Fundamentals | firsttuesday Journal

Dual agency piles conflicts and risks on brokers

by Amy Platero | Feb 19, 2025 | Fundamentals, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Learn to identify conduct giving rise to dual agency representation and understand dual agency as a conflict of interest requiring prompt disclosure and consent.

An agent’s perception of riches

by Amy Platero | Feb 10, 2025 | Fundamentals, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Learn to estimate the potential income, expenses and initial investment you experience as a newly licensed agent employed by a broker and how to evaluate competing broker firms for suitability with your professional goals and expectations.

California’s for sale inventory growth: waning buyer enthusiasm

by ft Editorial Staff | Feb 5, 2025 | Charts, Fundamentals, Home Sales | 1

In early 2025, low-tier priced housing has the lowest level of inventory available for sale or rent.

Different types of estates and ways of dividing real estate

by ft Editorial Staff | Feb 4, 2025 | Appraisal, Real Estate | 0

An owner’s rights extend beyond the mere physical aspects of the land, airspace and improvements located within the described boundaries of the parcel.

Broker activities: by the agent of the agent

by Amy Platero | Jan 29, 2025 | Fundamentals, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Learn how brokers oversee agents, the office policies a broker puts in place to comply with their duties owed to clients and the Department of Real Estate (DRE), and how licensee status relates to labor regulations, taxation and issues of liability.

Buyer Representation Bonus Training™ brings firsttuesday students up to speed with 2025 buyer legislation

by Amy Platero | Jan 24, 2025 | Buyer Representation, Feature Articles, Features, Fundamentals, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

The Buyer Representation Bonus Training™ is available to current and future firsttuesday students without charge. The Bonus Training contains everything brokers and agents need to operate successfully in the new paradigm — the buyer representation mandate in 2025 and beyond.

Restrictive central city zoning fuels construction for wildfires

by Amy Platero | Jan 16, 2025 | Economics, Fundamentals, Real Estate | 1

California zoning laws which prohibit high-density infill development and instead incentivize horizontal expansion of suburbs increase the risk of loss to wildfires.

What is real estate?

by ft Editorial Staff | Jan 15, 2025 | Appraisal, Fundamentals, Real Estate | 0

Property is divided into two primary categories.

Counteroffers — practice dictated by buyer representation agreements

by Amy Platero | Dec 2, 2024 | Buyer Representation, Buyers and Sellers, Fundamentals, Real Estate | 0

Learn how to counter an offer with a purchase agreement calling for the buyer to pay the broker fee and avoid claims of tortious interference.

Form-of-the-Week: Purchase Agreement — for One-to-Four Residential Property — with Buyer Broker Fee Provision [RPI Form 150]

by Amy Platero | Nov 23, 2024 | Buyer Representation, Buyers and Sellers, Forms, Fundamentals, Real Estate | 0

A buyer agent uses RPI Form 150 when preparing an offer for their buyer to purchase one-to-four unit residential property with a fee provision for disbursing the buyer broker fee from the purchase price.

DRE Bulletin Digest: Summer 2024

by Amy Platero | Nov 5, 2024 | Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

The DRE’s Real Estate Bulletin keeps licensees informed on new codes and regulations significant to real estate practice, common violations of real estate rules of conduct, and real estate education opportunities.

FOTW: Buyer Representation Agreements and Renewals — Forms 103.1, 103.2, 103.1A and 103.2A

by Amy Platero | Oct 14, 2024 | Buyer Representation, Forms, New Laws, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Always enter into a written employment agreement with the buyer using RPI Forms 103.1 and 103.2. Renew or extend the retainer period with RPI Form 103.1A or 103.2A.

The rise and fall of real estate brokers and agents

by ft Editorial Staff | Oct 8, 2024 | Charts, Licensing and Education, Real Estate | 38

This article analyzes the historical population of active DRE licensees, with discussions and forecasts about future licensing trends.

Buyer Representation Agreements: The end of the “gold standard”

by ft Editorial Staff | Sep 25, 2024 | Buyer Representation, Buyers and Sellers, Feature Articles, Forms, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, New Laws, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

With new California legislation, it’s now mandatory practice for a buyers broker to enter into an employment agreement with buyer clients before a purchase agreement is submitted.

DRE Bulletin Digest: Spring 2024

by Amy Platero | Jul 11, 2024 | Fundamentals, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

The Spring 2024 edition of the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) Bulletin informs licensees about Senate Bill (SB) 1495 and DRE fee changes.

DRE raising fees as renewals and licensing drop

by Robin Jennings | Jul 11, 2024 | Licensing and Education, Real Estate | 0

The health of the real estate industry depends in large part upon the financial health of the DRE as its policing unit. DRE’s fees for statutory and licensing courses had not increased since 1997.

Does a homeowner receive a refund for taxes paid when their property value is too high due to an incorrect assessment?

by Amy Platero | Apr 22, 2024 | Appraisal, Laws and Regulations, Real Estate, Recent Case Decisions, Tax | 0

Greenspan v. County of Los Angeles Facts: A property owner demolishes the improvements on the...

RPI real estate forms have always been in compliance with NAR’s most recent antitrust settlement

by Amy Platero | Apr 9, 2024 | Feature Articles, Forms, Fundamentals, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Unlike trade unions, RPI forms for decades has had methods for the buyers broker to set their own fees and disclose the fee amount to their buyer clients.