Where Are the Youngsters?

Just noticed that the average age of real estate agents is now 51. While that's not old given today's aging population, it made me wonder why more recent college and highschool graduates are not entering this field and pulling the average age down a bit? We've had a great ride in this career and it will rebound (I think big time) soon. If you're looking at alternatives, take a look at prudentcareers.com for some additional information about a career in Illinois real estate sales.
That being said, if you happen to be an older person (like me) thinking of entering a second or third career, we'd be happy to welcome you also.

Value of Career Nights

Most of the students I've asked have been reticent to attend so called "Career Nights," expressing concerns about being pressured (similar to condo sales events, I guess) to join a company. The reality, at least with our career nights, could not be further from the truth. We want people interested in the real estate career to be able to ask questions, meet active agents, listen to experts, and gain enough insight into the business that they're able to make an informed decision (or guess) as to whether to pursue this as a serious career or move in another direction. The last thing we intend or try to do is pressure someone into the business which is an almost direct road to failure.

Illinois Real Estate License Exam Review

Passing the Illinois real estate license exam just might be easier for you if you read and memorize the review we've written and posted to prudentcareers.com. Here's a excerpt:

General Concepts: Types of real property include residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, special purpose. The most critical economic characteristic of land is area preference: location, location, location. Physical characteristics are immobility, indestructibility, and uniqueness. Real property includes air rights and mineral rights and the bundle of legal rights: possession, control, enjoyment, exclusion and right to sell.
What distinguishes personal property (or chattels) from fixtures is that personal property is moveable and by removing it the property would not be damaged. A fixture is personal property that has become part of the real estate by attachment, like a light fixture. Tests of a fixture include intent and method of attachment.When you own a home, mortgage interest and property taxes are deductible expenses; principal paid, insurance premiums and private mortgage insurance are not deductible items.

License Law Passes House and Senate from IAR

License law rewrite clears Illinois House and Senate; now headed to governor. IAR’s Real Estate License Law rewrite (SB 1894) was approved on Oct. 15 by the House and on Oct. 29 by the Senate. The bill now goes to the Gov. Quinn for his approval. In terms of timing, the legislature has a maximum of 30 days to transmit the bill to the Governor, and then the Governor has 60 days to act on the bill. However, IAR anticipates that the bill will be acted upon relatively quickly. If approved, the section of the bill containing the Real Estate License Act is effective December 31, 2009. The bill gives licensees until April 30, 2012 to go through the proficiency exam or coursework requirements. Read IAR's License Law talking points and Q&A to help clear up any misconceptions about the proposal.

A Message From Andy Starck

For almost fifty years Prudential Starck,Realtors® has helped usher new licensees into the exciting world of real estate sales. Long known for our training, we are one of the very few companies that continues to employ a full-time career development person to train and coach new associates. That training is new and unique for the times and vastly different from methods of the past. Further, our two powerful brands, Prudential and Bank of America, and our lead generation capability also help to insure you will have the best possible chance for success. Real estate sales is all about relationships, it's a simple business,but it's not an easy business. You must bring a strong desire to succeed and a high energy level, be trainable and be a self-starter. Anyone can do it, but not everyone will do it. At Prudential Starck, you will increase your odds of carving out a new, successful and rewarding career for yourself."

Message from Your House Academy

No news from Springfield yet about the revised license law ... but it's coming. The salesperson's license category will be eliminated and all agents will need to be either Brokers or Managing Brokers. Now's the time to get your broker license ... before the rush.We're starting a new broker workshop series in October in Arlington Heights during the day and offering a special reduced tuition. I've attached a flyer and a registration form. Please call with questions or to register. Your call is always welcome at your school office.
Vince DePaul Prudential Starck Realtors School Office630-307-3467

FREE REAL ESTATE CAREER SEMINAR IN OCTOBER

The real estate market place is dynamic and always changing. Right now it looks like it's changing for the better. With the encouraging reports in the media recently, and the $8,000.00 first time buyer tax incentive, more and more people are buying and selling homes today, and they're looking for guidance from real estate sales professionals. A career in real estate is potentially more rewarding now than ever before.

Men and women interested in exploring the possibility of starting a career in the real estate industry are invited to a free Real Estate Career Seminar, Tuesday evening October 6, 2009 at 7:00 PM at the Prudential Starck Realtors office, 1218 E. Main Street (Rt.64) in St. Charles.

The seminar is called "A Night of Questions and Answers" and will focus on requirements for licensing, qualifications and exams along with questions about earning potential, training and what it takes to get started.

Refreshments will be served. Reservations are requested and can be made by calling 800-375-7032. For more information call or go to YourHouseAcademy.com.

