Continuing Education Course Offerings

2020 Annual Commission Update

Each year, the Colorado Real Estate Commission approves the Annual Commission Update (ACU) to provide important information related to regulatory changes and issues affecting Colorado real estate practice. This is the required annual course for Colorado broker continuing education. It highlights compliance issues, reviews general practice knowledge, and summarizes recent regulatory and Commission changes that affect the real estate industry. In addition, it increases licensee competency so that brokers may better serve consumers.

2021 Annual Commission Update

Every year the Division of Real Estate releases the required Annual Commission Update (ACU) course with topics the Division believes are important for brokers to know.  This is the required class every broker must take each year.

Avoiding Pitfalls In Real Estate

All good brokers understand the importance of staying up to date with the ever changing real estate industry.  This class covers the "pitfalls" brokers are facing in today's real estate industry.  In addition to identifying those issues that are top of mind for brokers, this class also identifies other areas of concern brokers may not be aware of.  Once identified, the instructor helps brokers understand how to navigate these problem areas and how to properly advise their clients.  

Building a Compliant Team

Are you a successful real estate broker with more work than you can handle? It may be time to consider building your own real estate team. It takes a strong leader with a sense of purpose and clarity of vision to build a winning team of brokers and support staff. A successful team that delivers results consistently takes time and patience to develop.

Hiring mistakes can be costly. The wrong candidate can literally ruin your business and your reputation. If you’re seriously considering taking the next step to recruit and build a top real estate team, this course will help you prepare.

Compliant Transaction Files

The unsung heroes of real estate — the managing brokers, compliance officers and admins who mind the details of the deals, and often make the difference between a brokerage firm landing a million-dollar listing or potentially facing steep fines for non-compliance. Very well-run brokerage firms manage compliance like a well-oiled machine — keeping the brokerage firm above-board with state and local real estate laws while humming along quietly in the background.

The Colorado Division of Real Estate has requirements for both brokerage firms and brokers as to what documents are required in each transaction file.  This course teaches why compliance is important, who is responsible, and what documents must be kept in each transaction file.  Additionally, learn what documents are required, and why relying on just the Colorado Division of Real Estate's checklist may not be good enough.  

Contract to Buy and Sell – Advanced

Buying or selling real estate in Colorado can be complex. While the Colorado Contract to Buy and Sell is robust with provisions for almost all circumstances, there are several provisions that are complicated and confusing. This course builds on the Contract to Buy and Sell - Line by Line class by taking a deeper dive into some of the more complicated and confusing provisions that brokers need to know.

Contract to Buy and Sell – Line by Line

The Contract to Buy and Sell is the single most important contract in a real estate brokers business.  When a broker prepares the contract, they are essentially practicing law.  Understanding what the contract provisions say, knowing how to prepare the contract and being able to explain the contract to clients is critical.  

This streamlined course reviews the Contract to Buy and Sell line by line for a step by step tutorial on properly completing and explaining the Colorado approved Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate.

Ins and Outs of the Listing Contracts

Listing agreements are employment contracts between the sellers and buyers of real estate and the real estate brokerage firm they hire.  This course is an in-depth review of the Seller Listing Contract and the Buyer Listing Contract covering everything from brokerage relationships, to compensation to how a listing contract is terminated.  Come learn things you didn't even know existed in these important forms.

This class is also available in:

1. Ins and Outs of the Buyer Listing Contract - 2 hours CE
2. Ins and Outs of the Seller Listing Contract - 2 hours CE

Manufactured Homes

In a world of increasing home prices, manufactured homes have become an affordable housing choice for many people.  However, manufactured homes are not real estate.  As such, these transctions are very different and can be very confusing and high risk.  In 2020, the Colorado Real Estate Commission's forms committee approved manfuactured home forms for use by real estate brokers.  This course is a detailed analysis of these forms including an anaylyisis as to why manufactured homes can be such dangerous trasnactions.  If you have any interest in listing or selling a manufactured home, this class is a MUST.  

Mineral Rights

Does your client actually own the mineral rights under their property?

With the rising costs of oil and gas, mineral rights have become more valuable, and landowners are enticed to lease or sell mineral rights.

By default real estate is sold with both surface rights and mineral rights in a fee simple estate, however a title to a property can be transferred, bought and sold, without including the mineral rights. This is a common practice in areas that are known to hold valuable mineral deposits such as oil and gas.

The goal of this course is to help brokers understand how complex mineral rights are in Colorado and what rules regulate them.

Realtor® Code of Ethics Update

NAR’s Code of Ethics is one factor that distinguishes REALTORS® from other real estate brokers. The Code of Ethics is universally recognized by practitioners, lawyers and laymen alike as the measure of professionalism in the real estate industry. When you abide by the Code, it ensures your fellow practitioners and the public of a high standard of business conduct.

