Successful real estate professionals know the benefit of holding dual licenses to expand opportunities. Now you can plan to complete the Appraisal program in three courses or the Real Estate Sales with post-license in three courses, OR you can take just four AREA courses and qualify for BOTH state licenses with FREE credit. Save your time and money for more important things, like starting your new business.

This new AREA Dual License Curriculum allows you to earn credit for both real estate sales and appraisal requirements at the same time! Regardless of the real estate path you select first, you will automatically be earning FREE credit toward you second license. Schedules are being arranged so that you can simultaneously complete both licenses in about the same time that traditionally was needed to complete one. Since the course material complements and supports both licenses, it will make it easier for you to succeed and in less time.

Appraising requires 90 educational hours while Real Estate Sales requires 75 hours plus 25 hours post-license. If you select and complete appraisal first, you will only need one additional 45-hour course to complete the state requirements for your sales license AND satisfy your post license requirement! Now that is an efficient use of your time and money!!!

If you complete the sales program first, you will only need 60 additional hours to complete the appraisal program. Remember the appraisal curriculum can also satisfy the post license course requirements for salespersons. Either way, you will save at least 55 to 65 hours of classroom time and hundreds of dollars in fees. More time with family and more money to put toward starting your new career. Now that’s a deal!

Discuss with AREA the possibility of having America’s Real Estate Associates, Inc. hold your real estate license.

Please let your friends and family know about this – what a great time to get started on your new career in real estate. Contact AREA and ask us how 770-591-5552 or education@area-ga.com.

AREA is hosting another FREE Career Night open house event on Tue, Jan 8 to allow former students and prospective students the opportunity to network with real estate professionals and school administrators. If you think real estate might be for you, or you are entering the business and have some questions, or just want an opportunity to brag how well you did while others moaned, JOIN US. Come find out about business opportunities and who is hiring.

Event is open house format from 6 to 8 pm at the Chamblee location.

Brokers and other professionals will be available to talk to you about business and how you can increase your networking opportunities. ZipRealty, Inc - a full service brokerage - shall be there and are looking to hire over one hundred agents as employees! No monthly fees, support, benefits, come and find out more.

This event is an opportunity to speak to the educational staff as well as former students who share their insight as to the support AREA provides and the success they have found in the business. FREE Door Prizes are awarded including course and product discount coupons, FREE books, retail or dinner coupons and more.

Contact staff for more information, 770-591-5552 or education@area-ga.com.

AREA added several classification and exam prep courses to the last quarter of 2007 to accommodate requests from many of our students. We take pride in seeing so many new Certified General, Certified Residential and Licensed appraisers. Congratulations to you all! Nice job passing those difficult exams. The FREE exam prep AREA offered benefitted over 330 students in more than 25 states.

We appreciate the confidence you have shown by relying on AREA for your professional education.
Thank you! And from some of our students we heard ...

"I passed my CG exam yesterday with an 82. Half way thru the test my 12c batteries died so I had to use the tables. Luckily I was listening when Dick was going over the tables. Thanks for all of your help." Tim K.

"I am now CR. I owe it all to you guys and couldn't have done it without you. Thanks again." Jim T.

"Thanks to AREA I passed licensed. 88% is not great, but I will take it. Thanks again." Skip S.

"I am now CR. I thank you all for being so great and I look forward to taking ALL of my CE with AREA! Thanks again," Bruce M.

"I just wanted to let you know that I took my CR test today and I passed. Yeah! I got an 82. I wanted to thank you and AREA so much for all your help and concern. I could not have done this without you. I will definitely be taking all of my CE with you. I have greatly valued all the material that I have learned and will tell fellow appraisers about your classes. Thank you so much again. You have made me very happy. You were right the test was very hard, but I just tried to apply everything that I learned to answer the questions. This is a great accomplishment for me and I truly thank you and all the teachers that I have had with AREA -- Grace, Dick, Jacque, Jim -- Thank you so much to you all!" Sonja C.

Okay - enough - we are starting to blush!

AREA has a new course just in time for the tax appeal season. Learn how to appeal property taxes. This course awards CE for agents and appraisers, but is intended to assist everyone who wants to appeal their tax assessment. Couldn't you use a break on your own tax bill?

Accurately appraising every property in a county or city is an impossible task. That is why the city and county tax assessments are frequently incorrect. But in 2008 there will be even fewer accurate assessments than normal. Assessors are not very good at rolling back their value estimates. With average home prices falling, you can count on assessor values exceeding market values when the tax assessment notices are delivered in 2008.

This course provides an overview of the taxing assessment process and how to timely file an appeal. It reviews the basic steps to take when filing an appeal and how to prepare and conduct a hearing before the equalization board, should that be necessary. This is a “must take” course for ANY property owner and benefits appraisers looking for new sources for appraisal assignments. Earn real estate and appraisal CE credit.