What is a Life Estate

Another topic that confuses some students involves understanding what a Life Estate is all about. People can hold different interests (estates) in real estate: freehold (ownership) or leasehold (lease). Within the freehold catagory there are several types of fee simple and one called "life estate." A life estate is created when someone deeds ownership of realty with the stipulation that the ownership terminates upon the death of some individual. An example might be deeding a home to aging parents for as long as they're alive with the ownership reverting (reversionary interest) to you when your parents die. The "life of" person could be the grantor, the grantee, or some other person (called pur autra vie for the life of another). One question that might come up is can the grantee sell the life estate? Yes, but whoever buys it will still lose ownership when the life of the person named in the deed die (remember you can only sell what you own and you only own the property as long as the named person is alive.)

Flexible Learning Method

For the past ten years or so, we've been using a teaching method that involves combining home study with classroom lecture (our workshops). This gives the student several advantages when taking the required 45 hour prelicense course:

• Study and complete the course at your own pace, taking from several weeks to as much as six months.
• Usually involves much smaller groups with more time for individual attention.
• Lectures can be repeated at any of the workshop locations if needed.
• Workshops attendance is not mandatory.
• Fewer hours are required sitting in a classroom.
• Individual tutoring and all-day reviews are available.

What you must remember is we're teaching material needed in order to pass the State of Illinois licensing exam, not teaching you how to function as a real estate agent. Both the textbook, workbook, and workshops focus on exam type material. With the flexible learning method, we also provide an instructional cd for additional practice. We are currently offering the workshops at several locations here in Northern Illinois and welcome your call or email for additional information. If you'd like to register online, click here.

Consumers Want Real Estate Agents

A few years ago I heard a report from the man who supposedly "brought down the travel agency business" by developing on-line reservations systems for airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, etc. ... all the things that were typically handled by travel agents. He turned his focus to the real estate business and created Zillow with the goal of "bringing down the real estate agency business." Lots of people outside the real estate industry thought that he could do it. People inside the real estate industry knew that it was just more "hog wash."

Real estate professionals know that there's something they provide that the internet can't and people really value that "something."

Consumers want a low price and discounts and rebates make sense in many industries, particularly the retail industry. However, one of the first things a real estate license student learns is the difference between "Real Property" and "Personal Property" and viva la difference. Real estate (real property) is just not sold the same way as personal property (i.e. airline tickets, hotel rooms). So far the internet has done little to sway a big percentage of housing consumers away from brokers.

Today, with the huge number of foreclosures and short sales, people, both buyers and sellers, need agents more than ever just to navigate through all the mine fields that these kinds of properties bring to the game.

Does anyone really think the role of the real estate professional will be diminished? We'll be challenged by the competition the internet brings, which is a good thing. But real estate agents are here to stay and our numbers will increase.

Agents should not be concerned. Those who think there’s some easy way to replace the service we provide are wrong ... at least that's what the consumers have concluded so far. The services we provide are just too valuable to walk away from. Perhaps consumers really want something more than just a low price.

Questions About Appraisal Careers

As residential real estate agents we are not (normally) licensed as appraisers: it's a totally different, though related, field. We use an appraisal approach called the Market Data Approach, when trying to determine the best price at which to list a home: it's our "best guess" as to the price our Seller's home could bring based on what similar homes in the neighborhood have recently sold for. Appraisers typically use three approaches to value and reconcile the values to arrive at their "best guess." While I found doing actual appraisal work pretty boring, several friends have made long and successful careers in the field. If you'd like to learn more go to
http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/ . The Appraisal Institute is located in Chicago.

New Careers Site is Launched

The new Illinois real estate career web site is now up and running. There you will be able to find information on a career with Prudential Starck Realtors®, links and information about our partner real estate school, Your House Academy, web links to sites we've discovered, material on prelicense course work, the State of Illinois exam, the new format for the Illinois broker exam, some general information about working in real estate, and we'll be adding content frequently. You'll find the site under the old URL of prudentcareers.com. Let us know what you think.

Lenders Are Terrible Sellers

It's been said time and again ... As soon as we get rid of this inventory of foreclosed and short sale properties, the market will be back on track. Well, anyone who's been actively involved in the residential sales market lately can easily see where the real problem comes from ... it's the fact that BANKS JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO BE SELLERS ... They're just awful!

An agent in my office put it this way ... "It's like the Wild West. There are no rules, no common courtesies and nobody cares who gets hurt!"

The lenders are taking weeks and often months to respond to an offer to purchase a foreclosure property ... and much longer if it's a short sale.

