An Overview of Real Estate Continuing Education in Georgia
Before going into the details of real estate continuing education in Georgia, it is necessary to understand what CE (continuation education) is all about.
Continuing education is post-license learning for real estate professionals. It is necessary to keep them updated with the constantly changing real estate laws and regulations in the USA. Through CE, real estate agents and brokers can add fresh skills and information to their already-existing knowledge base and provide quality service to their clients.
Continuing education is mandatory to renew real estate licenses. To satisfy this requirement, select courses that are approved by the Commission responsible for governing the real estate industry in that state. Further, ensure that the courses are taught by instructors that are approved by the Commission.
Why is continuing education important? It is because, at the time of license renewal, real estate agents and brokers must show that they have fulfilled the CE requirements of the state where they practice. These requirements are laid down by the real estate commissions of respective states.
There is no one-hat-fits-all for continuing education as the time frames and due dates vary between states. For example, GA real estate continuing education requirements might be different from those in New York or California.
In this post, we will go into the various aspects of GA real estate continuing education including the course and credit requirements and the benefits of going through this coursework.
Key Takeaways
- An Overview of Real Estate Continuing Education in Georgia
- What is Real Estate Continuing Education?
- Importance of Continuing Education in Georgia's Real Estate Sector
- How Continuing Education Contributes to A Real Estate Professional's Growth
- Georgia Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
- Understanding GA Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
- Minimum Hours and Courses Required for Continuing Education in Georgia
- Importance of Meeting GA's Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
- Navigating the Process of GA Real Estate Continuing Education
- Steps to Enroll in GA Real Estate Continuing Education
- Finding Approved Education Providers in Georgia
- Renewal Process for Georgia Real Estate Licenses
An Overview of Real Estate Continuing Education In Georgia
What Is Real Estate Continuing Education?
The real estate industry is always in a state of influx with new laws and regulations being continuously introduced. This means that the knowledge gathered by real estate agents and brokers in the pre-licensing courses needs to be updated. They just cannot sit on their oars for years after getting their licenses without refreshing their knowledge base.
This is where continuing education comes into the picture. It is deemed so important by the state-level real estate commissions of all states that it has been made mandatory for real estate license renewal. Further, real estate professionals must only select courses that are on the approved list of Commissions and taught by state-approved instructors.
Importance Of Continuing Education In Georgia’s Real Estate Sector
As in most states in the USA, the Georgia real estate sector is subject to continuously shifting social trends and demographics as well as economic fluctuations. Real estate professionals must keep themselves abreast of all these changes and be well-informed about the latest market trends and dynamics.
GA real estate continuing education opens doors to real estate agents and brokers to be updated with the latest information about this industry in Georgia. They also acquire skillsets and knowledge about the current market trends and client preferences. CE helps real estate agents and brokers to serve their clients better as they are now armed with the information to make informed decisions about real estate transactions.
How Continuing Education Contributes To A Real Estate Professional’s Growth
Continuing education helps real estate professionals keep ahead of the learning curve about the latest market trends and dynamics. This not only protects them from any legal pitfalls but also their clients too. By familiarizing themselves with the latest fair housing laws, ethics, and prevailing best practices they build client trust, avoid legal disputes, and grow professionally.
Another area where CE helps agents and brokers to grow professionally is in technological advancements. The real estate sector is today using virtual reality and artificial intelligence to streamline processes and enhance client experiences. CE provides these tools to real estate professionals so that they can acquire the skills necessary to navigate through the digital age in their work.
Georgia Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
Understanding GA Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
After you get your real estate license in Georgia, you must complete 25 hours of continuing education to renew your license for the first time after a year. This course is for newly licensed salespersons.
Once you have renewed your license for the first time, the next date for renewal of your license will be after four years. 36 hours of continuing education must be completed within these 4 years.
The 25 hours that you complete in the first year will count for 9 hours in the next 36 hours of CE, 3 of which must be related to real estate law in Georgia.
The package for real estate continuing education in Georgia is available both in an online format and On-demand video format. It consists of elective courses apart from real estate law. The online package is preferable as students can access the course anytime and from anywhere. These courses include the latest updates, market trends, and dynamics of the real estate industry in Georgia.
Minimum Hours and Courses Required For Continuing Education in Georgia
The following are the courses and the minimum hours required as Georgia real estate continuing education requirements.
