Licensing and Education | firsttuesday Journal

DRE Bulletin Digest: Summer 2026

by Lily Hart | Oct 28, 2026 | Features, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Your Practice | 1

The DRE’s Summer 2026 Real Estate Bulletin directs the attention of licensees towards suspicious sellers, audits, and when brokers need an MLO license endorsement.

Landlords, Tenants and Property Management — now streaming on any device

by ft Editorial Staff | Oct 26, 2026 | Feature Articles, Features, Fundamentals, Licensing and Education, Property Management, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Our multi-media continuing education course catalog has evolved rapidly — and so have your learning options. Landlords, Tenants and Property Management is now enhanced for the first time with a stunning library of conceptual videos — fully optimized for viewing on any screen.

Natural hazard disclosures by the seller agent

by Amy Platero | Oct 15, 2026 | Buyers and Sellers, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 2

Learn the various types of natural hazards which sellers disclose to buyers, how to comply with seller disclosures of natural hazards and mitigate agent liability by using a natural hazard expert to investigate the public record for known hazards unknown to the agent.

Marketing condominium units

by Amy Platero | Oct 5, 2026 | Buyers and Sellers, Fundamentals, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Learn the use restrictions and operating conditions placed on conduct in HOA communities, the obligations and assessments imposed on an owner of a unit in a CID and how a seller agent requests CID documents concerning use restrictions and HOA finances from the HOA for delivery to prospective buyers when marketing a CID unit for sale.

Renewing your license with eLicensing, by firsttuesday

by ft Editorial Staff | Sep 30, 2026 | Feature Articles, Fundamentals, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Your license renewal doesn’t have to be complicated. Our step-by-step video and text tutorial takes you behind the scenes of the Department of Real Estate (DRE) eLicensing portal so you know exactly what to expect — and can clear your next 45-hour renewal quickly, correctly and without the hassle.

Structural pest control reports and repairs

by Amy Platero | Sep 16, 2026 | Buyers and Sellers, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Learn how to manage a Structural Pest Control (SPC) report provider in real estate transactions and advise sellers and buyers on the disclosure of structural pests in the SPC report.

Form-of-the-Week: Purchase agreement addenda for buyer agent — Forms 260, 261 and 266

by Amy Platero | Sep 10, 2026 | Buyers and Sellers, Forms, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 1

A buyer agent uses RPI Form 260, 261 and 266 to determine the status of property conditions about whether the roof is adequate, hazard insurance is available and the purchase price is reasonably related to the property’s fair market value.

Lead-based paint disclosures

by Amy Platero | Sep 8, 2026 | Buyers and Sellers, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Learn about the federal lead-based paint disclosure and how to timely disclose to buyers the existence of a lead-based paint hazard on residential properties built prior to 1978.

Property disclosures: buyer retains a home inspector

by Amy Platero | Aug 20, 2026 | Buyer Representation, Buyers and Sellers, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Learn how a buyer agent uses a home inspection report (HIR) to confirm the condition of a property as disclosed by a seller or seller agent and advises their buyer on remedies for material defects in the property noted in an HIR but not disclosed prior to the seller entering into a purchase agreement.

The home inspection report: to disclose and shield

by Amy Platero | Aug 6, 2026 | Buyers and Sellers, Features, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Learn how to use a home inspection report (HIR) to mitigate liability risks for misrepresentation in the preparation of a seller’s Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS), exercise care in the section of a qualified home inspector and use an energy efficiency audit report by a certified home energy rater to market property.

Safety standards for improvements

by Amy Platero | Jul 28, 2026 | Buyers and Sellers, Features, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 2

Learn common safety standard conditions and violations found on residential properties and how to provide terms to remedy safety issues in a real estate transaction.

DRE Bulletin Digest: Spring 2026

by Amy Platero | Jul 22, 2026 | Features, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 2

The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) in their Spring 2026 Real Estate Bulletin reminds licensees of fiduciary duties, advance fee requirements and how to become a real estate broker.

Opinions with erroneous conclusions

by Amy Platero | Jul 16, 2026 | Buyers and Sellers, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Learn the difference between opinions, assurances and guarantees as well as estimates, projections and forecasts.

The rise and fall of real estate brokers and agents

by ft Editorial Staff | Jun 4, 2026 | Charts, Licensing and Education, Real Estate | 61

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

The seller agent and the prospective buyer

by Amy Platero | Jun 2, 2026 | Buyers and Sellers, Fundamentals, Laws and Regulations, Licensing and Education, Real Estate, Your Practice | 0

Learn the difference between a broker’s specific agency duty owed only to their client and the limited general duty they owe to others in a transaction and how to observe and disclose conditions adversely affecting value and qualify statements when they are opinions, not facts.