GREC REnews, Vol. 5, Issue 8 (Aug. 2009)

GREC
Volume 5, Issue 8
2009 Dates to Note
August 26, 2009 GREC Brokerage Course
Northwest Georgia Council
August 27, 2009 GREC Trust Account Class
Northwest Georgia Council
September 8, 2009 Common Violations Class Fayette Board
September 25, 2009 Common Violations Class Dekalb MLS
October 14, 2009 GREC Brokerage Course Lake Country Board
October 15, 2009 GREC Trust Account Class Lake Country Board
Focus on Terminology:
"Mastery"
Georgia Real Estate Commission Suite 1000 International Tower 229 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30303-1605 Phone 404-656-3916

Georgia Real Estate Commission

GREC RENEWS

August 2009

Announcement:

Free Online Course for CE Credit

The Georgia Real Estate Commission is currently offering a 3-hour interactive Continuing Education course online for all Georgia licensees FREE of charge. This course is provided as part of the ongoing Education Plan of the Real Estate Commission to assist licensees. GREC's educational mission is to ensure that meaningful courses are:
Available to all licensees Designed to help the licenses avoid common violations of the license law,
rules and regulations Provided in a variety of delivery formats.

Through a contract with an online course provider, JMRE Inc., the

Commission created a course specifically written to assist licensees in avoiding

violations. The online course is titled, "Practicing Real Estate and Staying Out

of Trouble," and discusses the following.

Actual cases (and violations) reviewed by the Commission

The most common violations made by licensees The inner workings of the Commission

Enroll Now

The investigative process

Click Here

Suggestions on how to avoid license law violations

This interactive course provides direct web links to specific license laws as they are addressed in the course, tip sheets, definitions, articles and more. Learn from the mistakes of others by reviewing actual cases such as the following:
Common Advertising violations Unfair Trade Practices Real world application of the license laws Disciplinary tools of the Commission

Comments from those having already taken the course say they became aware of things they were doing in their brokerage practice that are not in compliance with the license laws. With this course, they now have an opportunity to correct them and implement new systems to avoid future violations.

"Practicing Real Estate & Staying Out of Trouble"
3 Hours CE Credit Upon Completion No fees, no credit card needed. Sign up now! Accessible anywhere there is an Internet access. Take the course on you own schedule. Can be
completed all at once or in several sessions.

1

continued on page 2...

Georgia Real Estate Commission Suite 1000 International Tower 229 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30303-1605 Phone 404-656-3916
Click here to see the latest GREC
Disciplinary Sanctions
Visit the GREC website to sign up to receive the GREC RENews Click Here
Comments or Suggestions
Click Here
GREC

Free CE Online ...
...continued from page 1

Volume 5, Issue 8 August 2009

The online learning process is enhanced through the use of case studies, multiple-choice questions and explanations for all wrong answers. Be sure to read the explanations for wrong answers as there is additional information to be gained by learning from mistakes. This replicates the leaning process in real life. Everyone makes mistakes, but those that learn from them are enlightened three fold.

The web address for the online course is www.jmre.com/grec

This online course and the trust a!!ccount brokerage workshops and the common violations classes are made possible through funding from the Real Estate Education Research and Recovery Fund.

Education Requirements Recap
Every licensee is currently required to obtain 6 hours CE per year of licensure, which equates to 24 hours CE for a 4-year renewal period. Those licensees in their first year of licensure must take a 25-hour Postlicense course and this course also serves as the 6 hours of CE needed for that first year, leaving 18 more hours of CE before renewal.
GREC provides several sources to obtain courses or course information:
Link to GREC List of Schools Approved to offer Real Estate Classes GREC Trust Account Workshop GREC Brokerage Course New Online course, "Practicing Real Estate & Staying Out of Trouble" Common Violations Class, "You Can't Fix Stupid!, But We Can Work
With Ignorance!"
The schedules for these courses are published every month in the Calendar section on the front page of this Newsletter and on the GREC Web site. These courses do not charge a fee with the exception of the Common Violations Class which usually has a nominal charge for facilities usage. GREC also uses links through Facebook and Twitter to communicate with licensees about new courses and announcements.

Focus on Terminology:

"Mastery"

Whether it is educational material or practical application of license laws or learning technical systems, mastery is a key element to success.
Mastery is defined by Webster's as having gained a thorough understanding of a subject and being skilled or proficient in its use. Clearly this definition applies to the brokerage profession as it requires an understanding of real estate and the appropriate application of the license laws to real estate brokerage.
According to the license laws, a student of a distance education course (online or otherwise) must master the material in order to complete the course. Fortunately online delivery systems are designed to make this as painless as possible. While the class environment has the advantage of spontaneous discussions, courses taken on computer or the internet require interactivity with the student thereby reinforcing retention of the material and how to apply it.
Try different learning formats and see what works best for your learning process. Whether you prefer the in-class experience or the convenience of courses on computer/internet, the Commission is currently providing courses to assist the licensee is being more familiar with license laws and avoiding future violations. Take advantage of these sources and opportunities.
2