Principles and Practices I & II

Principles of Real Estate-

Shall include but not be limited to an overview of licensing as a real estate broker and salesperson, ethics of practice, titles to and conveyancing of real estate, legal descriptions, deeds encumbrances and liens, distinctions between personal and real property, appraisal, finance and regulations, closing procedures real estate mathematics, and at least three classroom hours of instruction on federal, state, and local laws relating to housing discrimination, housing credit discrimination, and community reinvestment.

Law of Agency-

Shall include but not limited to the principal-agent and the master-servant relationships, the authority of an agent, the termination of an agents authority, the fiduciary and other duties of an agent, employment law, deceptive trade practices, listing or buying representation procedures, and the disclosure of agency.

Law of Contracts-

Shall include but not be limited to the elements of a contract, offer and acceptance, the statute of frauds, specific performance and remedies for breach, unauthorized practice of law, commission rules relating to use of adopted forms, and owner disclosure requirements.

Real Estate Appraisal-

Shall include but not be limited to the central purposes and functions of an appraisal, social and economic determinant of value, appraisal case studies, cost, market data and income approaches to value estimates, final correlations, and reporting

Real Estate Law-

Shall include but not be limited to legal concepts of real estate, land description, real property rights and estates in land, contracts, conveyances, encumbrances, foreclosures, recording procedures, and evidence of titles.

Real Estate Finance-

Shall include but not limited to monetary systems, primary and secondary money markets, sources of mortgage loans, federal government programs, loan applications, processes and procedures, closing costs, alternative financial instruments, equal credit opportunity acts, community reinvestment act, and state housing agency.

Real Estate Marketing-

Shall include but not be limited to real estate professionalism and ethics, characteristics of successful salesperson, time management, psychology of marketing, listing procedures, advertising, negotiating and closing, financing and the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, as amended, Section 17.01 et seq., Business & Commerce Code.

Real Estate Mathematics-

Shall include but not be limited to basic arithmetic skills and review of mathematical logic, percentages, interest, time-valued money, depreciation, amortization, proration, and estimation of closing statements.

Real Estate Brokerage-

Shall include but not be limited to law of agency, planning and organization, operational policies and procedures, recruiting, selection and training of personnel, records and control, and real estate firm analysis and expansion criteria. Note that a 30-hr Real Estate Brokerage course is required for all broker applicants effective Jan.1, 2008.

Property Management-

Shall include but not be limited to role of property manager, landlord policies, operational guidelines, leases, lease negotiations, tenant relations, maintenance, reports, habitability laws, and the Fair Housing Act.

Real Estate Investments-

Shall include but not but limited to real estate investments characteristics, technuqies of investments analysis, time-valued money, discounted and non-discounted investment criteria, leverage, tax shelters, depreciation and applications to property tax.

Promulgated Contract Forms-

Shall include but not be limited to the unauthorized practice of law, broker-lawyer committee, current promulgated forms, commission rules governing use of forms, and case studies involving the use of forms.

Residential Inspections for Real Estate Agents-

Shall include but not be limited to property condition addendum, inspector and client agreement, tools and procedures, electro-mechanical systems (plumbing, heating, air conditioning, appliances, energy saving considerations), and structures (lot and landscape, roofs, chimney, gutters, paved areas, walls, windows and doors, insect damage and storage areas).