The banks are "stacking" offers and seem to be waiting for a better one even though there are good and honest contacts that have already been presented. They just don't seem to be in any hurry ... and why should they be? They got billions of dollars in government bail out money and they really don't care how long this mess hangs around. They don't care about the property and they don't take care of the property ... driving the values ever lower because of their neglect.

As a result of all the nonsense, we even have middle men who, for a fee, will expedite the transaction. Expedite the transaction!? I thought that's what agents and brokers are supposed to be doing.

There's been lots of blame thrown around since this whole mess began ... greedy lenders, dumb buyers, poor economy, and on and on. But right now, the blame is squarely on the lenders. Someone should give them all a good lesson on how to simply be a good seller.

New Careers Web Site

Prudential Starck Realtors® will soon have a new site dedicated to providing information to both new and experienced agents. Obviously, the focus will be on attracting agents to our company, but we sincerely hope the information will prove valuable to all. The site will gather information from various news sources, Realtor® groups, our partner real estate school (Your House Academy), and articles by licensed instructors. It is right now a work in progress, stay tuned.

Simple Math?

A math type question often seen on school finals as well as the State exam, involves calculating a purchase price given a loan amount and down payment percentage. The question may be slightly compounded by stating that the purchaser paid points amounting to some amount without giving the loan figure. Take a question like, "The buyer paid two points totalling $1,400 and had an 80% loan to value ratio. What was the purchase price?" Well, since we know that one point is 1% of the loan amount, we can calculate that the loan was equal to $70,000. Now since the buyer put down 20%, we would want to add that amount to the $70,000. This is done by dividing the loan amount by .80. In other words, if you want to add a percentage to something, divide by the residual. Another typical example is, "A seller tells an agent he wants to gross $100,000 after the brokerage fee. What selling price would be needed?" If the brokerage fee was 6%, you would need to divide $100,000 by .94 to add the .06 to it.

How to Calculate Property Size from Legal - The Easy Way

Suppose you have a legal description reading something like "...the S 1/2 of the NW 1/4 of the S 1/2 of the NE 1/2 ....of Section 17, T12N, R3E..." and the State exam asks you to calculate the size of that piece of property. Well, you DO know that a section has 640 acres, right? So, instead of drawing out the problem just divide backwards, in other words, 640 divided by 2, divided by 2, divided by 4, divided by 2, and you'll have the answer: 20 acres. The only catch is that if the description you get has an "and" in it, you need to calculate two amounts and add them. So, S 1/2 of the NW 1/4 and the S 1/2 of the NE 1/2 would be much larger and amount to 240 acres (640 divided by 2, divided by 2 plus 640 divided by 2 divided by 4).

Capitalization Approach to Value

Several of our students have been having problems understanding the cap rate, or capitalization approach, to estimating value of an income producing property. If you remember that the higher the net income produced by a property (or investment), the higher the value, it follows that a property returning 3% income is worth less that one returning 7%, all other things being equal and not considering radical changes in the properties' economic environment. By researching the sold statistics of income producing properties, an agent can calculate the rate of return investors are after. In other words, if most of the sold properties show a net income of around 5% (not considering cost of financing), then it is probably safe to estimate that the property you're trying to value should use 5%, or perhaps more, as a benchmark for estimated market value. Using the formula of Income (net after expenses) over Rate (in this case .05), estimated value can be calculated. So, if the subject property produced a net income of $35,000 and we know that figure should be around 5% of the value for investors to be interested, we can simply divide income by rate and suggest a market price of $700,000.

YourHouseAcademy.com

Your House Real Estate Academy is now offering online courses and has links on the site to the bookstore and Mr. Real Estate's Illinois Exam review, a series of CD's. They have also posted a series of informative articles designed to give a prospective real estate agent some additional information and advice. Here at Prudential Starck Realtors our Saturday morning course continues to crank out folks ready to sit for the Illinois exam: we had another 3 students pass the course final during the last session. If time is at a premium for you and you're not too far from Palatine give us a call about the workshop.

Prepare Differently for Broker License Exam

In February 2009 the multiple choice testing format for the broker license exam was changed to a scenario, information gathering, and decision making Simulation format. Whatever the reason, we now have an exam that is absolutely different from anything we've seen before and real estate educators are scrambling to figure out how to prepare broker students to pass this new test.

It's obvious that we cannot use the same teaching methods used in the past for the multiple choice test. The abysmal 35% passing rate for the first 3 months proves that. Our current textbooks are not designed for this type of testing. Many of the questions and situations in the new exam and not covered in the standard texts. That being said, the Simulation exam is not necessarily harder than the old multiple choice test: it's just different.

