Package Pricing

Posted by: Idaho Career Institute

We currently have a package price of $95.00 for 16 hours of continuing education.

Core Class

Posted by: Idaho Career Institute

New Core Updates Core 2010

Posted by: Idaho Career Institute

Do you know the newest updates and rules?  You should take Core every year to keep up with all of the changes in regards to the Idaho Real Estate Commission.   If you have taken two Core classes in one license renewal period and they have two different names you can use one for your Core credit and one for continuing education credit, (i.e. Core 2009 and Core 2010).    Stay update to date to stay out of trouble.

Housing Market

Posted by: Idaho Career Institute

The housing market, what is it, really?  You can read today’s paper and see the article Idaho 1^st in home price decline.  You can go to the internet and see how sales are up 19.2% since May from NAR.  Or you can try to write an offer today on a home under $150,000 and be one of 10 other offers.  So what do you believe?  What do we do?  My guess is the market is coming around and will stay this way until winter where we will see another slow down.  Next year I see the market climbing and interest rates rising.  Why are buyers waiting?  Are they waiting for the market to hit bottom, really?  No one knows when we hit bottom until the market starts to rise again, and then it’s too late.  With the interest rates still at a historic low you can buy a nice sized home and have an excellent interest rate and a good mortgage payment.  If you wait to see what the bottom is you will have a higher interest rate which means a higher mortgage payment for the same home plus pay a higher price for the home because you missed the bottom. 

Checking your Continuing Education Credits

Posted by: Idaho Career Institute

Do you have all of your credits to renew your license?  There is an easy way to check and see.  If you are already a registered user follow these instructions.  Login to www.idahorealestatecommission.com and go to the education tab on the left hand side of the screen.  Then click on the Login to Check your Education Online link.  Then login and choose the education tab.

 Not a current user?  At the home page choose Register a User Name and Password.  Follow the instructions and submit your request.  An e-mail will be sent to you with your user name and password.  Once you receive your login information go back to www.idahorealestatecommission.com and follow the directions above.

 Have a great weekend.

Commission CORE 2009

Posted by: Idaho Career Institute

Have you taken the new Core 2009 class?  You many want to brush up on the new changes.  For instance the section regarding the Broker Price Opinions (BPO) and Errors and Omissions Insurance. 

Below are a few examples regarding some of the items you need to watch out for when preparing a BPO.

1.  You must be either a licensed Broker or Associate Broker to perform this function.  You may also charge for your services but the fee you charge must be paid to your designated broker.

2.  You cannot represent yourself as an appraiser only a real estate licensee.

3.  All active real estate agents can prepare market analysis as part of your everyday business.

4.  You must follow the eight (8) requirements in the Idaho Real Estate License Law and Rules July 2009 edition.  You may find these on page 64.

What you need to know regarding your errors and omissions insurance.

1.  Errors and Omissions insurance does not cover against deliberate acts.

2.  Mold issues are excluded from the policies.

3.  Your personal real estate transactions are not covered.

4.  The policy must be in place at the time of a claim.  If a licensee leaves the business or retires you need to consider "tail coverage".  An individual has up to four (4) years to file a claim against a licensee.  If you leave the business or retire and a claim is filed and your E&O policy was cancelled you are not covered by your insurance policy.  You only have 60 days to purchase "tail coverage".

If you have already taken the previous Commission Core 2008 and you have enough credits to renew your license, please consider taking the new Commission Core 2009 to brush up on the laws and any changes which are in effect.  You may check to see if you are in compliance with your continuing education requirements at http://www.idahorealestatecommission.com/.

