At ProSchools our real estate courses are ARELLO approved.  What’s this mean?  It’s good to know!  Let’s break down what ARELLO is and the benefits to you.

So, what is ARELLO?

The Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO-IDECC) is an organization comprised of real estate regulatory officials from all across the North America, Africa and Asia. In an effort to better equip its members to protect the public through quality education of its regulated professionals, the group developed a set of standards for distance education course delivery and has everything to do with assurance that important educational principles are being met when the instructor and pupil are separated by time and/or space.

ProSchools courses have met the high bar of criteria and received the stamp of approval.

Even jurisdictions that don’t require certification certainly hold ARELLO course standards in high esteem as a quality course for their jurisdiction’s pre- and post-licensees.

Furthermore, as of January 1, 2009 instructors are required to be ARELLO certified.  The CDEI designation provides an excellent credential and knowledge base for the distance education courses.

So, that’s what ARELLO is and the benefits to you, the real estate agent.

If you are in the process of getting your real estate license, you’ve probably discovered that there’s a vast amount of information Realtors® need to know, especially to best serve your clients. Insect and fungi damage might not be on the real estate license exam, but it is a topic you should be knowledgeable about early on in your real estate career.

Charlie Rouse, a Certified Home Inspector with Associated Master Inspectors, recently gave ProSchools some excellent tips to pass on to our real estate students.

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A big topic of discussion today is how the real estate industry got to the point it is in. Phillip C. Querin, a Partner with Davis Wright Tremaine (and Legal Counsel to PMAR-Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors®), was asked to give a succinct and realistic evaluation of what he thinks happened.

Here is Phil’s response in the February 2009 edition of the REALTOR®, the official publication of PMAR:

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I recently asked Charlie Rouse, from Associate Master Inspectors (AMI),  his thoughts on how home inspectors survive when the real estate housing market is sluggish. Sometimes I forget and think it is just the Realtor® impacted. So, if you are thinking about getting your real estate license or if you are already a real estate salesperson or broker, but need some encouraging news, here are Charlie’s ideas and suggestions for surviving a slow real estate market.

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One of the first things you will need to do after you pass your real estate exam and you’re getting your real estate business started is develop a client base. You want to get paid, right?  So you need to find clients who want real estate!

Phil Wright with CENTURY 21 Wright Christie, a ProSchools partner, gave me some great ideas regarding who you should be talking to early on. Here is Phil’s insight on how to grow your new real estate business:

The premise is that everyone knows someone and that someone knows others.

Here is a sample or part of our CENTURY 21 Wright-Christie mentoring & training program on how to develop a database. This is a list of only 36 of over a hundred suggestions for finding people to add to your database.

The list:

1. Past buyers and sellers/customers in a former business
2. Relatives
3. Friends/neighbors (present and former).

Where else do you find prospects?  Who do you know?

1. From your college or high school, classmates, teachers, alumni?
2. From your church?
3. From your civic activities? (civic organizations, charities, volunteering)
4. Because you rent or own a home?
5. From your old neighborhood?
6. From your organizational contacts? (military, men’s/women’s groups)
7. From your Christmas card list?
8. From your business connections – former employers, employees, customers, clients, vendors, competitors?
9. Through your family members?
10. Who do you have lunch with?
11. Who is your best friend(s)?
12. Who runs your day care center?
13. Who is your baby-sitter?
14. Who were the bride and groom of the last wedding you attended?
15. Who sold you your car?
16. Who repairs your TV?
17. Who sells you gas, tires, etc.?
18. Who repairs your car?
19. Through your children?
20. Through your spouse?
21. Who is your barber/beautician?
22. Who is your veterinarian?
23. Who is your pharmacist?
24. Who is your dentist/doctor/optometrist?
25. Who is your children’s orthodontist?
26. Who does your plumbing?
27. Who heads your bank?
28. Who is the teller at your bank?
29. Who was your man/maid of honor?
30. Who is your attorney?
31. Who heads the local PTA?
32. Who sells you clothing?
33. Who sells you shoes?