As before, the exam is given in 2 parts; the national portion and the state specific portion. There are still 40 state specific multiple choice questions. The national portion consists of 10 Simulation questions of which 8 are scored. The other 2 are questions that the testing service is evaluating. Each Simulation question consists of 5 to 8 different segments. After presenting the scenario, the information gathering segments will ask , "SELECT AS MANY AS YOU CONSIDER APPROPRIATE." The decision making segments will ask, "CHOOSE ONLY ONE ITEM IN THIS SECTION."

Real Estate agents are taught risk reduction techniques that require agents to ask numerous questions so that all bases are covered. The Simulation exam, however, awards points for proper responses and subtracts points for improper responses. Therefore it's important to know which are best. Fewer are selections are sometimes better than more. There are no math problems on the Simulation portion of the exam. Fifty percent of the Simulations concern residential real estate, 33% commercial simulations and 17% property management. Also, there's no going back. Answers cannot be changed.

The new test does not use branching. Branching is a testing model that brings the student to a different question based on the previous answer. There are 3 free sample Simulations at http://www.goamp.com/repSimTests.aspx. They're only designed, however, to give you an idea of what the exam looks like. They're not to be used as a learning tool. The questions are not Illinois specific and do not truly reflect the type of question you might see. The testing service does sell a sample exam on goamp.com that can be a good learning tool.

For more information contact Vince DePaul at http://www.blogger.com/Vince@YourHouseAcademy.com

New Broker Exam - Instruction Methods

Vince DePaul, the dean of our real estate school, YourHouseAcademy, has just returned from a seminar in Springfield where at least part of the focus was on methods to teach to the new broker exam. That's the simulation type exam and I've been ranting about its difficulty, at least from the examples I've taken at the AMP website. I'm hoping we can get Vince to post some of what he learned down there and am using this blog entry as a sort of prod. Stay tuned.

REAL ESTATE CAREER SEMINAR

CAREER SEMINAR REVEALS THE FACTS
The real estate market place is always changing and right now it looks like it's changing for the better. With the encouraging reports from the media recently more and more people are buying and selling homes today and are looking for guidance from real estate sales professionals. A career in real estate is potentially more rewarding now than ever before.
The truth is this is a great time to start a real estate career. The market is turning around and people are looking for help from real estate professionals.
A good place to start exploring the possibility of a career in real estate is a Career Seminar like the one Prudential Starck Realtors is presenting Tuesday evening June 2 at 7:00 PM at their Bloomingdale Learning Center, 181 S. Bloomingdale Rd in Bloomingdale. The seminar is free and is billed as "A Night of Questions and Answers." Questions about requirements for licensing, qualifications, earning potential, training and what it takes to get started will all be answered.
Anyone interested in discovering the realities of real estate sales can learn the facts that night.
Prudential Starck Realtors holds these Career Seminars regularly. For a schedule or to reserve your spot call 800-375-7032.

Tuition Reimbursement Program from Prudential Starck Realtors

Real estate sales is an exciting and rewarding profession that offers lots of great opportunities. A career in real estate allows you to meet and help interesting people, experience freedom and independence, use your personal strengths and obtain financial security. Of course, before you can start in the business, you need to obtain your Illinois real estate license. That requires a course and tuition.

Whether you take the class at a college or at a private school, the tuition is usually around $350 including text materials.

The real estate school that Prudential Starck Realtors® underwrites, Your House Academy, offers the state-approved pre-license course for $285.00.

Prudential Starck Realtors® underwrites the school in order to attract good agent prospects to the company.  In addition to making a lower tuition possible, as an added incentive, agents who join the company will receive 1/2 of their tuition refunded when their first transaction closes.

When you consider all the great training, tools and leadership Prudential Starck Realtors® offers their agents, this tuition refund program is just like "icing on the cake".

For more information about the pre-license course offered through Your House Academy visit their website at YourHouseAcademy.com or call Vince DePaul at 800-375-7032.

The Class of 2009 - A Career Instead of a Job

From CareerBuilder.com:
"The class of 2009 will face the most competitive job market in years, as companies continue to proceed with caution amid economic uncertainty, according to CareerBuilder’s newly released annual college job forecast.The percentage of employers planning to hire recent college grads is roughly half of what it was just two years ago. Only 43 percent of employers plan to hire recent college graduates in 2009, down from 56 percent in 2008 and 79 percent in 2007."

While a career in real estate sales may not be the answer, it might be worth considering. The market is down right now, but there are signs of recovery and we think when it comes out it's slumber it will come out with a sustained upswing. Housing affordability is at its highest point in years, mortgage rates are at their lowest point in years, absorption rate (month's supply of inventory) is dropping steadily in most areas, and there is an $8,000. incentive for first time home buyers to act now. Similar to investing when the market is down, it might be a benefit to invest in a career instead of looking for a job. For more information try prudentcareers.com and if you'd like to find out about getting an Illinois real estate license click on YourHouseAcademy.com. Here at Prudential Starck Realtors, we are always ready to answer your questions.