Send an email to education@area-ga.com for next schedule.

This new course coincides with presentation of the new Property Tax Appeal course. The Secrets of Condemnation Appraising reviews the government’s power of eminent domain and explains the legal process of condemnation. It is a great real estate and appraisal CE course.

Because most condemnation involves acquisition of right of way, the focus of the course will be on how to appraise right of way for condemnation. The course reviews the practice from both the condemning authority’s perspective as well as the homeowner’s perspective. This is a beneficial course for anyone currently or potentially dealing with a condemning authority and particularly for appraisers looking to find new sources of appraisal assignments.

Send an email to education@area-ga.com for next course schedule.

There are still plenty of opportunities for real estate sales agents, appraisers and home inspectors. Real estate markets expand and contract for a variety of reasons – all of which we have no control over. What we can control, is how we react to these cycles.

For metro Atlanta – FMLS shows closed sales to date in 2007 at 53,818 residences and we still have two weeks to go. That is down just 8% from the record sales year of 2006. Even with the decrease in activity and the decrease in the average sales price, there were still $700 million dollars worth of commissions in just the residential portion of the market that FMLS represents. That also translates into over $22 million dollars worth of appraisal fees and home inspection fees from just that one segment of the market.

Many of the people advancing their credentials near the end of this year were so busy they had to fit their work around the course schedules. Fewer people are getting into these businesses as the media promotes doom and gloom. And with people moving, dying or retiring, those that remain usually continue to do well. The key is to adjust to the market.

When the market is strong, it is necessary to adjust our schedules to accommodate high work loads while allocating sufficient time for family. When the market is slow, the extra time can be used to accomplish a variety of objectives.

First and foremost, increase your credentials and become proficient in related areas. Get cross-trained in sales, appraisal and home inspection. Doing so will insure your future. Advance if you can - agents take the broker course. You will satisfy CE and become more confident and ready to take on new responsibilities.

Secondly, take action to expand your practice. If you are in residential sales, learn about commercial sales and leasing. If you are a residential appraiser, study and work with commercial appraisers - learn tax appeals or condemnation appraising. If you are a home inspector, learn about making inspections on smaller commercial buildings or motels.

The third thing you can do is hone your current skills and method of operation so that you become more efficient when the market turns around. Get your contact information organized. Learn those new computer programs you have avoided since you installed them on your computer. Get your website updated and loaded with content. Set a budget and make a marketing plan for 2008.

Fourth, and not necessarilly last, look for new markets. Join civic or social organizations. Participate in community housing presentations through mortgage companies or non-profit organizations. Create a blog or a newsletter. Appraisers can market to estate attorneys, divorce attorneys, and offer lenders construction draw inspection services. Home inspectors and appraisers can market to homeowners about to put their houses on the market or new home owners whose warranties are about to expire.

If you do those things, you will have enormous success in the future - to which we say - Happy New Year!

AREA suggests that you provide your clients with complete information about filing for homestead exemption in their county. Let them know the precise deadline, whether they may file by mail (in person is sometimes required), what documents they are required to provide, and the county contact information.

This is also a good time to cultivate all former customers and clients by including a year end or year beginning greeting, letting them know if your contact information has changed, and making sure that your contact list for this year includes their important dates such as their anniversary in the house, or any other special days they may appreciate that you remembered.

Check out the new Tax Appeal course. Attend so you can share money saving info with your clients. Saving your clients money is a great way to insure they remember you next time they need a professional.

If you are not taking credit cards – you may be taking unnecessary risk with payments and even worse – you may be losing business! Real estate appraisers and home inspectors can expect sales to increase by taking payments by credit cards. Your competition is taking credit cards and you need to take them too.

If you think that establishing an account is a lot of trouble or that the costs are high, let AREA introduce you to the service we use. This is the simplest, easiest, and least costly service we were able to find and they are located right here in Alpharetta. We have been so pleased with the service the last five years that we have partnered with them to offer our students this low cost merchant account.

With a Charge.com merchant account you are able to receive payments through your website or process electronically all payments you receive over the phone or in person. The service includes all credit cards, debit cards, and on-line checks. This company caters to small business and offers AREA students:

• Free Setup
• Free Application
• Free Technical Support
• Free Shopping Cart Software
• Free Internet Check Software
• Free Search Engine Submission

• First, create a links page for your website where you can promote agents, real estate schools, lenders, home inspectors, professional organizations, or anything else related to your real estate business. To view a sample links page, check out one of AREA's.
• After you have your links page created, send an email to DickViti@area-ga.com to indicate you are ready to link to AREA websites.
• You will receive AREA links along with a brief description of each site to include on your links page. When you have the AREA links posted on your website, email your link(s) and site description(s) to DickViti@area-ga.com so your links can be posted on the AREA's websites.

Help your clients find your website on top!