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Real Estate: Grading of The Final Exam and Issuing of Certificates

California Real Estate Course Exams and Certificate Information

CONTINUING EDUCATION FINAL EXAM GRADING AND ISSUING CERTIFICATES

A passing grade is based on a minimum passing score of 70% on the open book final exams for continuing education courses. Only the final examination grade is used in determining the student's overall grade. If you took and passed your final exam on paper, an official certificate of completion will be mailed to you within two weeks after receipt of your completed final examination. If you took your final exam online, you may print your certificate of completion for up to six (6) months after you passed. But before displaying and printing the completion certificate 8-digit number, you must fill out "Affidavit of Student" (which serves as an online signature) -- YOU, the student, are asked to type in your name, to provide a Government Issued ID#, to specify the Type of ID, and to Acknowledge (Affirm all is True). DRE requires you to acknowledge, under penalty of perjury, that you are the person who enrolled and did all the work, completing quizzes and exams.

When it is time for renewal of your license, most of the time the California Department of Real Estate ("DRE") will mail you a reminder renewal letter. DRE requires that the Continuing Education Course Verification (RE251) form be used by a licensee upon license renewal, along with other necessary renewal documents. OR you may go to www.dre.ca.gov and file your renewal online, using "eLicensing" (You are responsible for reporting your course completion to DRE; DRE does not accepts course completions directly from schools.) Please put on the application RE251 the eight digit DRE Certificate Number for each course, found on your certificate (do not mail the certificate to the DRE). Additional certificates are $15.00 each. If you wish to renew your real estate license online instead of on paper, you may do so, by registering for "eLicensing" on the California Department of Real Estate homepage at: www.dre.ca.gov
  • REFUNDS:
    Students may apply in writing to REAL ESTATE LICENSE SERVICES, mailing address, 5059 Newport Ave., #209, San Diego, California 92107 within 15 days from the date of enrollment and cancel and receive a refund for the full tuition. All REAL ESTATE LICENSE SERVICES materials must be returned in good condition at the time of cancellation; the materials should not be soiled, torn or marked upon. A charge of $25 may be withheld if any materials are not in resaleable condition. Refunds are not allowed if any work has been submitted.
  • RE-ENROLLMENTS:
    If the course has not been completed within twelve (12) months of enrollment, the student must re-enroll and begin the course over again in order to complete the course. IN NO CASE MAY THE PERIOD OF ENROLLMENT EXTEND BEYOND TWELVE (12) MONTHS. If the student has not completed the course within 12 months from the original date of enrollment, the enrollment expires. The student may re-enroll under such circumstances for a discounted re-enrollment fee of $40.00 per course.
  • TRANSFERS:
    Courses may be transferred to another person by paying a transfer fee of $30.00 per course. Transfers are not allowed if any work has already been submitted.
  • COURSE PROVIDER COMPLAINT STATEMENT:
    A Course provider complaint form is available on the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) website at www.dre.ca.gov. Access this form by typing "RE340" in the search box located in the upper right corner of the home page. An information form regarding course provider complaints, "RE340A" is also available.
Rev. Sep, 2019

CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:

THESE COURSES ARE APPROVED FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT BY THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF REAL ESTATE. HOWEVER, THIS APPROVAL DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT OF THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE COURSE SPONSOR, INSTRUCTOR, AUTHORS, OR LECTURERS.

