Maine Real Estate CE Courses Online (ME License Renewal)

ABRIDGED DESCRIPTION: 

Continuing education in ethics is a requirement for all real estate licensees and the NAR also requires its members to complete and approved ethics course every three years. The three-hour Charting Your Success: The Code of Ethics, Buyer Representation, and Your Value Proposition 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. Case studies and examples help bring the content to life and help licensees apply ethics to their real estate practice.

COURSE HIGHLIGHTS: 

• The purpose of the National Association of REALTORS®, and the overall structure of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.
• How the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice aligns with and yet differs from general business codes of conduct.
• Aspirational concepts contained within the Preamble to the Code of Ethics.
• The role of the professional standards enforcement process of NAR boards and association when an ethics complaint is lodged.
• An overview of Articles applying to duties to clients, customers, the public, and REALTORS® and their Standards of Practice.
• An in-depth look at Article 1, violations of Article 1, and its applicability to today’s real estate landscape.
• An in-depth look at Article 3, cooperation, possible violations of Article 3, and its applicability to today’s real estate market.
• A review of the ethics of buyer representation.

Do you feel prepared for a cyber attack? This course will help you to identify scams and how cybercriminals gain access to organizations’ network systems with the intention of stealing data or holding files hostage. You will learn why real estate organizations are targeted, preventative measures to protect your data, and guidelines for establishing a cybersecurity policy manual.

Course Highlights

•    Learn about types of cybersecurity attacks
•    Understand why cybersecurity is necessary
•    Explore why real estate organizations are targeted for cyber crimes
•    Gain knowledge on how to prevent cyber attacks
•    Learn how to establish a cybersecurity policy
 

• Gain confidence teaching buyers about the buying process 
• Learn to show buyers how to get their finances to purchase a home
• Know how to help buyers systematically search for a home in in their current market 
• Understand how to teach buyers how to negotiate like a pro 

• Educate your sellers during the listing presentation. 
• Teach your clients of the importance of staging to sell.
• Help sellers understand strategies when their home hasn’t sold.
• Teach sellers how to evaluate and handle multiple offers.
• Help sellers better navigate contract negotiations.

Fair and equitable treatment in housing and real estate transactions is a right by law. This course covers information to ensure licensees comply with the federal Fair Housing Act, including protected classes, exemptions, prohibited conduct, and enforcement. The course is approved for two hours of continuing education.

COURSE HIGHLIGHTS

• Learn why fair housing laws are necessary by learning about the history of housing discrimination and its lasting impact.
• Review the laws that make housing discrimination illegal, and the actions prohibited and required by these laws in the business of real estate.
• Recognize the personal characteristics that federal law protects from discrimination in housing, and state and local government protections that may exceed federal protections.
• Gain an understanding of what steering is and strategies to avoid it.
• Recognize the danger in making assumptions based on stereotypes, and the importance of allowing consumers to choose which communities/neighborhoods they want to live in.
• Describe what reasonable accommodations and modifications for people with disabilities may be required by fair housing laws.
• Apply best practices in fair housing marketing and advertising.
• Use interventions to aid in the interruption of implicit biases so that consumers are treated with equal concern, respect, and fairness.
• Discover fair housing resources to assistance your clients.

• Discuss fair housing law developments through the years
• Examine advertising policies and exemptions through case studies
• Pocket useful tips on how to stay clear of discriminatory practices in sales, rentals, and financing of real estate

• Learn how homebuyers can reduce their environmental footprint 
• Examine the costs of sustainable materials 
• Explore pros and cons to eco-friendly materials and homes

• Explore insights on the investor market and uncover opportunities to grow your business 
• Learn the skillsets, terminology and experience required to work with investor clients 
• Gain confidence in evaluating an investment property 
• Supplement your learning with real world case studies, worksheets, audio, and video

• Gain confidence in evaluating real estate investment properties  
• Examine cash flow, NOI, depreciation, rate of return, cap rate, cash on cash and more 
• Learn how to leverage five different methods to determine a rental property’s value

• Narration
• Learn how to use an investment property worksheet to analyze a property 
• Explore how to determine a property’s investment value quickly and effectively 
• Uncover the ins and outs of the passive loss rules 
• Examine how to maximize the tax-savings benefits of depreciation through a bifurcation strategy

• Explore tips for protecting yourself and your clients
• Identify safety tips for getting a client’s home ready to sell
• Learn how to conduct safe showings

Real estate licensees should have some familiarity with the laws that prohibit discrimination against persons who have a disability and their animals. This course covers how to comply with the anti-discriminatory provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act that protect persons with disabilities and their animals. 

Real estate professionals need to stay aware of demographic shifts that impact consumers’ home buying and selling. This course focuses on the demographics and home buying and selling trends for six generation groups: Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, and Generations X, Y, Z, and A. Based on four important generation home buying trends, specific focus is given to environmentally-friendly home features, multi-generational home solutions, planned unit developments, and first-time home buyer preparedness. 

COURSE HIGHLIGHTS

• Learn the birth dates that define each generation group and gain an understanding of the major life experiences that shaped the attitudes and behaviors of group members.
• Discover current home buying and selling trends for each generation group.
• Review detailed information about features that make a home energy-efficient and resources for helping your buyer-clients assess if a home satisfies their environmentally-friendly needs.  
• Learn why and how accessory dwelling units may be a solution for clients seeking multi-generational home solutions.
• Be better prepared to guide first-time Gen Xer and Millennial home buyers through the complex home purchase process with a focus on preparedness for mortgage loan approval. 

The purpose of this course is to provide real estate licensees a foundational understanding of workforce housing. This course first defines workforce housing and its purpose. Licensees learn about creative workforce housing projects initiated and funded by employers and other stakeholders. Focus is given to financing options available to low- and middle-income homebuyers.

COURSE HIGHLIGHTS

• Gain an understanding of how workforce housing is defined and how it can improve current worker shortage and affordable housing challenges.
• Learn about creative and diverse methods that have been used by employers to provide affordable housing options that attract and retain workers.
• Discover why and how real estate developers, nonprofits, and other key stakeholders have worked together to offer affordable housing solutions in areas where home prices are out of reach for middle-income workers.
• Gain an understanding of different types of mortgage loan programs that are structured to provide affordable home financing options to homebuyers who have low or moderate income, including how buyers qualify for a loan and key loan features and benefits.