Illinois Broker Exam Preparation

At examsmart.com the following message is now posted: "NEW AMP BROKER SIMULATION QUESTIONS NOW AVAILABLE! Unlimited review of 20 full simulations! FREE RENEWALS UNTIL YOU PASS!" As you know from past posts, we think you'll need some sort of practice before taking the broker test. I believe Bill O'Donnell, one of our broker license instructors, has a copy of the examsmart review and I'll see if we can get him to post his evaluation of it.

Technophobic?

How much tech knowledge do you need to succeed in real estate sales? We'll soon post a complete guide on prudentcareers.com, but the basic list would include enough computer familiarity to be able to access and explore your local Multiple Listing Service. Some of the features available through the better MLS web sites are prospecting, property searches, tax records, and more. Also important is the ability to utilize email to exchange information between yourself and clients, as well as your office and other agents. (The value of a personal web site will be covered in more detail in future posts.) Software programs you will probably need include word processing, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, and contact management. None of those are impossible to master, so don't worry too much, you can learn to use them. Here at Prudential Starck Realtors we offer training in the use of these tools.

Your House Real Estate Academy - CE Classes

In my last post, I short changed the Academy. CE 12-hour home study courses are offered through a cooperating agreement between Your House Academy and The Illinois Academy of Real Estate. The Illinois Real Estate License Act requires 12-hours of professional Continuing Education for all licensees who are not exempt. 6-hours must be in the mandatory core categories (A & B) and 6-hours may be elective courses.

Students receive textbooks and workbooks for the course or courses ordered. The books contain reading assignments and self testing. When prepared, the student calls and sets an appointment for testing. The exams are proctored exams and administered at our corporate offices or at the site of an approved proctor. The student has a minimum of two weeks and up to six months to complete the program. Tuition is $25.00 per 3-hour course or $75.00 for all 12-hours
Contact Vince DePaul at (630) 307-3493 or (800) 375-7032 or by email for more information.

License Renewals

April 30 deadline looms for salesperson license renewals in Illinois. If you still need to complete continuing education, see IAR’s home study, online and classroom options.

License Law Rewrite and Broker Exam

I am happy to see the state passed the rewrite, it's something we have needed for a long time. In the short term, it will certainly cause some confusion, but over the long haul I believe it will pay dividends for the industry. As for the exam, the pass rate for the first 45 days or so has been around 39%, rather abysmal to say the least. The biggest problem has been the lack of study material available to date. I spoke to the folks at ExamSmart and they tell me the new simulator should be up and running next week. I also have it on good authority that AMP is doing some "Tweeking" to the state exam based on feedback from several sources. All of these things together should begin to show better results in the near future. For those who will be transitioning to Broker or Broker Manager status, will be able to take a proficiency exam, if passed they will not have to take the regular exam. I do not believe the proficiency exam has been created yet, so I don't know at this point what that will entail. As soon as it becomes available, I will try to get a copy. Stay tuned

Illinois Senate Votes to Pass License Law Rewrite

On April 2nd the Senate UNANIMOUSLY approved Senate Bill 1894, the IAR initiative to rewrite the Real Estate License Act. The House Bill was referred to the Rules Committee. It appears that we should have a new license law soon. The proposed changes, which we've discussed earlier, are supported by the Illinois Association of Realtors®, so, as a lemming in training, I must also support. The big problem as I see it is the new format for the broker exam and a bunch of agents, under the prosposed changes, will have to take that exam. We need to do some additional research on that exam and find out more. I'll see if I can get Bill O'Donnell to share some information.

Illinois Prelicense Tutored Homestudy

We have had tremendous success doing prelicense instruction using a homestudy format with one-on-one tutoring. We're going to offer this option again at the Palatine office starting Saturday, April 25th. We begin at 8:30 are are usually out by 11:30 or so and can cover the material in approximately seven Saturdays. During that period one-on-one tutoring sessions can be arranged and a great deal of time is spent covering State exam questions. Our pass rate at the State level is excellent. For more information you can call Vince at yourhouseacademy at
800-375-7032 . We have several other courses scheduled and the complete schedule can be seen by clicking on schedule.

Following Up on the Simulation Test Questions

I have asked several brokers I know to try the sample simulations on the Illinois Real Estate Broker section at goamp.com. As of this post NONE have been able to pass the tests: repeat, NONE. If these are accurate examples of the types of questions now being asked, someone had better review situation.