Ethics, Professional Conduct and Legal Aspects of Real Estate
This course covers ethics, professional conduct, and legal aspects of real estate, including enforcement of real estate law, examples of unlawful conduct, discrimination, other state laws and regulations, federal rules and more.
Agency
Covers the existence, the creation, the effects of agency; relationship, and statutory duties of the agent, agency liabilities, agency contracts, and agency relationships in modern brokerage practice, including a review of duties, disclosures and confidences in each.
Trust Fund Accounting & Handling
Covers trust fund accounting and handling, including a background of trust funds, managing trust fund bank accounts, maintaining accounting records, reconciling balances of accounting records, documentation requirements, what to expect in an audit or examination, and recording transactions. Also includes twelve simulated DRE trust account forms, entries and reports.
Fair Housing
Course covers the Federal Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights Acts, Americans with Disabilities Act, California Fair Employment and Housing Act, DRE Commissioner's regulations 2780-2782, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Housing Financial Discrimination Act of 1977, and more.
Risk Management for Real Estate Professionals
This course explains the concept of risk as it relates to the business of real estate. It describes the types of risk that real estate professionals will encounter - economics risk, property market risk, and professional and public liability risk. The course covers proper contract preparation and state regulations regarding the handling of trust funds. All required disclosures are presented and explained. The course details the duties of license real estate agents with respect to the law of agency, advertising, fair housing, privacy issues, and anti-trust issues. Finally, agents are made aware of predatory lending in home mortgage lending practices.
Real Estate Management and Supervision
This three-hour course offers extensive coverage of broker management and supervision practices to comply with the provisions of California's Business and Professions Code, as well as the regulations of the Real Estate Commissioner. It provides guidance on how to manage and supervise real estate offices, salespersons, and broker associates. Students will review management practices in general, the accountability of brokers for their salespersons through the common law of agency, and the policies, rules, procedures, and systems that will help ensure compliance with California law regulating brokers and salespersons.
Selling Business Opportunities in California, Part 1 & 2
These two courses, totaling 27 hours of "consumer protection" credit for renewal of a California real estate license (salesperson or broker), is part of the continuing education requirement. Covers business opportunities and the real estate licensee, how to obtain an authorization to sell a business opportunity, establishing value, financial statements, customers, bulk sales law, allocation of purchase price, corporate sales, alcoholic beverage control licenses, escrow, doing business in California, business taxes, discrimination and more.
Mortgage Lending, Parts 1 & 2
These two courses, totaling 27 hours of "consumer protection" credit for renewal of a California real estate license (salesperson or broker), is part of the continuing education requirement. Traces significant changes in mortgage lending as the real estate markets and sources of financing have changed over the last 60 years. No prior experience with mortgage lending is required to understand these courses. Included are chapters on: The Mortgage Market; Types of Loans; The Real Property Contract and Escrow; The Lending Process; Title Insurance; Closing and Property Transfers; Real Estate Economics; FHA and VA Lending; Mortgage Brokers and Wholesale Lending; Financial and Mathematical Concepts of Mortgage Lending; Regulatory Compliance; Ethics in Mortgage Lending; and Mortgage Lending in California.
Sept 2019

LICENSING COURSE GRADING AND EXAM INFORMATION

(To Qualify to take State Exam for Sales and/or Broker License) Statutory DRE Sponsor No. S0199
  1. The pre-license course(s) consists of text reading and a final examination. Course reading materials are available in the printed books and online.
  2. Practice questions ("Written Assignments") covering most of the chapters in the book(s) are based on the text reading in each chapter. Answers to those practice questions (with page references) are included for your convenience. The "Written Assignments" are for your practice only. NO QUIZ QUESTIONS ARE REQUIRED PRIOR TO YOUR FINAL EXAM.
  3. DRE mandates for all students to spend a minimum of (at least) 18 days per course, reading and studying, from the date of enrollment. Your registration will expire in 12 months; this means that you must take all exams online, or on paper with a test administrator before the one-year registration. Meet your minimum time study time: The day after you place your order is considered day 1 of your study time. The minimum study time for each licensing course is 2 ½ weeks.
    Example: If you enroll in 3 licensing courses, your first exam is available on day 18, the second exam is available on day 36, and the third exam is available on day 54.
  4. The Department of Real Estate provides a Course & Instructor Evaluation form on the California Department of Real Estate Website for students to evaluate and make suggestions. The evaluation can be accessed on the DRE website: www.dre.ca.gov Click on "Forms" and you may print form "RE318A" to give your input.
  5. The price for one licensing course is no more than $118. This course will sometimes be sold for less when it is combined with other courses or at times of special discounts offered by Real Estate License Services.
  6. All books are written & published by Real Estate License Services, RELSTONE® Educational Products and Services; and are 2021 copyrighted. R.E. Principles (471 pages)

FINAL EXAMINATION: Before reviewing any course material, DRE requires you to acknowledge, under penalty of perjury, that you are the person enrolled, and you will be the only person to complete the course.

