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New MiPLUS Licensing System

7/30/2020

 
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The Bureau of Professional Licensing (BPL) within the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) is moving to a new online licensing and regulatory database for health and occupational professions, called Michigan Professional Licensing User System (MiPLUS). This move will affect all Michigan real estate licenses, including salespersons and brokers.

To facilitate the migration of current licensing records into the new system, LARA will be unable to process license applications, license renewals, or changes to licenses between August 3, 2020 and August 25, 2020.

One critical item to note is that LARA recommends against creating or registering for a MiPLUS account until after August 25, 2020. Doing so will negatively impact your ability to interact with the system as it will require that you contact LARA’s office to correct your account.

If you have questions about the transition to the new MiPLUS system, you can check out LARA’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document here. If you have additional questions regarding the transition, you can contact LARA at (517) 241-0199 or email BPLHELP@michigan.gov.

We're Open!

4/8/2020

 
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Governor Whitmer issues
"Stay Home, Stay Safe"
Executive Order to
Protect Against Coronavirus


There's no better time to
complete your required
real estate continuing education

Perhaps you have asked yourself what you can do during this historical and difficult time to be safe, yet productive. We have the answer. You can complete your required real estate continuing education. All of our real estate con ed courses are home-study, so you can complete them in the comfort and safety of your own home. All of our courses are not only interesting, but CE Marketplace Certified.

There is no better time to complete your real estate continuing education requirement - and there’s no better way.

Stay Home. Be Safe. Be Productive.
  • Purchase and download a course
  • Read the material
  • Take a 10 question quiz
  • Get a certificate of completion
  • We report your course completion for you!

ConEd Audit Time!

2/27/2019

 
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This week, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) will be mailing continuing education audit letters to Michigan real estate licensees as part of LARA’s random auditing process.  The audit covers the time period of November 1, 2015 through October 31, 2018, which is the previous three-year licensing cycle.
 
Every three years, all Michigan real estate licensees must renew their real estate licenses and also comply with the license renewal requirements.  One of the license renewal requirements is completion of all required real estate continuing education hours.  Even though most licensees are supposed to complete 18 hours of continuing education before renewing their real estate licenses, it is possible to actually renew a license without having the proper continuing education completed.  As a result, LARA performs a continuing education audit to ensure that all licensees are in full compliance.
 
The reason for this is that under the LARA’s online renewal system, there is no requirement that a licensee provide actual proof of continuing education completion before renewing a license.  Rather, each licensee must certify, by checking a box, that the renewing licensee is current on all of their continuing education.  Either due to a mistake, misunderstanding, or other reasons, some licensees may check the box certifying that their continuing education has been completed even though that is actually not the case.  LARA’s con ed audit is meant to confirm compliance with the continuing education requirements and ensure the certification was accurate.
 
1 Stop ConEd is here to help if you are missing any Michigan real estate con ed hours.  We can also help if LARA’s audit determines that you did not complete sufficient hours of continuing education before renewing your license.  All of our courses are CE Marketplace certified and guaranteed to satisfy all of LARA’s requirements.

What is CE Marketplace all about?

11/1/2018

 
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CE Marketplace, a division of the Michigan Association of Realtors, is a statewide real estate association with more than 18,000 licensees.  As such, it is the only Michigan association that can approve real estate continuing education schools and courses.  This is according to the new rule that is set to take place in the O Cycle, which expires on October 31, 2021.  CE Marketplace further requires that continuing education providers upload attendance information to CE Marketplace no later than 10 business days from the completion date of the course. For more information, checkout www.CEMarketplace.net.

Remember, all 1 Stop ConEd LLC courses are CE Marketplace certified, and in addition to receiving a certificate of completion upon the conclusion of a course, 1 Stop ConEd LLC will also report your course completion to CE Marketplace. Be sure to checkout www.1StopConEd.com for details.

Con Ed Requirements for Michigan Real Estate License Renewal in 2018

1/11/2018

 
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All Michigan real estate licenses expire on October 31, 2018, and need to be on or before that date.  How much real estate continuing education do you need to renew you real estate license depends on how long you have held an “active” real estate license.
 
IF YOU:
  • Renewed your license in 2015; or
  • Were issued a new license between 7/1/2015 – 10/31/2016; or
  • Were relicensed between 7/1/2015 – 10/31/2016
THEN YOU NEED:
  • 6 hours (2 hours each year) of continuing education that involves law, rules and court cases regarding real estate.
  • 12 hours of other continuing education (all or part of those can be additional “law” hours)
  • For a total of 18 hours of continuing education prior to renewing your license in 2018.
 
IF YOU:
  • Were issued a new license between 11/1/2016 – 10/31/2017; or
  • Were relicensed between 11/1/2016 – 10/31/2017
THEN YOU NEED:
  • 4 hours (2 hours each year) of continuing education that involves law, rules and court cases regarding real estate.
  • 8 hours of other continuing education (all or part of those can be additional “law” hours)
  • For a total of 12 hours of continuing education prior to renewing your license in 2018.
 