New Broker Review From ExamSmart

I spoke with the people at examsmart who said their new review including practice for the simulation type questions will be ready by the middle of April. They will post information on their website when it's ready. If it is anywhere near as good as their old review, it should be well worth the investment. As soon as we know for sure that it's ready we'll also notify you here.

AMP Web Site Offers Sample Questions

After looking at Bill's last post, I went to the AMP site, goamp.com, and tried the simulated test questions. To put it as gently as I can, the new format can be brutal. Anyone preparing to take the new test should practice before sitting. We'll do some research and try to determine who has the best material currently available and let you know.

The New Brokers Exam

While attending the IAR business meetings last week, we discussed, at great length, the new broker exam and the ability to study for the new format. As of right now, AMP has released a study guide for $24.95 and "Examsmart.com" is supposed to have a practice exam ready any day, which will have a cost of $49.00 that will allow the subscriber to use the practice tests for 90 days. There are other companies working on the same, but as of this posting have not given a timeframe for release. We will keep you posted with updates as soon as they become available. In the meantime, it would be well worth the money to purchase the AMP guide or subsribe to Examsmart because the exam is nothing like you have seen before, and would be difficult to pass without these study tools. Remember, the state portion of the exam is still multiple choice, it is the national portion that has changed to a situational format. stay tuned.

Illinois Real Estate License Act Rewrite

The Illinois Association of REALTORS® has posted some highlights on the proposed changes. The IAR is in support of these changes and it looks very much like they will take affect at the end of the year. Basically, as we mentioned before, the salesperson license will be replaced by a broker license with an increase in the prelicense classroom hours from the current 45 to 90 hours. Continuing Education and Managing Broker requirements will be increased as well. I'll post the IAR information on prudentcareers.com later today.

New Prelicense Class Schedules Posted

We've scheduled the Early Spring '09 prelicense classes in eight locations. You can view the schedule on prudentialstarck.com or yourhouseacademy.com. While we cannot say the market is good yet, there are signs that things are picking up. Our sales have been up four out of the last six months. As I've mentioned before there are several positives that should affect the market: rates are very low, inventories are high meaning there's more to select from, there's a first time buyer tax credit, and housing affordability is at a high. If you're considering a career change, now's the time.

License Law Update Coming

One of our guys, Bill O'Donnell, is on the real estate education work group for Illinois and will be in Springfield this week to find out more about the proposed changes. As soon as he has the information we'll post it. In the meantime, Vince at YourHouseAcademy is now offering the broker license workshop series starting Wednesday, April 8 in our Arlington Heights classroom ... Plus, in order to encourage you to do it now ... we're offering a $25.00 discount to Prudential Starck agents. (Call it a stimulus package) Tuition is regularly $450.00 ... for this workshop series tuition is only $425.00 including all course materials.

Licensing Requirements Changing

Introduced 2/20/09 is a Bill before the Illinois House that proposes changes in the Real Estate License Act of 2000. The Bill proposes that no new salesperson licenses be issued after April, 2011 and all new licensees will need to complete a 90 hour course of broker instruction. The current requirement is 45 hours for salesperson license. The Bill provides for a transition from existing sales license to the new broker license by completing a 30 hour additional course or by passing a State approved proficiency exam. I'll have a more detailed explanation on prudentcareers shortly. Questions can also be directed to Vince DePaul at YourHouseAcademy.

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

As an addition to my last post, I forgot to add that the up to $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers adds great incentive for new buyers to enter the market during 2009. The credit against taxes owed does not have to be repaid (unlike the 2008 credit) and is available to first timers with individual adjusted gross incomes not exceeding $75,000. A detailed explaination of the credit is available on the NAHB site.

Are You Going to Benefit from the Rebound?

The National Association of Realtors reports that housing affordability was at an all-time high in December. Also reflected in that report was the good news, for us, that the Midwest had the highest affordability index of the four geographic regions. Mortgage rates are as low as I can remember in my 30 years in the business. It was slow back in the early '80's when rates were in the mid to high teens, but when it broke...wow, we had a good number of great years. So is now the time to get into the business? Nobody knows, but when it breaks...

Goal Setting

Our education director, Joan Murphy, has posted a great outline for helping new agents set goals. The importance of having goals, and even the process of setting them, cannot be stressed enough. Earl Nightingale said, "You become what you think about," the idea formulated from Napoleon Hill's important book, Think and Grow Rich. Nightingale authored a book (see nightingale.com) called The Strangest Secret addressing this concept. Basic to it all is setting and focusing on goals in your chosen profession and in your life. Joan's article can be found at prudentcareers.com.