Each final exam is open book, timed and consists of 100 multiple-choice questions. The time allotted is 2.5 hours per exam. During your 1-year enrollment, you may take each final exam and must score 60% or better on each real estate pre-license course.

DRE Policy: If a student fails the final exam, they may be allowed one retake. If they fail the retake, they must re-enroll and take the course over again. Note: If both finals are failed, then you must reenroll in the course and begin over again. A fee of up to $40 may be charged to reenroll in any one course.

**WRITTEN FINAL EXAMINATION: If you wish to take your final exam on paper instead of online, please fill out the form "Request to Take Final Exam." You may mail this form to Real Estate License Services, 5059 Newport Ave., #209, San Diego, California 92107, or Fax to (619) 222-8593 OR you may Scan & Email to <rels@relstone.com> Real Estate License Services will arrange for your final exam with a test administrator. If your final exam is not online, course provider will select a test administrator for you. The exam questions, exam answer sheet and test certification will be mailed to the test witness with instructions (how long the test administration is, and where/what to return). When you finish the written test(s), turn it in to the test administrator, who will mail it to Real Estate License Services. The test administrator will need to include a photo copy of the student's current California Driver License or California ID or another identification issued by a governmental agency or a recognized real estate trade organization which bears a photograph, signature and identification number of the student, issued within the immediately preceding five years. The questions used for the final exam must be mailed to Real Estate License Services along with the answers.

**ONLINE FINAL EXAMINATION: If you prefer to take the Exam(s) online, then go to www.RELSTONEexams.com (Examination System) to log in to take online exams using the password given or assigned by us. We strongly urge you to take your final exam online. It's faster, with your certificate of completion downloadable immediately (as long as you have met the minimum study time). If you take your final(s) on paper, there is a great delay due to paperwork having to be mailed back and forth between us and your test administrator. Please note: IF you have enrolled in pre-license courses, and you are planning on taking your final exams online -- we urge you to login to the Examination System, this way you will find out which course to study first, second, third, and so on. YOU will see the list of courses with the "Earliest Exam Date" for each pre-license course.

During the administration of each exam, a timer is displayed to indicate to you, the student, the remaining time allowed to complete the current exam. In addition to the time, there is a display indicating the number of questions that remain unanswered at any given time. The background of the timer is green. When there are only five minutes remaining the background timer turns yellow. When there is only one minute remaining, the background of the timer turns red, and a warning is displayed telling you, the student to submit your answers immediately. If the timer has expired, you may no longer make changes to your exam or manually submit it for grading; the exam system will capture the answers you already have made and submit them automatically for grading. Also, the printing capabilities have been disabled when taking the online exam(s) as mandated by DRE regulations. When the exam is completed and submitted, it is immediately graded, and the results are provided within seconds, letting you know how you performed. If the exam is not completed successfully, then the student may attempt to take Version B Exam (the make-up test) -And if the score is lower than 60% again for the 2nd time, then you must re-enroll in the course and begin over again.

GRADING OF THE FINAL EXAM AND ISSUING OF CERTIFICATES: A passing grade is based on a minimum passing score of 60% on the final examination. Only the final examination grade is used in determining the student's overall grade. Students will be assigned a letter grade, but the grading system reflects the 60% passing requirements.

% OF POINTS = GRADE
  • 100% - 90% = A
  • 89% - 80% = B
  • 79% - 70% = C
  • 69% - 60% = D
  • 59% - 0% = Fail
If the score is below 60%, the course would have to be repeated and passed in order to receive credit.
If you took and passed your final exam on paper, an official course certificate with course grade will be mailed to you within two weeks after receipt of your completed final examination if taken with a test administrator. If you took your final exam on the Internet, you may print your certificate of completion after you passed. But before displaying and printing the completion statutory certificate, you must fill out "Affidavit of Student" (which serves as an online signature) -- You will be asked to type in your name, provide a Government Issued ID#, specify the Type of ID, and Acknowledge (Affirm all is True). DRE requires you to acknowledge, under penalty of perjury, that you are the person who enrolled and did all the work, completed the reading, and studied to pass the exam. Additional certificates are $15.00 each.