IF YOU:
  • Were issued a new license between 11/1/2017 – 7/3/2018; or
  • Were relicensed between 11/1/2017 – 7/3/2018
THEN YOU NEED:
  • 2 hours of continuing education that involves law, rules and court cases regarding real estate.
  • 4 hours of other continuing education (all or part of those can be additional “law” hours)
  • For a total of 6 hours of continuing education prior to renewing your license in 2018.

Note:  If you hold an associate and/or individual broker license and you have held an active salesperson license between 7/1/2015 – 10/31/2016 you are required to complete the entire 18 hours of continuing education.
 
If you were relicensed and used any courses to fulfill the previous year’s continuing education requirements, those courses cannot be used again for the 2018 renewal.


1 Stop Con Ed LLC can help you with all of your Michigan real estate con ed needs.  1 Stop ConEd LLC will also save your Certificate of Completion for you, so if for any reason you misplace your certificate, just let us know and we’ll send you a new one.   Additionally, all of our courses fully and completely comply with the LARA’s requirements for real estate continuing education course credit.  Our courses were prepared by licensed Michigan attorneys, who are also licensed Michigan real estate brokers, to ensure adherence to LARA’s regulations.  We absolutely guarantee that you will receive credit for any course you complete with us should you receive an audit letter from LARA.

Law Change Updating Requirements for Continuing Education for Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons

7/21/2017

 
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An amendment to the Occupational Code changes the due date for real estate con ed from December 31 to October 31 of each year.  This is a significant change to timing, so make sure you complete your "legal update" courses before October 31.

Senate Bill 126, (now Public Act 56 of 2017) amends MCL 339.2504a of the Occupational Code, 1980 PA 299, by revising the continuing education requirements for licensed real estate professionals.  These requirements take effect on September 13, 2017.
 
Highlights of PA 56 of 2017 include the following:

  • Two (2) hours of eligible continuing education courses involving statutes, rules, and court cases are required to be taken in each year of a license cycle.  As a result, the deadline to take the mandatory 2 hours of "legal update" continuing education has been moved up to October 31 (it's no longer December 31).
  • Currently, a license cycle is 3 years and licensees must take 18 clock hours of continuing education hours per license cycle.
  • If a licensee completes an education course to obtain a professional designation, the number of hours of that course will count towards the total number of hours of continuing education courses required in a license cycle.
  • An applicant for license renewal must certify the number of hours of instruction included in the course, in addition to the prior requirement of providing a time statement from the continuing professional education program sponsor that states that the continuing professional education credits for the course were granted on a 50-minute hour.
The current license cycle runs November 1, 2015 to October 31, 2018. Each year of the license cycle starts on November 1 through October 31.

May 18th, 2016

5/18/2016

 
You used to be a Michigan licensed real estate agent, but you got out of the business for a while and let your license lapse.  Or maybe you thought you had an active license, but you recently learned that your license is in lapsed status on the State of Michigan's website.  Whatever the case may be, you no longer have an active license, but you want your license active again.  Now what do you do? 
 
If your license has been lapsed less than 3 years (expired October 31, 2015), you can apply for relicensure if you have 6 hours of con ed for year year you had a license, plus 6 hours for each you missed in the current 3-year cycle.  This is the ONLY option available to you if your license lapsed less than 3 years ago. 
 
If your license lapsed more than 3 years ago, you have some other options:
 
1) Successfully complete 6 hours of con ed for each year you held a license, plus 6 hours for each year missed in the current 3-year license cycle (which is the option above) OR
 
2) Successfully complete an approved 40-hour prelicensure course for salesperson relicensure or a 90 total hour prelicensure course for broker relicensure.   Please note that those courses cannot be completed more than 12 months before your relicensure application OR
 
3) Successfully complete/pass the State real estate exam
 
Until recently, the continuing education provider reported your course completions and those completions were registered with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).  However, since January 1, 2015, individuals are required to save their own certificates of completion, and as a result, relicensure applications now require you to provide proof of course completion.  For that reason, you should select a continuing education provider that saves your course completions for you – or will provide proof of course completion should you lose yours.  Some providers who provide this service free are www.1StopConEd.com and www.123ConEd.com.

Michigan Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements for License Renewal

9/16/2015

 
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It’s time to renew Michigan real estate licenses again, as all Michigan real estate salesperson and broker licenses expire on October 31, 2015 (the end of the current 3-year licensing cycle), and must be renewed by that date.  There is often confusion about how many hours of Michigan real estate continuing education are required to renew a license.  This is a summary of those con ed requirements.

Within each 3-year real estate licensing cycle, a licensee must complete at least 18 clock hours of real estate continuing education that involve any subjects that are relevant to the management, operation, and practice of real estate or any other subject that contributes to the professional competence of a licensee, and at least 2 of those hours of con ed must be completed in each calendar year that involve law, rules, and court cases regarding real estate (law/legal update hours).  That means that during each licensing cycle, every licensed real estate salesperson or broker must complete at least 18 hours of con ed, including a minimum of 6 hours in the law or legal update category.  It is acceptable for all 18 hours of Michigan real estate con ed to be in the law/legal update category, as there is no maximum number of allowable law/legal update hours and all such hours count towards the 18-hour requirement.

