Alliance Real Estate School Preferred Courses

Why it's for you:

• Courses in this package are designed to meet Connecticut CE requirements.
• Take courses online at your own pace!
• NAR EthicsThis course was designed to meet the NAR and ethics requirements in Connecticut.Accessible Narrated Audio with Adjustable Speeds

Why it's for you:

• Courses in this package are designed to meet Connecticut CE requirements.
• Take courses online at your own pace!
• NAR EthicsThis course was designed to meet the NAR and ethics requirements in Connecticut.
• Accessible Narrated Audio with Adjustable Speeds

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.

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

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. 

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 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.

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.

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.

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

For the 2024-2026 continuing education cycle for Connecticut real estate licensees, this three-hour course meets the requirement for three classroom hours of study in current real estate and fair housing legislation and licensing laws and regulations pursuant to Connecticut Administrative Code, Title 20, Section 20-319-3(b).