When you have finished with this list of who you know, start all over with people your spouse/significant other know, who your children know, who your parents know, who your brothers, sister know, etc.

Compiling a list of 100 to 250 names is a doable task when you put your mind to it. Most of us prefer to do business with people we know, like and trust. People will want to do business with you. You just have to let them know what you do and then develop a system to cordially stay in touch. Nobody likes a pushy salesperson.

CENTURY 21 Wright-Christie has automated action plans for Buyers, Buyers Just Looking, Hot Buyers, Listing Prospects, Past Clients and Seasonal Occasions.

Phil Wright
Principal Broker

CENTURY 21 Wright-Christie
503-277-2701
www.choosethewrightcompany.com

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Changes are coming to Washington! Starting July 1, 2010, a new licensing law will take effect, impacting licensees. Reminds me a lot of when Oregon changed their license laws a few years back and ProSchools was busy developing new courses and answering calls.

Here are some of the Washington License Law changes:

• A salesperson license will be considered a broker license.
• An associate broker, branch manager, or designated broker license will continue to be in effect, but will be considered a managing broker license.
• Licensees will have to take a transition course which will be approved for continuing education. The requirements for course content and the course length will be determined by the Real Estate Commission and Department of Licensing.  My guess it will be 30 hours. 
• A new broker license will be issued to current salespeople after they complete the transition course and when they renew their license for the first time after the law takes effect.
• New people coming into the business wanting to obtain a Washington broker license will need to complete 90 hours of education covering Real Estate Fundamentals and Real Estate Practices. They will have to pass the broker license exam and complete a background check too.  Brokers can be licensed to only 1 firm. They will need Advanced Real Estate Practices and Real Estate Law for their first renewal.
• Managing brokers will need 3 years’ full-time experience as a real estate broker, plus complete 90 hours of education, consisting of Advanced Real Estate Law, Business Management, and Brokerage Management.  He or she must also pass the managing broker license exam. A managing broker may be licensed to only 1 firm.
• A Designated broker may act for more than 1 firm, and must be a managing broker.

So the bottom line on Washington: New people wanting a Washington real estate license will need 90 hours of education (not 60 hours) and will start out as a broker.  Current salespeople will need a transition course when they renew. Those wanting to become a managing broker will need 3 years experience, 90 hours of education (not 120 hours), plus pass a managing broker exam.  

Whew!  ProSchools is getting ready for the change now! Most of our courses are ARELLO approved, even if Washington does not require it. Will keep you posted as we learn more about the timeline of these changes.

How about if you have a second mortgage…what should you do? Borrowers with both a first and second mortgage might still be able to qualify to refinance under the Making Home Affordable Program. The amount due on the first mortgage needs to be less than 105% of the value of the property. Eligibility will depend, in part, on the agreement with the lender that has your second mortgage and on your ability to meet the new payment terms on the first mortgage.

One objective of the Making Home Affordable Program is to give borrowers who work hard to pay their mortgage an opportunity to get into a mortgage with payments that are affordable now and for the life of the loan. For borrowers whose mortgage rates are much higher than the current market rate, they should see a reduction in their monthly payment.

Borrowers with interest only loans or borrowers with a low introductory rate may not necessarily see their current payment go down by refinancing to a fixed rate. However, they could save a lot of money over the life of their loan because once the introductory rate is over and their interest rate goes up, they will see an increase in their future mortgage payments. Fixing in at a low rate now could be smart for the long term

Making Home Affordable Program

Getting the real estate housing market back on track is a big challenge today and part of President Obama’s strategy to make it happen is through the Making Home Affordable Program. Approximately 9 million families could be eligible to refinance or modify their current loan for a payment that would be more affordable, both now and in the future.

