This “VA (Veterans Administration) Funded Loans” course is designed to provide 3-hrs of continuing education. The course gives an overview of the VA loan, who can qualify, eligibility and the process for VA loan approval as well as gives advantages of VA loan to buyers and disadvantages to seller. Requirements and qualifications may change so please check with lender for current information.

Learn how to use home inspections to the advantage of your clients.

Course covers topic of how home inspections benefit and protect buyers and sellers. Licensees learn levels of inspector certifications and the purpose and benefits of inspection. Course provides the licensee with an understanding of the condition of a property, costs to maintain, and how to reduce risk to buyer and licensee. 

Course enables students to:

• Describe the purpose and use of a home inspection
• Explain how home inspections benefit / protect both buyers and sellers
• Describe the home inspector’s scope of work and presentation of results
• Discover the scope of a home inspection; the areas / components it includes
• Recall the seller’s disclosure obligations
• Understand the scope of the agent’s role in home inspections
• Recall where to find credentialed inspectors
• Recognize your role as an agent in educating clients on the benefits of having a home inspection

Learn the tools to analyze investments and better service clients 

This course covers basic investment concepts and analytical tools. The instructor provides real estate and financially-based models to help licensees rank and analyze investment alternatives and risk.

Course enables students to:

• Define the traits of a sophisticated investor
• Analyze client requirements effectively
• Recognize investments as a combination of risks
• Define the vocabulary and terminology associated with investments
• Make use of analytical tools and valuation models
• Know the metrics and how to organize data
• Rank investments based on key risk factors and potential returns
• Discover important aspects of negotiating
• Know when and how to select competent third-party experts for clients
• Paint a road map to risk and return

Learn about social media, advertising rules and guidelines in the practice of real estate.

This course provides licensees with information about the applicability and proper (compliant) usage of social media for the real estate professional. Key topics include the import of social media in real estate, the usage of social media mediums (ex: Facebook) and the advertising rules and guidelines that will allow you to make use of online media and advertising.

Course enables students to:

• Recognize how technology has impacted real estate profession and consumer
• Better comply with advertising rules when using online media
• Understand the use and applicability of social media in real estate

The course is written to provide the licensee with a better understanding of real estate valuation. Get the knowledge and tools needed to serve clients and more easily communicate with clients, banks and appraisers.

This course provides licensees with the essentials necessary to perform calculations for common real estate transactions.

This course covers the proper methods for solving today’s common real estate math problems. Conveys proper use of real estate math as a communications tool. Provides licensees with improved knowledge of math to enable more effective and competent communication with the public.

Course enables students to:

• Understand the math involved in real estate transactions
• Learn the steps to solve math problems
• Classify the 12 types of math problems regularly seen and used in real estate:

1. Commission and split calculations
2. Net proceeds
3. Profit percent
4. Loan points
5. Annual property tax
6. Straight loan interest
7. First payment of amortized loan
8. Discount of a note
9. Inflation of price
10. Prorating
11. Area math
12. Appraisal using cap rate

Learn about the roles of the property manager, fair housing laws, fiduciary duty, and rental forms.

The Property Management course is designed to provide licensees with an understanding of the roles, responsibilities and issues involved with property management. This course covers the handling of day-to-day issues, administrative activities, and legal practices. 

 Course enables students to:

• Define and understand the role of the Property Manager
• Create and apply a property management log to comply with Fair Housing laws
• Understand Property Manager's fiduciary duties
• Become familiar with standard rental forms
• Synthesize the essence of case studies with professional practice
• Create a Property Management job description and department
• Identify risks and develop a strategy to reduce those risks

Gain an improved understanding of the role of policies in reducing liability and improving services.

This course covers the importance of a policy manual and the standard types of information and materials necessary for constructing a good policy manual. Serves as an aid for those creating a policy manual. Improves your ability to provide consistent professional services to consumers and avoid liability.

Course enables students to:

• Explain importance of a policy manual
• Increase compliance with the law
• Improve level of service to consumers
• Execute better management of high-risk areas of practice
• Aid in the development of a policy manual

This 24-hr CE Renewal package is designed for licensees who wish to renew their Iowa real estate license. This package includes 24 hrs of electives that are taken online on your own self-paced schedule. See details for course titles. 

• Property Management Essentials (3 hrs)
• Using Home Inspections to Protect Your Clients (3 hrs)
• Applied Ethics in Practice: Case Studies (3 hrs)
• Buyer Representation and Managing Relationships (3 hrs)
• Green Homes - Benefits to Buyers and Sellers  (3 hrs)
• Comparative Market Analysis and Broker Price Opinions (3 hrs)
• Steps to Analyze Investment Property 3 hrs)
• Policies to Reduce Risk (3 hrs)

This 12-hr CE Renewal package is designed for licensees who wish to renew their Iowa real estate license. This package includes 12 hrs of electives that are taken online on your own self-paced schedule. See details for course titles. 

• Property Management Essentials (3 hrs)
• Buyer Representation and Managing Relationships (3 hrs)
• Comparative Market Analysis and Broker Price Opinions (3 hrs)
• Policies to Reduce Risk (3 hrs)

Gain an understanding of green homes and their influence and impact on buyers and sellers.