The Relationship Between Success and Knowledge

Success in this business is partly a matter of timing, partly the company you elect to associate with, partly how much time you devote to prospecting, partly how many people you know (sphere of influence), and partly just plain luck, but mostly it’s a process of becoming a true real estate professional. Sure becoming a professional involves real estate education and training, but a lot of it is simply increasing your knowledge of the local market. I am working on a list of things every agent "should" know and will post it soon on prudentcareers.com.

Audio Review for State of Illinois RE Exam

The material will prepare you to succesfully pass your Illinois State License examination.
The primary presenter is Vince DePaul, known to many as “Mr. Real Estate.” Vince is a Real Estate Broker and a licensed real estate instructor. For ten years he hosted a weekly, live, call-in radio broadcast called “Your House.” He has taught real estate at College of DuPage for several decades and is the Dean of The Your House Real Estate Academy.

This material comes in the form of audio CD's and includes review questions.
It can be ordered from YourHouseAcademy.com for $25.95.

He Doesn't Listen to the News

"How's the market?" That question is becoming almost banal: real estate agents ask each other, friends ask, people considering this as a career ask. The media is filled with dismal economic reports, but what happens when an agent doesn't buy into the gloom? One Realtor® friend and colleague, John, could prove the old adage about the very successful salesman who, "didn't know how bad it was," to be absolutely true. He is constantly upbeat and working. Three weeks ago he recorded six transactions and I noticed another two come in this week. I saw him yesterday with some new signs he's had designed to post at open houses: big, dramatic signs. Twice in the last few weeks he's had to cancel meetings with me in order to meet buyers. Yes, it's a bad market if you allow it to be and John is not doing that.

Prospecting for Buyers

If you'd like to attend a Home Buyers' Seminar to see what agents and companies do in the ongoing attempts to locate prospective clients, feel free to come on Wednesday, February 25th. Our Arlington Heights and Palatine offices are holding a seminar covering the home buying process, legal aspects, home instpections, and financing. Also covered will be the foreclosure maket and what to watch for when buying "REO" property. The seminar will run from 7 to 9:30 PM at our Arlington Heights training center: 300 E. NW Highway, A.H. Please call Margie at 847-392-3900 for a reservation.

Illinois License Test Review Material

At the Prudential Starck Realtors' career web site, prudentcareers.com, I've posted some review material that might help those of you preparing to take the State of Illinois licensing exam. We're still working on the "word association" list and we'll post that soon. If anyone wants the partial list, just let us know and we'll email it.

Agent Income

There are several models for broker/agent compensation plans, but the most common is some sort of commission split schedule. In some plans, the agent may have a monthly fee payable (desk fee) to the office in return for a set commission split on all agent generated business. Most of the franchise companies (Prudential, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, etc.) use graduated commission schedules where the agent’s split is based on the agent’s level of production, although some may also offer desk fee arrangements.

The majority of brokers are members of a Multiple Listing Service through which they offer to share earned commission with other broker members who cooperate in the sale. Most transactions have two sides with a listing broker and selling broker, as well as agents working under each. So, in a very simplified example, if a transaction resulted in a $6,000 total fee, the listing broker and his agent would split $3,000 and the selling broker and his agent would split $3,000. For an slightly more detailed description see prudentcareers.com.

A Note on Continuing Education from Vince DePaul

Real estate license laws are enacted to protect the general public from unprofessional and dishonest agents and to evaluate the competency of persons seeking real estate licenses. After they become licensed, the Act also places high standards on those licensees and require all agents and brokers to maintain those high standards through continuing education.
Before a real estate salesperson renews their license in April of each odd numbered year, 12 hours of continuing education are required. Six of those 12 hours must be the state mandated Core courses (Core A and Core B) which emphases license laws, escrow, agency and fair housing laws. The remaining 6 hours are elective courses such as Ethics, Environmental Issues, Risk Management, etc.
Before renewing their license in April of every even numbered year, Real estate broker licensees must complete the required 12 hours, and an additional mandatory 6 hour Broker Management course, for a total of 18 hours of CE.
In order to satisfy the CE requirements, agents may take classroom instruction or enroll in state approved "self-study" or computer-based courses.
After successfully completing the CE courses, the agent will receive a uniform transcript of completion. This transcript is strictly for the agent's records. No proof of CE is required to be mailed to the state when renewing their licenses. The approved CE schools will notify the IDFPR of the compliance via the internet. When the license renewal form is received (or if the renewal is done online) the agent simply checks off the box that says "I have complied".
Continuing educations requirements are an important part of the license Act and good for the consumer and the industry.
For more information on state required CE, or to enroll in our course, call 800-375-7032, or visit YourHouseAcademy.com.