- Georgia 3-Hour Law (3 Credit Hours): Topics include trust accounts, brokerage relationships, unfair trade practices, and more.
- Millennials: Challenging the Traditional Real Estate Model (4 Credit Hours): Here, you will learn the approach of millennials to real estate buying, selling, and investing. This is against baby boomers that had so long driven this sector in the past.
- Liars, Cheaters, and Thieves: Averting Client Catastrophe (4 Credit Hours): The focus of this course is the problems faced by the real estate industry and how licensed and experienced real estate professionals can overcome them. You will know about fraud and negligence, breach of contract, and risky business mistakes to be avoided.
- Today's Real Estate Event Marketing (6 Credit Hours): Topics covered include legal guidelines on digital advertising, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) policies on deceptive advertisements, and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).
- Essentials of Technology and Data Security (3 Credit Hours): This course teaches students how data breaches occur and ways to stop them and the principles of a sound data policy. The highlight of the course is knowing about FBI recommendations for stopping cybercrimes.
- Real Estate Contracts: Essentials and Beyond (3 Credit Hours): This module goes into detail about the primary components of contract and lease and the basics of preparing a sales contract. Special attention is given to the pitfalls and mistakes to avoid while drawing up a contract, the most crucial document in real estate transactions.
- Good, Better, Best: When Price, Quality, and Value All Matter (6 Credit Hours): This course teaches about the tools and methods to use to assess the value of a property. Once you learn to identify the value of a house, you can suitably guide your clients of the best buy.
- Protecting Elders from Real Estate Scams (4 Credit Hours): You will learn how to safeguard the interests of your elderly clients and protect them from financial fraud.
- Solving the Downpayment Dilemma (3 Credit Hours): You will study the ways clients arrange for a down payment on their mortgage loans. It explains the modalities of crowdfunding down payments and federal and state low down payment programs. The focus is on finding and reaching new customers who need mortgage loan assistance.
Importance of Meeting GA’s Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
Since going through continuing education requirements is mandatory to renew real estate agents’ and brokers’ licenses, the importance of doing so cannot be overemphasized. If you do not complete the continuing education coursework, your license will expire and you cannot practice real estate in Georgia.
Some people do take the risk of working with an expired license but that can have dire consequences if this aberration is found out. You could even face legal action and cancellation of your license. So, whether it is meeting salespersons’ or GA real estate broker continuing education requirements, it should be taken very seriously.
Further, continuing education gives you the confidence to deliver quality service to clients. You will learn about the latest trends and market dynamics and what route to take to offer the best service to your customers.
Additionally, GA real estate continuing education is good for your career and professional growth too. You learn about the latest innovations and technologies being implemented in the real estate industry like AI (artificial intelligence) and virtual showings and can incorporate them in your daily work. This will give you an edge over other real estate professionals in the field who are your competitors.
Navigating The Process Of GA Real Estate Continuing Education
Steps To Enroll In GA Real Estate Continuing Education
The most important aspect to consider for enrolling in real estate continuing education in Georgia is to enroll with a course provider that is approved by the Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC). The coursework is 25 hours for the first year of license renewal and 36 hours of coursework for every subsequent 4 years. Research the course providers in your state and pick one that suits your learning style.
Finding Approved Education Providers in Georgia
To be sure that you go through a state-approved course provider, visit the website and pick one from their list. Your education credit hours will not be counted if you select a provider outside the GREC list.
Renewal Process of Georgia Real Estate Licenses
The main aspect of the renewal process in the state is meeting the Georgia real estate continuing education requirements.
The time of first renewal is one year after you have been awarded your real estate license. In this period, you must go through 25 hours of continuing education. After this, your license must be renewed once every four years after completing 36 hours of continuing education. However, the 25 hours first completed will count for 9 of the second 36 hours.
The cost of online renewal of your license is $100 but $125 if you do so in person at the office of the GREC.
The expiry date of a Georgia real estate license is the last date of your birthday month every four years. For example, if you were born on July 10, the license expiry date would be July 31. However, you may renew your license before 4 months of expiry date.
The chance of forgetting the expiry date and not renewing your license is quite rare. Your GREC card lists the year of expiry of your license. Additionally, you will also get an email well in time reminding you of renewal, usually a couple of months.
Hence, you do not have any excuse for a lapsed license and putting a lucrative career in jeopardy.