The course objectives include understanding Green as a new way of thinking, learning the terminology, understanding the benefits, analyzing savings, and learning to leverage this knowledge to better market green homes.

Course enables students to:

• Explain ‘green’ as a new way of thinking
• Learn the terminology of green homes
• Understand the benefits of green homes
• Analyze how it reduces the cost of home ownership
• Explain how it increases purchasing power

How do we do business in the day of the coronavirus?  Through this course, you'll receive practical advice and learn about the guidelines set forth by the NAR, CDC and WHO.

This course discusses the NAR’s coverage of the coronavirus and how it impacts real estate licensees and the safety of their clients. Topics include the advice and guidelines from the NAR, CDC and WHO with implications to licensees conducting and managing business during the coronavirus pandemic. Topics include office safety, alternatives to open houses, meeting and advertising.

Course enables students to:

• Understand the scope of impact of COVID-19 on the practice of common real estate business activities (ex: open houses) and protocol
• Apply CDC, WHO and NAR guidelines when providing services
• Recognize, avoid and find alternatives to risky business practices during a pandemic
• Reduce risk through using new methods and technologies to service clients  
• Judge / assess how agents can further their ability to safely serve our public

This course covers Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) and Broker Price Opinions (BPOs), an opinion of value developed according to industry standards by a real estate licensee.

Learn the standards, procedures, methods of adjusting and calculating the BPO. This 3-hour session is used to explain duties and responsibilities associated with the BPO assignment; professional standards for selecting comparables; grading conditions; and how to adjust comparables to calculate value. Concepts taught in the course are valid for CMA, BPO and general valuations.

Course enables students to:

• Define and describe a BPO
• Know the Recent BPO Legislation
• Understand related duties and obligations
• Understand standards set by the industry regarding:
  • Selecting Comparables
  • Know how to qualify and value features
• Understand BPO terminology
• Use simple mathematical models of BPO
• Improve communications with appraiser, lender, and client

This course reviews the methods of creating buyer agency, methods of developing new business and duties of the buyer agent.

Buyer agency laws vary from state to state but this course focuses on the specialty tools of serving the single client, to protect and guide, pay full attention to needs; disclose material facts, advice and counsel; grow new business, negotiate for your best interests and attempt to resolve any problems to the client's best advantage.

Course enables students to:

• Understand how buyer representation serves the client
• Learn the types of agencies and relevance of single agency
• Understand the buyer representation contract
• Learn the duties, obligations, and benefits of buyer representation

1031 exchange is a swap of one investment property for another that allows capital gains taxes to be deferred. Learn the requirements and benefits of Chapter 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code and how to leverage them for your client.

This course covers the basics of 1031 Exchange, its definition, background, benefits, and associated concepts, terminology, processes, rules, and examples. The course teaches licensees about how investor(s) might defer Capital Gains by utilizing the features of Section 1031 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Provides 3 hours of CE credit.

Course enables students to:

• Gain broad understanding of the definition of 1031 exchange and its purpose and benefits
• Understand relationship between taxes and exchanges
• Identify the appropriate or advantageous circumstances for employing 1031 exchange
• Understand purpose and history of 1031 exchange concept
• Distinguish between properties and do and do not apply to 1031 exchange
• Define tax-deferred exchange
• Understand consequences of violating 3 key rules
• Understand key vocabulary and terms related to 1031 exchange
• Understand the concept and distinction between held and like-kind leases
• Identify key factors to qualify a sale use in 1031 exchange
• Explain the identification rule
• Explain the Three-Property, 200% and 95% rules
• Explain the Second Half Rule
• Explain the ‘Title Rule’
• Understand construction and replacement in context of 1031 exchange

Learn about the ethical dilemmas and guidelines in the practice of real estate through case studies.  This course is designed increase agents’ ability to protect clients and the general public.

The Applied Ethics course is written to provide licensees with a better understanding of ethical dilemmas in the practice of real estate through case studies. Our industry holds the ethical practice of real estate as the highest obligation of the licensee. This course covers over 30 case studies comparing and exemplifying law and ethics.  NOTE: This course is not eligible for NAR Credit, if looking for dual credit please find our course that includes the words: "Code of Ethics" in the title.

Course enables students to:

• Compare ethics of trade organization with statues of license law
• Increase knowledge of ethics & license law
• Learn to disclose personal interests in transactions
• Learn to protect and promote client's interest, while being honest with all parties
• Be able to discuss the difference between puffing and misrepresentation
• Better spot potential ethical pitfalls
• Recognize the impermissibility of concealment of pertinent facts
• Learn how to cooperate with other real estate professionals to advance the client's best interests
• Discern the obligation to make your position in a transaction known and the obligation to disclose affiliated relationships
• Be familiar with RESPA
• Recognize that the paying of commission does not establish agency
• Know the necessity of not commingling clients' monies, provide equal service to all clients, direct clients to third party professionals when necessary

Using real world examples, this course teaches awareness, sensitivity and compliance with the Fair Housing and ADA Laws.