Once you have all course certificates, you may send them to DRE with your exam/license application. Note: Once you pass an exam, the Certificate of Completion never expires.

REFUNDS: Students may apply in writing to REAL ESTATE LICENSE SERVICES, mailing address, 5059 Newport Ave., #209, San Diego, California 92107 within 15 days from the date of enrollment and cancel and receive a refund for the full tuition. All REAL ESTATE LICENSE SERVICES materials must be returned in good condition at the time of cancellation; the materials should not be soiled, torn or marked upon (if book materials were shipped and part of your order). Refunds are not allowed if any work has been submitted.

RE-ENROLLMENTS: If the course has not been completed within twelve (12) months of enrollment, the student must reenroll. IN NO CASE MAY THE PERIOD OF ENROLLMENT EXTEND BEYOND TWELVE (12) MONTHS. If the student has not completed the course within 12 months from the original date of enrollment, the enrollment expires. The student must re-enroll and begin the course over again in order to complete the course. The student may re-enroll under such circumstances for a discounted re-enrollment fee of $40.00 per course.

TRANSFERS: Courses may be transferred to another person by paying a transfer fee of $30.00 per course. Transfers are not allowed if any work has already been submitted.

COURSE PROVIDER COMPLAINT STATEMENT: A Course provider complaint form is available on the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) website at www.dre.ca.gov. Access this form by typing "RE340" in the search box located in the upper right corner of the home page. An information form regarding course provider complaints, "RE340A" is also available.

DISCLAIMER THIS COURSE IS APPROVED FOR LICENSING EDUCATION CREDIT BY THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF REAL ESTATE. HOWEVER, THIS APPROVAL DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT OF THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE COURSE SPONSOR, INSTRUCTOR, AUTHORS, OR LECTURERS.

DESCRIPTION OF LICENSE QUALIFICATION

  • Real Estate Principles (45-Clock Hours) A comprehensive course outlining: Legal descriptions, methods of acquiring title, deeds, estates, liens, homesteads, and the programs involving lenders, escrows, and title companies. In addition, there is discussion on taxation, and court cases, such as Wellenkamp vs. Bank of America that have changed financing.
  • Real Estate Practice (45-Clock Hours) A comprehensive study of real estate practices in California, as it relates to the real estate business, its regulations, income tax aspects, business opportunities, advertising, property sales, and the role of the broker and salesperson.
  • Real Estate Finance (45-Clock Hours) A modern approach to real estate financing. Includes: Money and interest rates, sources of mortgage money, non-institutional leaders, conventional loans, government-backed programs, foreclosure and other loan problems, construction lending, and alternative financing methods.
  • Real Estate Economics (45-Clock Hours) A recent test on California real estate economics which includes: Proposition 13, rent controls and condominium conversions. The approach is direct and practical and covers all the aspects of government trends, real estate resources and new financing techniques.
  • Business Law (45-Clock Hours) Covers the entire field of business law. U.S. legal system, law & business, property, trusts & estates, agency, partnerships, corporations & other business forms, labor laws, sales of goods, contracts, negotiable instruments, secured transactions, insurance and professional licensure & liability.
  • Real Estate Appraisal (45-Clock Hours) This text is extensively illustrated to give a practical approach to appraising. The course includes: Site considerations, site valuations, approaches to cost, market data, income analysis, and the capitalization process.
  • Legal Aspects of Real Estate (45-Clock Hours) Covers the entire field of legal aspects of real estate. Offers additional in-depth analysis of deeds of trust, deposit receipts, listing agreements, leases, and drafting problems. Deals with damages for breach of contract and provides an introduction to environmental law problems.
  • Property Management (45-Clock Hours) Provides an overview of the field of property management and describes the major functions of property managers, including their legal, interpersonal, maintenance, accounting, administrative, and other duties. It also covers specific practices and problems in the management of various types of property.
GIP_Statutory Student Instructions_Sept 2019