The Value of Continued Education

by | Dec 2, 2024 | Ron's Rants

This is a Q&A column sent out by one of the “captains of industry” last week via email.

2+4=purple if you add salt! Huh? What?
That answer would have done less to litter the already muddy waters of continued education credits than the one given.
What’s the simple answer? Yesterday, today and forever.
They are called “continuing education credits”. Not “stop learning debt”.
There are no time constraints or burdens built into continued education credits. They just have to be approved.
To state anything to the contrary would be false and an opportunity is missed to really set the record straight.
Does an umbrella only work when it rains?
No way. First you have to own one and remember to bring it. When it looks like you are about to be exposed to the elements you have to be proactive in opening it. Only then can it be utilized. That’s how you avoid risk.
That’s the same with continued education credits. You educate yourself and remember that education so you can be proactive in exposing yourself to risk. If you lack knowledge somewhere you don’t expose yourself, you add it to your umbrella of protection. This is for you and the consumer. Not the state.
The word continue means never ending.
Education lasts forever(unless you try to cram it all into 12 months and don’t learn it).
Credit is to the plus side of zero.
The constraints are built into the license, not the education. Your license is good for 4 years. It’s out of the cosmic realm for you to receive CE credits before or after that. How can you continue education for a license you don’t have?
You have a duration to complete the requirements for continued education credits in order to renew your license. That duration is for the 4 years that you hold the license. Where is the time constraint?
Since a large portion of the credit hours are elective you should see this as an opportunity. If you just walked out from taking the exam you can just go take the same approved courses and rack up a few hours while it’s still fresh in your head. Good all the way until renewal. Better yet. If you walked out and struggled with appraisals, go take it again. You want to learn more about escrows. Go take it. If you are thinking about diversifying your professional portfolio, take the courses. It’s your career and this is not a burden. It’s an opportunity.
The kind of answer you see above is what happens when someone is given the keys to the tool shed. You should not be getting your license information from someone with access to a database and an email account. The state has a website for every license department. Just like a driver, a hunter, or a nurse. That’s where you should get your information. If you have questions, that is where you should ask them. Do it by email. Real estate 101, get it in writing. 1/1/2023 they enacted legislation for DRE license renewals signed by the governor in 2021. It’s called SB263 and here is the link.
The answer is today. Go get started on your umbrella. Do not get caught in the rain!

Here is the gist of the rules for reference;

SEC. 6.

Section 10170.5 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

 

10170.5.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Sections 10153.4 and 10170.8, a real estate license shall not be renewed unless the commissioner finds that the applicant for license renewal has, during the four-year period preceding the renewal application, successfully completed the 45 clock hours of education provided for in Section 10170.4, including all of the following:

(1) A three-hour course in ethics, professional conduct, and legal aspects of real estate, which shall include, but not be limited to, relevant legislation, regulations, articles, reports, studies, court decisions, treatises, and information of current interest.
(2) A three-hour course in agency relationships and duties in a real estate brokerage practice, including instruction in the disclosures to be made and the confidences to be kept in the various agency relationships between licensees and the parties to real estate transactions.
(3) A three-hour course in trust fund accounting and handling.
(4) A three-hour course in fair housing that shall include an interactive participatory component, during which the applicant shall roleplay as both a consumer and real estate professional.
(5) A three-hour course in risk management that shall include, but need not be limited to, principles, practices, and procedures calculated to avoid errors and omissions in the practice of real estate licensed activities.
(6) A two-hour course in implicit bias training that shall include both of the following:
(A) A component regarding the impact of implicit bias, explicit bias, and systemic bias on consumers and the historical and social impacts of those biases.
(B) Actionable steps licensees can take to recognize and address their own implicit biases.
(7) In addition to paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, a broker shall complete a three-hour course in the management of real estate offices and supervision of real estate licensed activities that shall include, but need not be limited to, the requirements described in subdivision (a) of Section 10159.7 and Section 10164.
(8) Not less than 18 clock hours of courses or programs related to consumer protection, and designated by the commissioner as satisfying this purpose in the commissioner’s approval of the offering of these courses or programs, which shall include, but not be limited to, forms of real estate financing relevant to serving consumers in the marketplace, land use regulation and control, pertinent consumer disclosures, agency relationships, capital formation for real estate development, fair practices in real estate, appraisal and valuation techniques, landlord-tenant relationships, energy conservation, environmental regulation and consideration, taxation as it relates to consumer decisions in real estate transactions, probate and similar disposition of real property, governmental programs such as revenue bond activities, redevelopment, and related programs, business opportunities, mineral, oil, and gas conveyancing, and California law that relates to managing community associations that own, operate, and maintain property within common interest developments, including, but not limited to, management, maintenance, and financial matters addressed in the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (Part 5 (commencing with Section 4000) of Division 4 of the Civil Code).
(9) Other courses and programs that will enable a licensee to achieve a high level of competence in serving the objectives of consumers who may engage the services of licensees to secure the transfer, financing, or similar objectives with respect to real property, including organizational and management techniques, including relevant information to assist a salesperson or broker in understanding how to be effectively supervised by a responsible broker or branch manager, that will significantly contribute to this goal.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in Section 10170.8, a real estate license shall not be renewed for a licensee who already has renewed under subdivision (a), unless the commissioner finds that the applicant for license renewal has, during the four-year period preceding the renewal application, successfully completed the 45 clock hours of education provided for in Section 10170.4, including a nine-hour update survey course that covers the subject areas specified in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (a).
(c) Any denial of a license pursuant to this section shall be subject to Section 10100.
(d) For purposes of this section, “successful completion” of a course described in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (a) means the passing of a final examination.
(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2023.
About admin

0 Comments