Real Estate Exam Prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - A standard Texas real estate license is valid for a two-year term. - For most renewals, 18 hours of Continuing Education (CE) are required, which must include the 4-hour Legal Update I and 4-hour Legal Update II courses. - The first license renewal is a major exception, requiring 90 hours of Sales Apprentice E...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - That all real estate commissions in Texas must be paid to the sponsoring broker, never directly to a sales agent. - How to correctly handle bonuses or other valuable consideration offered by clients or builders. - That TREC does not mediate commission disputes between licensees; these are handled through mediation, arbitration, o...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - A Texas sales agent cannot practice real estate without being sponsored by a licensed broker. - Sponsoring brokers are ultimately responsible for the authorized acts of the sales agents they sponsor. - TREC requires sponsoring brokers to maintain written policies and procedures to ensure agent competency. - When a sponsorship is t...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The Texas Sales Agent Exam has two parts: 80 national questions and 30 state-specific questions. - A passing score of 70% is required on each section independently, not as a combined average. - You are given a single 150-minute block of time to complete both the national and state sections. - Be prepared for s...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The total pre-license education requirement in Texas is 180 hours, divided into six specific 30-hour courses. - The six mandatory courses are Principles of Real Estate I & II, Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, Promulgated Contract Forms, and Real Estate Finance. - Exam questions test knowledge of the specific required courses, not j...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The purpose of the Texas Real Estate Recovery Trust Account as a fund of last resort for consumers. - The updated payment limits: up to $125,000 per transaction and an aggregate total of $250,000 per licensee. - The absolute requirement to obtain a final court judgment before a claim can be filed with t...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - TRELA is the foundational state law for Texas real estate, created by the State Legislature, not TREC. - The Commissioner's Rules are administrative rules created by TREC to implement and enforce TRELA. - The difference between a statute (TRELA) and an administrative rule (TREC Rules) is a common exam topic. - T...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) is composed of nine members appointed by the governor: six are licensed brokers and three are from the general public. - TREC's primary role is to enforce the Texas Real Estate License Act (TRELA), not to create the law itself. - A common exam trap i...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • How to calculate the necessary sales price to achieve a specific net amount for a seller using the 100% minus commission rate method. • A simple mnemonic to memorize 43,560 square feet in an acre to ensure accuracy on land measurement problems. • The critical rule of usin...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • The critical differences between Easements Appurtenant and Easements In Gross. • How to correctly identify the Dominant and Servient estates in exam scenarios. • The legal requirements for creating easements through Necessity and Prescription. • Common termination methods including Merger, Release, and Abandonment. • A simple mnemonic to...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • CC&Rs are private land use controls that are recorded in the deed and run with the land to bind all future owners. • In a conflict between public zoning and private CC&Rs, the more restrictive requirement always takes precedence. • Covenants are promise...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • The distinction between the government's power of Eminent Domain and the legal process of Condemnation. • The two constitutional requirements under the Fifth Amendment including public use and just compensation. • How just compensation is calculated using fair market value at the time of the tak...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: - The legal definition of a variance and the mandatory requirement of proving physical hardship. - Why financial gain and personal convenience are never grounds for a zoning variance. - How nonconforming uses are established via grandfather clauses when zoning laws change. ...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • Zoning is an exercise of police power used at the local level to regulate land use for public welfare. • Common classifications include R for Residential, C for Commercial, and M for Manufacturing, with numbers indicating intensity. • Setbacks represent the distance from property lines t...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • The critical distinction between Police Power and Eminent Domain regarding owner compensation. • How to differentiate the right of Eminent Domain from the legal process of condemnation. • The Fifth Amendment requirements of public use and just compensation for government takings. • Why property tax liens mai...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • The definition of material facts and the reasonable person standard for property disclosure. • Why latent defects must be disclosed even when a property is sold in as is condition. • The distinction between physical property defects and psychological stigmas like notorious crimes. • Federal requireme...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • How to identify Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) and the specific requirements for Zones A and V. • The mandatory insurance rules for properties with federally related mortgages in high-risk zones. • The definition of wetlands under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and the rol...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • The fundamental differences between non-invasive Phase I and invasive Phase II Environmental Site Assessments. • How the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act or CERCLA impacts property owner liability. • The criteria required for a buyer to qualify for the innocent landowner defense through...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • CERCLA creates a federal Superfund for cleaning up hazardous waste sites and emergency pollutant releases. • Strict liability means owners are responsible regardless of whether they were negligent or even aware of the contamination. • Joint and several liability allows the government to hold a singl...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. This episode covers content for the National Real Estate Exam. In this episode you will learn: • Understanding the term friable and its relationship to airborne asbestos hazards • Recognizing the differences between asbestos encapsulation and removal techniques • Identifying radon as a radioactive gas produced by the natural decay of uranium • Learning the EPA action level of 4.0 picocuries for radon mitigatio...