Teaching Real Estate

One of the things I do out of pure passion is teach real estate to pre-lincensees. While I first started selling houses in Sacramento nearly two decades ago, teaching is something I have done for years, both formally and informally.

One of the reasons I like to teach soon-to-be real estate agents in Sacramento is because, theoretically, these are students who might be future agents I might be doing business with at some later date! With all the laws and lack of ethics that sometimes plague our industry, I take a special interest in helping to produce ethical, competent real estate agents.

As I told my class last night, not many will survive. However, just like Tony Robbins tells me in all his tapes and DVDs (yes, I am stretching a bit with this comparison, but I can dream!), all a person has to do is follow the path.

Selling houses in Sacramento is not rocket science. Of course you must pass a test, and honestly, not all people pass it on the first try….but to tell the truth, much of what’s on that darn exam has nothing to do with what happens in day to day transactions.  So yes, wanna-be real estate agents will have to take the three classes the DRE requires and then pass that test.

They’ll also need to understand contracts. Contracts in California real estate are many. Fortunately, I worked for several years at the California Association of Realtors so I became intimately familiar with contracts and  bit of real estate law, etc. However, this skill too, can be learned from reading and lecture.

The parts that are more challenging for me as a professor are what I consider to be the most essential: caring and ethics. While the text books and the National, State, and Local Associations all cover ethics, there is a deeper issue involving “doing the right thing.”

Sometimes you have to tell a prospective client that now is not the right time to sell, even if it mean giving up a large potentional commission. Caring about your clients is something that is difficult to teach in the classroom. But boy, do I try!

As the semester moves forward, I’ll cover some aspects of real estate that I think Sacramento residents might like or need to know about. Especially when it comes to disclosures as I think that can be the most confusing for all of us. Just remember, contracts are all in place to protect you, the buyer or seller, and usually are the result of a previous law suit.

If you are thinking about buying or selling a house in Sacramento, just drop me a line!

ta ta for now,
Tamara