cybersecurity policy manual.

There are mortgage programs for nearly every borrower and lenders who specialize in providing those loans. This course describes the current standard loan called a traditional mortgage and then discusses the various nontraditional loan products and alternative (creative) financing that are available to borrowers. Many borrowers will qualify for and obtain a conventional mortgage to close the transaction. However, some borrowers and even the type of property may not qualify for traditional financing.

This course provides a review of traditional mortgages and discusses nontraditional conventional, FHA, and VA mortgages. Additionally, it describes various types of alternative financing products.

It is intended to enhance the knowledge and effectiveness of real estate licensees and is approved for 3 hours of continuing education.

One of the best ways to promote and market yourself to potential clients is, arguably, by becoming an expert in areas that benefit them. Although as a real estate licensee you should never give financial advice, the better you understand the concepts, processes, challenges, and calculations associated with real estate financing, the better you can assist your clients through this often-frustrating process.

This course will cover a brief history of the mortgage industry and introduce the players. We will discuss financing, security instruments, and legal clauses commonly included in these instruments. We’ll look at various loan types, including government-backed mortgage programs and discuss mortgage fraud and predatory lending. Finally, we will examine the loan process, qualifying standards for borrowers, and mortgage laws.

Although every effort is made to maintain the accuracy of this course, recent changes in laws and procedures may not yet be reflected in the content.

Want to take the distress out of working with foreclosures and short sales? This course was designed with that in mind. You’ll learn from experts who have prospered in their real estate careers by working with distressed property transactions. Foreclosed and short sale properties were very prevalent after the housing bubble burst, but their numbers are much lower today. Still, there are homeowners who want to consider short sales as a way to avoid foreclosure, and there are lenders that want to reduce their inventory of foreclosed properties. This real estate market is one way to expand your business while serving the needs of sellers, buyers, and lenders.

Although every effort is made to maintain the accuracy of this course, recent changes in laws and procedures may not yet be reflected in the content.

This course was created and designed to train and instruct REALTORS® on the practical application of the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics and fulfills the REALTOR® Triennial Ethics Requirement. 
Every three years, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) requires members to complete a NAR Code of Ethics course in order to remain in good standing with their local, state, and national associations. Courses that qualify and meet this requirement are offered by Associations. This course covers professional conduct, courtesies, business etiquette, and real-life scenarios. REALTORS® are required to provide a valid certificate of course completion to their local associations. The course must be one provided by a local, state, or national REALTOR® Association.
The deadline for all REALTORS® to complete the mandatory Code of Ethics course is 12/31/2024 and every three-year period following that deadline.
Classes that satisfy the NAR requirement for the Code of Ethics course must contain information about the history of the Code, Preamble, Articles of the Code, Standards of Practice, and the Code's Dispute Resolution Process.  Additionally, this course may potentially be approvable for REALTORS® who wish to fulfill Code of Ethics requirement from the National Association of REALTORS®. Check with your local REALTORS® association.

In recent years, green building has become more than just a trend. Nearly 40% of home buyers consider energy efficient features to be "very important". This is not simply because home buyers wish to reduce their environmental footprint. The cost of sustainable materials and products is low, making green building one of the most cost-effective types of construction. Therefore, knowledge of the green building market segment will allow you a competitive advantage in the real estate industry.

This continuing education course addresses the specifics of the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics and ethical practices and decision making for real estate professionals. Additionally, this course may potentially be approvable for REALTORS® who wish to fulfill Code of Ethics requirement from the National Association of REALTORS®. Check with your local REALTORS® association. 

This course is designed as a practical guide for brokers that will cover all facets of the law of agency. It will cover the history of agency law and common law and give an overview of the development of the agency arrangement throughout the years. The course will explain the key elements of fiduciary responsibility, as well as the consequences for failing to carry out those responsibilities. Participants will discuss the different ways an agency relationship may be formed and terminated. This course will go on to discuss the benefits and responsibilities surrounding a buyer’s agency relationship and will detail the various buyer relationships that exist. Finally, participants will be given a brief overview of the current trends within the real estate market today.

Statistically speaking, real estate is a very safe profession. However, there are many potential dangers that agents and their clients are exposed to. While the number of work-related deaths and injuries in the real estate profession are relatively low, they do exist. Female real estate agents are more likely to become victims than men; however, men are not immune. Buyers and sellers also face risks from cyber theft to personal property damage and theft, to assaults.

Think about it: real estate licensees often meet complete strangers by themselves, in vacant properties, at odd hours, with little or no background information on the prospect. When you think about our profession in this way, the job can sound dangerous. We can reduce this risk with some basic safety protocols. Even if your brokerage has a set of security procedures, there are additional steps you can take to keep yourself and your clients safe. The truth is that many brokerages rely on individual agents to establish their own safety measures

An individual with a disability is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.

The Americans with Disabilities Act protects this group of people so that they may have equal access to public accommodations, employment, public services, and so on. Real estate licensees must be aware of these important laws so that they understand what is required in the environment, and also the appropriate treatment of this protected class of consumers under the law.

This course goes beyond the basics that real estate licensees learn in their pre-licensing courses. Upon completion of this course, real estate professionals will have a deeper understanding of the purpose, history, application, and enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Real estate tax laws have changed significantly over the last few decades, and even though the current tax laws and exemptions have been in place for some time, many real estate agents do not fully understand them. This course takes a deep dive into the passive loss rules and explains them in simple terms, so that real estate agents can help their clients take full advantage of every benefit the law provides. 

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Recall the four possible financial benefits of an investment property.
• Recall the three pieces of information needed to determine a property’s potential investment value.
• Calculate cash flow, principal reduction, and income tax savings using the Investment Property Worksheet.
• Correlate different cost categories to the number of years the IRS allows for investment property depreciation.
• Calculate the actual dollar amount of first-year depreciation using the depreciation percentages provided by the IRS.
• Calculate the four financial benefits using the Investment Property Worksheet.
• Describe the purpose of the Passive Loss Rules.
• Explain how the Passive Loss Rules can impact taxable income related to investment properties.
• Calculate the depreciation amount gained by bifurcating.
• Calculate the depreciation amount and the resulting tax savings on land, the building, land improvements, and personal property.
• Explain the impact of depreciation for a buyer or seller of an investment property.
• Describe different methods used to value investment real estate, including the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
• Explain how to calculate capitalization rate.
• Describe why and how the “Float and Desire” method is used to arrive at the investment value of a property.
• Identify the purchase price that allows an investor to realize a desired return using the “Float and Desire” Worksheet.

COURSE INSTRUCTOR: Tom Lundstedt

Tom Lundstedt is known as the funniest investment and tax guy in America. His programs have entertained and enlightened more than 3,000 audiences from sea to shining sea. He's a former Major League baseball player whose striking combination of humor and real-world examples makes his subjects spring to life.

This course is a must for anyone interested in learning how to work more effectively with real estate investors. The focus is exclusively on how to buy, own and sell commercial-investment real estate for maximum profit. You’ll work with real-world case studies on easy-to-use worksheets. Whether you’re an investment rookie or a seasoned pro, you’ll profit from this lively and information-packed program.