Real Estate Law

Learn the basics of real estate law, including investing, title searching, and mortgages.

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6 Weeks / 24 Course Hrs
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Texas State University

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Real Estate Law

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Course code: rel

Explore the legal issues involved in real estate law, from investing to title examinations. You'll not only master the essentials, but you'll receive hands-on applications and examples that will show you how to use this knowledge in a day-to-day real estate practice or in personal real estate investing.

The course will present real estate law in down-to-earth terms. By mixing explanation of legal theory with specific and practical examples, it draws a balance between legal philosophy and legal practice. You'll soon see just how fascinating a topic real property law can be.

What you will learn

  • Discover how to read and understand the different types of property descriptions
  • Learn about the basic contract requirements involved in selling property
  • Understand fixtures, easements, licenses and liens
  • Examine landlord-tenant law, exploring what rights and obligations each has to the other
  • Learn to decipher all the parts of the deed
  • Learn what types of mortgages you can choose from and understand the good and bad points of each
  • Understand zoning and restrictive covenants

How you will benefit

  • Gain comprehensive knowledge of real estate law that will help you whether you're considering a career as a real estate broker, buying or selling a home, investing in real estate, or thinking of entering real estate law
  • Become more knowledgeable in the legal matters of real estate which could help you in both your professional and personal life

How the course is taught

  • Instructor-Moderated or Self-Guided online course
  • 6 Weeks or 3 Months access
  • 24 course hours

If you've ever considered becoming a real estate broker, buying or selling a home, investing in real estate, or getting into real estate law, this is the course for you! In this lesson, you'll learn about the key differences between real and personal property, as well as some of the unique characteristics of land. You'll also get an overview of all the varied classifications of real property—you may be surprised by all the possibilities!

If you own property, does that mean you can do anything you like with it? In this lesson, you'll learn about what kinds of titles carry which kinds of rights. There's one type of title you'll want above all others, and you need to know about it long before you ever think about buying any real estate. You'll also look at what happens when two or more people own property together. This can get complicated, so the lesson will untangle who has the right to do what.

Most people don't know anything about property boundaries until they see someone knocking down their back fence. In this lesson, you'll discover how to read and understand the different types of property descriptions, how to avoid disputes about them, and how to make this inside knowledge work for you.

In this lesson, you'll learn about the basic contract requirements involved in selling property. Don't worry, though—it's not just dry theory! The lesson will also introduce you to the typical people involved in a sale and walk you through the usual procedures. You'll then dive into a topic many people regard as a potential gold mine: foreclosures. The lesson will straighten out some common misconceptions and see just what's involved in bidding on foreclosed property.

When you sell property, what items can you take with you and what must remain? This issue involves the law of fixtures, and most buyers and sellers don't know anything about it. But you will! You'll learn how and why a seller can remove a refrigerator but not the antique doorknobs. You'll also look at the important issue of easements, which give a non-owner the right to use part of someone else's land. Both of these topics are absolutely essential for anyone considering buying or selling real estate.

In this lesson, you'll track the negotiations that go on when you buy and sell real estate. You'll learn what a contract actually does and then explore two of the most common real estate contracts: the "listing agreement" and the "offer to purchase and contract of sale." Then, you'll follow a sale from the posting of the For Sale sign to the offers, counteroffers, rejections, and finally to the acceptance.

If you've ever been a tenant or plan to become a landlord, then you should pay particular attention to this lesson. Here, you'll examine landlord-tenant law, exploring what rights and obligations each has to the other. You'll see when and how a landlord can evict a tenant and how tenants can protect themselves. After that, you'll walk step-by-step through the terms of a typical lease.

Anyone who plans on owning real estate must know about deeds. A deed simply transfers ownership rights, but if you've ever tried to read one, you know just how confusing they can be. This lesson will decipher all the parts of the deed, clarifying what each clause means and how each part impacts your ownership rights. It will also discuss ways to make sure the owner transfers all of their legal rights in the property to you.

Mortgages can be just as confusing as deeds! For that reason, this lesson will demystify them by discussing what a mortgage is, what "prequalification" and "preapproval" are, and what lenders look for before entering into a mortgage with a borrower (especially credit issues). You'll also see what types of mortgages you can choose from and understand the good and bad points of each.

Real estate closings often seem overwhelming. So many papers are flying around, and if you're the buyer, you're signing things without really knowing what they are. Then there's the whole issue of closing costs, which can add several thousand dollars to the sale. In this lesson, you'll meet the people involved in a typical closing, see what documents the closing professional needs, learn about the ones a buyer must sign, and what the costs are and where they come from. By the time you finish this lesson, you'll feel much more comfortable with this process!

Who creates zoning rules and how? What can a zoning ordinance regulate? How are they enforced? If you need to get around one, can you? These are just some of the questions you'll find answers to in this lesson. You'll also take a look at an area of law most people don't know about—restrictive covenants—that can have a huge impact on all types of property owners. Last, you'll learn what kind of action you can take if your neighbor becomes a big nuisance.

In the final lesson, you'll survey the various types of professions tied to real estate. If you're interested in becoming a real estate agent, you'll learn about the process here. The lesson will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of real estate investing to help you decide if this is something you'd like to do. You'll finish up by profiling other careers, such as surveyors, real estate paralegals, appraisers, inspectors, and more.

Neal Bevans

Neal Bevans is a former Assistant District Attorney. A veteran of over 150 trials, Bevans has tried every major felony from rape, murder, and narcotics to armed robbery. One of his cases was televised nationally on Court TV. He has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia (Order of the Barrister) and has been a college instructor for over 10 years. He has also presented numerous seminars to medical professionals about the legal field, including training seminars for legal nurse consultants and sexual assault nurse examiners. In addition to practicing real estate law, he also worked as a title examiner and bought and sold real estate investment properties. An author of fiction and nonfiction material, his textbook Criminal Law and Procedure for Paralegals, was published in 2002. His second textbook, Tort Law for Legal Assistants, was published in 2003. He has also published numerous magazine articles about many aspects of the legal and medical fields, including articles focusing on developing a legal nurse consulting practice. He is also a contributing columnist to Legal Assistant Today magazine.

Instructor Interaction: The instructor looks forward to interacting with learners in the online moderated discussion area to share their expertise and answer any questions you may have on the course content.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

  • This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

  • PC: Windows 8 or later.
  • Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
  • Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  • Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

  • Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Instructor-Moderated: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.​

Self-Guided: Your course begins immediately after you enroll.​

Instructor-Moderated: Once a course session starts, two lessons will be released each week for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends. You will interact with the instructor through the online discussion area. There are no live sessions or online meetings with the instructor.

Self-Guided: You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

Instructor-Moderated: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes two weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. However, you will have access to all lessons from the time they are released until the course ends.​

Self-Guided: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Instructor-Moderated: Students enrolled in a six-week online class benefit from a one-time, 10-day extension for each course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.​

Self-Guided: Because this course is self-guided, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

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