Short-Sales Do's and Dont's

Posted by: Don Crowell

Did you read the Idaho Statesman’s article on Short Sales? I hope it will help buyer's and sellers to understand the pitfalls of today’s short sale frenzy. I have worked on many short sales from the buyer side and I have found them difficult to do for a couple of reasons. 1) Unrealistic Buyer Expectations 2) An Immediate Need To Occupy and 3) Banker Ignorance.In many instances your buyer will want to offer 20% of the home’s value, not going to work unless your clearing off the bank’s balance sheet worth 60 million. Let your buyer know that they can reasonably expect a 10% to 30% discount depending on the repairs required to a home and the overall condition of the market and subdivision. A home that is a older well established neighborhood with fewer distressed properties is going to hold its value better than the two year old sub with a 50% vacancy rate. Know the risk and buy accordingly. Secondly if your buyer needs an immediate answer on an offer you may want to look elsewhere. Banks are notoriously slow, on tip I heard recently is to have the seller call the bank and threaten legal action if they do not respond to all offers in a timely manner. It worked for an agent at the Century 21 1st place realty office in Boise and the bank took almost $100,000 less on a $400,000 property. Not too bad! Bank ignorance = Bliss and job security right? No banker wants to be the one that pulls the trigger on a $100,000 loss. It seems like the bank’s strategy is to sit and wait, this is not an effective corporate strategy for a problem sinking your business. I had a deal with one bank where we were $500 away on price (not a huge obstacle) but the bank insisted on an earnest money payment of $4500. The seller was getting 10% down from his 401k and didn't have more than $1000 to put down. We would have closed the deal in two weeks and the house was only $150,000. Why did they let the deal go for a ridiculous amount of earnest money?

Will Boise's Housing Market Go UP In 08?

Posted by: Don Crowell

Many of you recently read in the Idaho Statesman about Brighton Homes recent success in 2008 versus 2007. The company is now guaranteeing that anyone that buy's a home this year will qualify for a rebate if Brighton lowers the retail price of its model homes. Is this the signal people have been waiting for? Is now finally the time to get back into real estate? Boise's economy has stayed relatively strong despite the loss of jobs, high fuel prices and an unusually high foreclosure rate. Perhaps this is the turnaround we (Treasure Valley Real Estate Agents) have been waiting for. So now what. Make sure your real estate license is active if you need to finish up you CE's you can do them On-line or in person. If we see a rebound you will want to be proactive rather than reactive.

Why Take Continuing Education

Posted by: Don Crowell

Many people get frustrated with the idea of being required to take Continuing Education to maintain a professional license. Professionals like Nurses, Lawyers, CPA's and Real Estate Agents are all required to take a certain number of Continuing Education Credits (CEU's). Here are the benefits:1) The state agency or accrediting agency that regulates a particular profession ensure minimal standard for every individual holding a designation or license.2) Professionals get training in a timely manner, they have a deadline to complete it by and there is usually a penalty if a professional doesn't complete their CEU's on time. In Idaho, Real Estate professionals are fined $500 if the fail to complete the states educational requirements. Without this many professionals would procrastinate and not finish.3) The public receives better service because professionals are up to date on trend and industry concerns.The biggest issue with CEU's in the past has been availability, cost and geographical location (Good Classes Are Hard To Find Near Arco Idaho).  Idaho Career Institute offers the best variety of continuing education in both a Live Instructor Lead format or Online classes. If you are looking for Law or Medical CEU's or possibly a certificate program try our Ed2Go link.

When Real Estate Rebounds

Posted by: Don Crowell

Many people are looking at today’s market with disbelief and bewilderment. Let’s face it, Real Estate was easy to get into and during the boom it was easy to sell one or two homes a year while working real estate part time. Fulltime agents saw past clients using family members or friends that were inexperienced and in many cases probably negligent in the handling of real estate business. 

A market correction is good for real estate professionals that are committed to the industry and who are not fly by night realtors. A reliable source from ACAR said today that the Ada County Association of Realtors membership is down by 3800. While many of those realtors just took up office space, a few closed 3-5 transactions per year. If they are out of the picture, existing real estate agents have a good chance of picking up at least 2 more deals this year than before. Although I didn't do a quantifiable analysis, it is clear to me that the agents that have been coming to real estate continuing education courses to renew their Idaho Real Estate licenses are doing better overall.Some agents recently made headlines by saying in the Idaho Statesman that our market has hit the bottom. I think they are wrong.  Look at the trends, sales are up in California but prices are way down and Foreclosures are off the charts in almost every major city in California. (DQNEWS). Our market is tied in many ways to what happens in California. So while I think we will see a positive bump in the spring of 09 it won't be until 2010 that we see a sustainable upward trend. So why get into or stay in real estate when everything seems so chaotic? Relax, people are still buying and selling real estate. Secondly, where are people with money putting it? Not in the stock market, and with the way banks are right now people are looking for a safe spot to put their money. Although Real Estate is not risk free it is considerably safer than other investment vehicles. Don't be discouraged, get back to basics and set some goals for yourself. If you are thinking about getting in to real estate you will need to be a self started, goal oriented and committed to serving your clients. Pre-license classes start every month and both day and evening classes are available. Real Estate Pre-license packages are also available for additional savings and added resources. If you need CE credits Click Here.