All REALTORS® must take a Code of Ethics course every three years to remain a REALTOR®.  While this class meets all the National and Colorado Association of REALTORS® requirements, it may not meet all local Association of REALTORS® requirements for Ethics.  Please check with your local Association of REALTORS® prior to enrolling. 

This class is also available as a 4 hour CE course with a more in depth analysis of many parctical situations.

Realtor® Professional Standards

The professional standard that sets Realtors® apart from other real estate practitioners is their acceptance and adherence to the Code of Ethics. The Code is revised through the years to be relevant to current developments in the professional real estate practice.

Even with the best of intentions, planning and preparation, occasional disagreements arise between brokers and/or between brokers and their clients or customers. As civil litigation becomes more costly and time consuming, Realtors® have created their own system of dispute resolution to help resolve disputes in a less costly less time consuming manner.

This course provides participants with a working knowledge regarding Realtor® Professional Standards, Real Estate Ethics and its’ enforcement. This class is designed to help Realtors® understand methods of resolving disputes arising out of real estate business, and will benefit the public by reducing the number of disputes and unethical behavior. Additionally, employing brokers will learn how to better counsel associate brokers on methods to resolve disputes regarding real estate transactions.

The Business of Bank-Owned Properties

As foreclosures rise, bank-owned properties will likely become a larger part of the listing inventory in our market.  Bank-owned proeprties are unique as the seller is an institutional lender likely located in another state.  Navigating the requirements for both listing and helping a buyer purchase bank-owned property can be tedious and confusing.  This class dives into the processes and potential land mines of both trying to list bank-owned properties and how to help a buyer successfully purchse a bank-owned property.  

To Manage or Not to Manage: Management Done Right (and without lawsuits)

Every year, Property Management is the leading area of complaints against Real Estate Brokers.  Many times these complaints morph into a full investigation simply because the property manager was not familiar with the requirements under license law.  Want to know how to avoid lawsuits against your brokerage firm? Train your managers. This course covers the do's and don'ts for property management including:  what needs to be in a property management agreement, how to choose a lease, concerns about eviction, information about the Warranty of Habitability, discussion about rent and security deposits and more.  If you are doing or thinking about doing property management, this is a must take class.   

Totally Legal Negotiating Techniques with Criminally Good Results

In this 3-hour class, you will learn from a real estate attorney constructive and integrative negotiation techniques as well as how to stay out of trouble when negotiating!

Class Topics include: 

• Constructive/Integrative Negotiation Techniques
• BATNA - Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
• Understanding the Other Side
• Communication
• Determining and Communicating Your Role
• Techniques to Overcome Negotiating Problems
• CREC Complaint Process
• Litigation

Trust Accounting

If you are in the property management business, you should be familiar with trust accounts. If a property manager is conducting traditional property managment, a trust account must be created by the property managers brokerage firm to hold and manage funds belonging to their clients.

In this course you will learn the required procedures for handling trust accounts including security deposit trust accounts and operating trust acounts for rents collected and bills paid.

Water Rights Issues in Real Estate

Many residents and businesses in Colorado pay public utilities, such as Denver Water, to receive their water supply. In rural and even not so rural parts of Colorado, however, many residents and businesses receive their water via a well or other type of water right that they own. Water rights in Colorado are regarded as real property, similar to real estate, and ownership is very flexible. A water right can be bought, sold, moved and switched from one use to another, such as from farming to domestic.  Understanding the water rights that run with a property can be crucial to real estate transactions that include water rights.  

This course provides real estate brokers with a basic understanding of the legal concept of water rights in Colorado, and addresses issues that can arise with their conveyance.  Understanding water rights issues in real estate will help real estate brokers facilitate smoother transactions where water rights are involved.

Your Clients and Mortgage Forbearance

Many homeowners applied for mortgage forbearances during the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to save their homes from foreclosure.  Mortgage forbearances are now expected to have mixed results as to their effectiveness helping homeowners avoid foreclosure as homeowners must now find ways to pay them back.  This class will give students a deeper understanding about mortgage forbearances, how they work, what there limitations are and how they potentially impact homeowners.  By having this deeper understanding, brokers will be better equipped to advise homeowners of their options surrounding mortgage forbearances. 

Your Clients and Short Sales

Will we see a rise in short sales and foreclosures again?  Many experts predict a wave of evictions and foreclosures that could lead to a drop in equity and an increase in seller's needing a short sale.  The purpose of this course is to give students a deep knowledge about the short sale process, the foreclosure process and step by step training on the logistics of achieving a successful short sale for their real estate clients. The class provides instructions on how to connect clients with the correct advice needed to achieve the best outcome in the event that they find themselves in default under their current loan. Additionally the course will help employing brokers to teach their brokers about the short sale process and the logistics of achieving a successful short sale.