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