Property Course

Lesson 1 • Estates and Ownership Interests

Explains freehold and leasehold estates, fee simple, and life estates. Provides the ownership-interest vocabulary needed for title and transfer chapters.

Lesson 2 • What Real Property Means

Defines real property versus personal property and explains the bundle-of-rights concept. Anchors the chapter by establishing the legal and economic nature of property.

Lesson 3 • Land Description and Identification

Introduces metes-and-bounds, lot-and-block, and rectangular survey systems. Accurate land description is essential for contracts, deeds, and title work.

Lesson 4 • Forms of Co-Ownership

Covers joint tenancy, tenancy in common, and entity-based ownership structures. Students learn how ownership form affects rights, liability, and transfer.

Lesson 1 • Environmental Regulations Affecting Property

Covers hazardous materials disclosure, contamination liability, and wetlands restrictions. Regulatory compliance here directly affects property value and transferability.

Lesson 2 • Sources of Property Law

Traces property law from common law through statutory and regulatory layers. Establishes how different legal sources interact and which takes precedence.

Lesson 3 • Government Powers Over Property

Examines eminent domain, police power, taxation, and escheat. Students understand how government authority can limit or extinguish private property rights.

Lesson 4 • Zoning and Land Use Controls

Explains zoning classifications, variances, conditional uses, and nonconforming uses. Students apply zoning analysis to determine permissible property uses.

Lesson 1 • The Sales Comparison Approach

Teaches selection of comparable sales, adjustment grids, and reconciliation of value indicators. This approach is the primary method for residential and land valuation.

Lesson 2 • The Cost Approach to Value

Explains reproduction vs. replacement cost, depreciation types, and land value estimation. Most applicable to new construction and special-purpose properties.

Lesson 3 • Reconciliation and Final Value Opinion

Demonstrates how appraisers weight multiple approaches and communicate a final value opinion. Students practise reconciling conflicting value indicators into a defensible conclusion.

Lesson 4 • Economic Principles of Value

Covers supply and demand, substitution, anticipation, and contribution as value drivers. These principles underpin every formal appraisal and informal pricing decision.

Lesson 1 • Types of Mortgage Loans

Surveys fixed-rate, adjustable-rate, government-backed, and portfolio loan products. Students match loan types to borrower profiles and property categories.

Lesson 2 • Mortgage Underwriting and Qualification

Covers income ratios, credit analysis, asset verification, and property eligibility standards. Students understand what lenders evaluate and how to prepare clients.

Lesson 3 • Default, Foreclosure, and Alternatives

Describes the foreclosure process, deficiency judgments, short sales, and deed-in-lieu options. Students advise distressed clients and recognise risk in leveraged transactions.

Lesson 4 • Mortgage Fundamentals

Defines mortgage instruments, lien theory vs. title theory, and the promissory note relationship. Establishes the legal and financial structure of secured property lending.

Lesson 1 • Contract Law Essentials for Property

Reviews offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, and legality as applied to real estate. These elements determine whether a property contract is enforceable.

Lesson 2 • Purchase and Sale Agreements

Dissects standard purchase agreement clauses: price, earnest money, contingencies, and closing date. Students draft and negotiate each clause with precision.

Lesson 3 • Deeds and Property Transfer

Covers general warranty, special warranty, quitclaim, and bargain-and-sale deeds. Students select the appropriate deed type for each transaction scenario.

Lesson 4 • Title Search and Title Insurance

Explains the chain of title, title defects, and how title insurance protects buyers and lenders. Clear title is a prerequisite for every successful property closing.

Lesson 1 • Lease Termination and Eviction

Details proper notice procedures, unlawful detainer actions, and security deposit disposition. Students handle lease endings lawfully to minimise liability.

Lesson 2 • The Property Manager's Role and Duties

Defines fiduciary duties, management agreement terms, and the scope of a manager's authority. Establishes the legal and ethical baseline for all management activities.

Lesson 3 • Property Management Accounting

Explains trust accounts, operating budgets, income statements, and owner distributions. Accurate accounting protects the manager legally and builds owner confidence.

Lesson 4 • Maintenance and Capital Planning

Addresses preventive maintenance programmes, vendor management, and capital reserve planning. Proactive maintenance preserves asset value and reduces emergency costs.

Lesson 1 • Leverage and Financing Strategy

Analyses how debt amplifies returns and risk, and how loan terms affect investment performance. Students optimise capital structure for target return profiles.

Lesson 2 • Pro Forma Financial Modelling

Builds a multi-year pro forma with revenue, vacancy, operating expenses, and debt service. The pro forma is the primary tool for underwriting and investor presentations.

Lesson 3 • Investment Return Metrics

Defines cash-on-cash return, cap rate, equity multiple, and internal rate of return. Students calculate and compare metrics across competing investment opportunities.

Lesson 4 • Market Cycle and Timing Analysis

Maps the four phases of the real estate cycle and their impact on acquisition and disposition timing. Cycle awareness improves entry and exit decision quality.

Lesson 1 • Tax Strategy for Property Investors

Explains depreciation benefits, tax-deferred exchange mechanics, and passive loss rules. Tax efficiency is a primary driver of after-tax investment returns.

Lesson 2 • Disposition and Exit Strategies

Evaluates outright sale, exchange, refinance, and hold strategies against investor objectives. Students select and execute the optimal exit for each asset and market condition.

Lesson 3 • Portfolio Construction Principles

Applies diversification, correlation, and risk-adjusted return concepts to property portfolios. Students design portfolios aligned with investor goals and risk tolerance.

Lesson 4 • Development and Entitlement Basics

Introduces land acquisition, entitlement risk, construction financing, and project delivery. Students evaluate ground-up development as a property portfolio growth strategy.