Don't Mean to Harp, But...

Illinois requires that every prospective agent take and pass a prelicense course (currently 45 hours) and then pass a State exam, the uninformed would believe they were prepared to sell a home. Not true of course, the process is not unlike taking driver’s education and then the driver’s test. The new agent is no more prepared to service a real estate client than the new driver is to handle rush hour in Chicago. Illinois Senate Bill 0571 which proposes increasing the required hours and some other improvements in continuing education, etc. was apparently shelved again (session sine die) on January 13th, but change is coming. It remains true, however, that the real training needed to become a real estate professional will come from the broker with whom you associate: choose carefully. At Prudential Starck Realtors we have a mandatory 60 hours additional classroom training for all new agents.

Licensing Workshop

The new schedule has been posted on prudentialstarck.com. These workshops have been a great way to help students pass the State of Illinois exam. Our Palatine workshop on Saturday mornings is on-going and students are welcome to join us any Saturday. The class starts at 8:30 and we're usually out by 11 or so. It takes us approximately seven weeks to cover the basic material and another week or so for review and math. Please call if you're interested. Mike Cromie can be reached at 847-772-2121. For questions about the other workshops visit yourhouseacademy.com .

From an Illinois Real Estate Attorney

An interesting and informative site has been posted by Palatine attorney Steve Evans. It offers advice and explainations of contract terms, deeds, mortgage issues, and more. You can find it at sgelaw.net

Word Association Keys

Mike Petran, a fellow instructor, and I are going to post a series of association keys for folks preparing to take the State exam. These will be entries like Statute of Frauds -- "Think must be in writing, " or my favorite Riparian -- "River rights." We're working on the list right now, but if you would like a copy before it's posted just email me.

New Agents Should Care More About Training Than Commission Splits.

It rarely fails that the major concern voiced by a prospective agent is about commission splits. One of my very first brokers correctly told me that 90% of nothing is still nothing. Unless the new agent is properly trained to find and negotiate business there will be little or no income produced. Good and thorough training is the key and should be the number one concern when interviewing a broker.

Agency Law for Illinois

For years and years (“good ole days”) buying a home through a real estate agent was similar to going to Sears to buy a stove: you were not legally represented by the agent with whom you were working. Since the Seller usually paid the commission and the listing broker shared that commission with the selling broker, the buyer’s “agent” was in fact a subagent of the Seller. In the 90’s a class action law suit (dual agency) involving one of the largest brokerage firms in the country resulted in a settlement rumored to be a bunch of money. Agency immediately became of great interest and concern for both real estate companies looking to avoid similar problems and state governments.

Today all states have laws defining real estate agency: buyer agency, seller agency, and dual agency, although some still allow for “facilitators,” where no agency has been established. Agency laws define the relationship between the agent and his client, or principle, and the duties of each. Illinois has, by statute, established the duties of the agent to the clients: care, obedience, accounting, loyalty, confidentiality, and disclosure (remember the Boy Scout oath?). The simple rule is that, excepting unlawful demands, the client’s interest must be placed above the agent’s interest. The client would be obligated to treat the agent honestly, cooperate toward fulfilling the goal for which the agency was formed, and to compensate the agent as agreed.

The Illinois License Act of 2000 (Article 15) lays it out in detail and can be found most easily at http://law.justia.com/illinois/codes/chapter24/23835.html (it took me quite a while to find it at the State of Illinois General Assembly site and the URL runs off the page).

Homestudy as an Option

Our real estate academy, YourHouseAcademy, offers a homestudy option which includes workshops: think of it as tutored homestudy. With this option, a student can finish the required course work in a relatively short period of time (from four to eight weeks) and be ready to sit for the State exam. Our course requires completion of 12 section exams, taken at home and open book, and passing a final exam. After passing the final a transcript of completion will be issued which is, in essence, the student's ticket to take the State exam. For more information or workshop locations visit http://www.YourHouseAcademy.com or http://www.prudentcareers.com

Prelicense Course Description

Most of the material covered is simply common sense: what would a reasonable person do in this situation. There is some math, but basic, and some terms that need to be memorized. My personal favorite is "riparian rights," which involves ownership of land adjacent to streams or other flowing water. While I've never been asked about riparian rights in my 30 years in the business, it's a question I've seen on several final exams as well as the state exam. I have a page on the prudentcareers web site that goes into slightly more detail about the prelicense course: content

Illinois License Requirements

The basics: 21 years of age, high school or GED, good moral character, pass a 45 hour prelicense course and pass a State license exam. The course hour requirement may be increasing soon. The official handbook can be viewed at http://www.goamp.com