Through the Home Affordable Refinance Program, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac allow borrowers to refinance their mortgage loans. Some of the requirements in order to be eligible include:

• You are the owner occupant of a one to four unit home
• The loan on your property is owned or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
• At the time you apply, you are current on your mortgage payments (current means that you haven’t been more than 30-days late on your mortgage payment in the last 12 months or, if you have had the loan for less than 12 months, you have never missed a payment)
• You believe that the amount you owe on your first mortgage is about the same or slightly less than the current value of your house
• You have income sufficient to support the new mortgage payments
• The refinance improves the long term affordability or stability of your loan

In order to know if a refinance will improve the long term affordability or stability of your loan, ask your lender to give you a “Good Faith Estimate.”This will help you determine your new interest rate, mortgage payment and the amount you will pay over the life of your new loan. You can compare this to your current loan terms. If it is not an improvement, refinancing may not be right for you.

You should also consider that refinancing from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate loan or eliminating higher risk loan terms (such as interest only payments or balloon payments) may also provide long term stability.

In order to know if your loan is owned or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, call your mortgage lender and ask about the program. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have established toll-free telephone numbers and web submission processes to make this data available. For Fannie Mae, call 1-800-7FANNIE or www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup. For Freddie Mac, call 1-800-FREDDIE or www.freddiemac.com/mymortgage. Borrowers will provide or enter information to determine if either agency owns or securitized the loan. This information is not a guarantee of eligibility for the refinance program, as other qualifying criteria must also be met.

If you owe more than the property is worth, consider a couple things. Eligible loans will include those where the first mortgage will not exceed 105% of the current market value of the property. For example, if your property is worth $200,000 but you owe $210,000 or less on your first mortgage you may qualify. The current value of your property will be determined after you apply to refinance.

You may have noticed that this blog has looked differently lately. That’s because of two reasons:

1. All of the ProSchools blogs are getting a makeover
2. The platform that runs the blogs is getting a major upgrade

And in the process, of course, things can get a little wonky. For instance, at the time of publishing this post the graphic on the top of this blog is missing, and is instead a blue rectangle, and upon resizing the browser window, the content in the left sidebar moves to the bottom of the page. Wonky, right? Yes, but totally temporary!

As the community manager for ProSchools, my goal is to give our blog readers a cohesive and informative place to go for industry-related news. And while I don’t write the expert-level posts you see here, I am concerned with making our content easy to read and find, and with providing you the extra stuff that compliments your career. (I’m excited about implementing that “extra stuff” on this blog, so please subscribe now so you’ll know when that happens.)

In the meantime, please pardon our dust. Soon you’ll see a new-and-improved ProSchools blog that we hope you’ll find valuable in your professional life.

Thanks so much for your patience!

Michelle

ARELLO (the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials) approved eight of ProSchools real estate continuing education courses last month!

In January 2009, ProSchools earned accreditation for the following eight real estate continuing education courses:

• Introduction to Brokerage Management
• Starting a Successful Brokerage
• People Management in Real Estate
• Ethics: Pricing, Offers and Advertising
• Ethics: Disclosure and Cooperation
• Leading and Communicating Effectively
• Credit Scoring
• Minimizing Risk with Effective Practices

Many states are now requiring ARELLO certification for online courses due to their stringent accreditation requirements. ARELLO is a national accreditation organization that supports the administration and enforcement of real estate license laws worldwide. Because of the high standards ARELLO has set for both education providers and coursework, courses that pass their standards are like being “blessed.” This means once courses are approved by ARELLO, they are more readily approved on the state level.

Last week our Regulatory Department submitted these eight new ARELLO-approved courses to the Tennessee Real Estate Commission for approval. Since Tennessee folks need 16 hours to renew their license, this will add some choice to the mix of continuing education ProSchools already has available.

ProSchools has already been selling these popular courses in Washington and Oregon for several months under state-level course approval. Eventually, we will offer these eight ARELLO–approved courses in Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Illinois, Nevada, and Wyoming, all states where we are already an ARELLO-approved provider. After that, we will be looking at new states that require ARELLO approval.