Course Syllabus

Law of Contracts RELE 1311

Houston Community College System

Fall II - 2005

INSTRUCTOR:         Joe Goeters

CRN NUMBER:       15246

OFFICE PHONE:      409-737-9442; 713-718-5281; 713-927-9596 email goeters@houston.rr.com

OFFICE HOURS:      Thursdays, 2:00pm to 5:00pm; email or call for appointments

Please check your email every other day or as frequently as possible. This can be done by going to the “Mail” icon on your homepage.

HCCS Real Estate Department Website:    http://swc2.edu.rele

 COURSE MATERIAL:        The course material should be accessed as soon as possible. Log onto the course by following these steps:

Go to the Distance Ed. Home page                   http://distance.hccs.edu

Click on           Access DE Course/Orientation

Click on           Enter Online Classroom

Enter CRN of desired class       Click on “Go”

Click on           Go to Class

Click on           Logon to My WebCT

Enter Username and Password

 When you are accessing a narrated slide presentation, please be patient while the slide show is loading. It may take awhile but it is worth the wait. Also, from time to time you may need to advance the slide manually if it seems as though it is not going to advance on its own. 

This course provides three semester hours of college credit and forty-five hours of classroom credit. It is a core real estate course and is required by The Texas Real Estate Commission to make application for a salesperson’s license.

 CALENDAR:             Be sure and check the calendar early in the course to get the dates of the review sessions, the tests, and other important events.

TEXT:             Texas Real Estate Contracts, 2005, Jim Wiedemer

Textbooks may be purchased at any HCCS bookstore. NOTE: text books can now be ordered online at http://hccs.bkstore.com

 NEW !! – You now have a “virtual librarian” available to you. This is a tremendous resource so please take advantage if it by going to the icon “Discussions” on your student homepage.

 RECOMMENDED:     HCCS has produced a multimedia CD ROM that is an excellent learning tool to enhance the student’s understanding of the real estate profession. The following interactive CD-ROMs are available from Thomson/Southwestern:

 The Residential Transaction                   ISBN 0-324-18867-6

The Commercial Transaction                 ISBN 0-324-18865-X

 To order by phone – call 800-354-9706, select option 4

 To order online – visit www.thomsonlearning.com

Click on “Our Catalogs”

Select “Customer Catalog”

Enter ISBN in Keyword Search

AUDIENCE:

 Individuals who need hours as a part of the requirements to acquire a Real Estate License, or hours toward a degree or certificate of achievement, or to better understand the role of the earnest money contract in a real estate transaction.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

A review of real estate contracts required by Section 6A (3) of the Real Estate License Act with emphasis on general contract law requirements. Also covers the purpose, history, and working process of the Broker-Lawyer Committee. Includes preparation of real estate contract forms with emphasis on the most commonly used forms. The first six classroom hours consist of a review of the subject required by Section 6A (3) of the Real Estate License Act with emphasis on general contract law requirements. The Texas Real Estate Commission requires this course for new salesperson applicants.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

 By completing this course, the student should be able to:

1.      State what constitutes competent parties

2.      Explain the element of a valid contract

3.      Explain Statute of Frauds, breach of contract, and unauthorized practice of law.

4.      Describe the purpose of the Broker-Lawyer committee

5.      Complete the earnest money contract, required addenda, and closing cost estimate for a conventional, FHA, and VA transaction.

GRADING SCALE:

 A = 90 - 100%        B = 80 - 89%      C = 70 - 79%       D = 60 - 69%       Below 60% = F

 Policy on Academic Dishonesty:

 The following is an excerpt from the Student Conduct section of the College System catalog:

“Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion.” Students guilty of academic dishonesty can be given a grade of “F” or “0” for the particular test or assignment involved.

 DISABILITY ACCOMODATION POLICY:    Any Student with a disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the appropriate Disability Support Service Counselor, Angela Foote at 713-718-7014 or angela.foote@hccs.edu in order to be referred to the appropriate Disability Support Service Counselor. Students who require testing accommodations need to schedule an appointment for testing to ensure that staff will be available for proctoring and to arrange for any adaptive equipment that may be required.

 The grades will be based on the following criteria:

Mid-term Exam            25% Covers Chap 1 thru 6.

Final Exam                   35% Covers Chap 7 thru 23.

Case Studies                40%

 Withdrawal:        Per the HCCS Student Handbook – if withdrawal is necessary, it is the student’s responsibility to officially withdraw from the course. If the student fails to withdraw and does not complete the required projects then the student is in jeopardy of receiving an “F” in the course.

 Exploration of Career Opportunities and Supplemental Instruction – Be sure to take advantage of the “Additional Resources” available to you. This can be done by exploring the Icon on your homepage.

 Case Studies:       Please note that the case study is a significant part of the grade and is required for satisfactory completion of the course.

The case studies consist of three contract situations. You need to complete one full contract, the 1-4 Family Resale contract. You will need to fill out the necessary addenda. The forms are available under both the “Case Study – Mandatory” icon and the “Assignments – Case Study”. Click on the “Case Study” icon on your home page to get the necessary information to complete the case studies.

New this semester is the ability to fill in the forms online under the “Assignments” icon and leave them in the assignments box for grading. When you are filling in the forms online some of the information will enter automatically where appropriate. When you finish a field, tab to the next field. There are some situations where you may skip a field but if you keep tabbing you will eventually hit all fields.

 The case studies should be completed no later than the time of the second (and final) test.

If you experience any difficulties with the fill-in form on line you can download the forms, fill them in by hand and handed in or sent to:

Joe Goeters

Real Estate Department

Houston Community College

3100 Main Street

Houston, TX 77002

The Real Estate Department is in the basement. They can be emailed, but be sure to send it through the Mailbox on the course homepage. Also, check to make sure that I have received it. Be sure and put your name, social security number, and CRN on the materials handed in.

 You may also fax them to me at 713-718-5336.

 In the past we have had numerous problems with lost or misplaced case studies. Please follow up to make sure that I have received your case study. I will email those students after the weekend of the final exam if I do not have their case study so please continue to check your email even after the course is over.

 Major Events:

 There will be two online review sessions before each test. The online review sessions can be accessed by going to the “Audio Room” on your homepage.

 Be sure and check the calendar early in the course to get the dates of the review sessions and the tests.

 There will be two tests. The first will be online and the second will be proctored.

 Note – Posting of Grades:      The mid term grades will be posted on the web site by the Thursday following the testing weekend.

 Make-up Policy:                     Make-ups must be scheduled through your instructor.