The following is a summary of the number of hours of Michigan real estate containing education hours you will need to renew your real estate license broken down by how long you have held your real estate license:

If you:
  • Renewed your Michigan real estate license in 2012 -or-
  • Were issued a new Michigan real estate license between 7/1/2012 – 10/31/2013 -or-
  • Were relicensed between 7/1/2012 – 10/31/2013
Then you need:
  • 6 hours (2 hours each year) of CE that involves law, rules and court cases regarding real estate.
  • 12 hours of other CE (those 12 hours can be additional law/legal update hours or elective hours, or a combination of both)
  • For a total of 18 hours of CE prior to renewing your real estate license on or before October 31, 2015.  Remember that at least 6 hours of CE must be in the law/legal update category, although you can take more than 6 law/legal update hours since all such hours count towards the ultimate goal of completing 18 hours of Michigan real estate continuing education.

If you:

  • Were issued a new Michigan real estate license between 11/1/2013 – 10/31/2014 -or-
  • Were relicensed between 11/1/2013 – 10/31/2014
Then you need:
  • 4 hours (2 hours each year) of continuing education that involves law, rules and court cases regarding real estate.
  • 8 hours of other continuing education (those 8 hours can be additional law/legal update hours or elective hours, or a combination of both)
  • For a total of 12 hours of real estate continuing education prior to renewing your license on or before October 31, 2015.  Remember that at least 4 hours of con ed must be in the law/legal update category, although you can take more than 4 law/legal update hours since all such hours count towards the ultimate goal of completing the 12 hours of Michigan real estate CE needed for license renewal.

If you:
  • Were issued a new Michigan real estate license between 11/1/2014 – 7/3/2015 -or-
  • Were relicensed between 11/1/2014 – 7/3/2015
Then you need:
  • 2 hours of con ed that involves law, rules and court cases regarding real estate.
  • 4 hours of other con ed (those 4 hours can be additional law/legal update hours or elective hours, or a combination of both)
  • For a total of 6 hours of con ed prior to renewing your license on or before October 31, 2015.  Remember that at least 2 hours of continuing education must be in the law/legal update category, although you can take more than 2 law/legal update hours since all such hours count towards the ultimate goal of completing 6 hours of Michigan real estate continuing education.

Note: If you hold an associate and/or individual broker license and you have held an active salesperson license between 7/1/2012 – 10/31/2013, you are required to complete the entire 18 hours of Michigan real estate continuing education.

Note Also:  If you were relicensed and used any courses to fulfill the previous year's CE requirements, those courses cannot be used again for the 2015 renewal.

And remember that, effective January 1, 2015, Michigan real estate continuing education schools are no longer permitted to report course completions to LARA.  Pursuant to R339.2504a(2) of LARA’s Administrative Code, you must keep the Certificates of Completion for a minimum of four years.  Please make sure to hold onto your Certificate of Completion for at least four years in case you are audited by LARA.

1 Stop ConEd LLC can help you fulfill all of your Michigan real education requirements as efficiently as possible so you can renew your Michigan real estate license on time.

Real Estate Continuing Education Deadline is October 31!

7/12/2015

 
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It’s time again for all of us licensed Michigan real estate salespersons and brokers to renew our licenses since 2015 is a license renewal year.  

According to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), a licensee must complete at least 18 clock hours of continuing education per 3-year license cycle before the licensee can renew his or her real estate license.   Licensees must certify they have completed the required continuing education on their license renewal application.  The current real estate licensing cycle ends on October 31, 2015, which means that every real estate agent and broker needs to complete 18 hours of real estate con ed on or before October 31.

Remember that a minimum of 6 hours must involve law, rules, and court cases regarding real estate, although you can take more than the minimum since all law/legal update hours count towards the ultimate goal of 18 hours of continuing education credit.

Have you completed your 18 hour of Michigan real estate con ed yet?  It not, the time is now!

Let 1 Stop ConEd LLC help you get your hours from the comfort or your home of office.   There is no longer any reason to sit in a conference room for hours to complete your mandatory Michigan real estate continuing hours, when 1 Stop ConEd LLC provides interesting and informative home study courses that you can complete on your own schedule and from anywhere.

1 Stop ConEd LLC is a Michigan company that specializes in Michigan real estate continuing education courses.

1 Stop ConEd LLC will also save your Certificate of Completion for you, so if for any reason you misplace your certificate, just let us know and we’ll send you a new one.   Additionally, all of our courses fully and completely comply with LARA’s requirements for real estate continuing education course credit.  Our courses were prepared by licensed Michigan attorneys, who are also licensed Michigan real estate brokers, to ensure adherence to LARA’s regulations.  We absolutely guarantee that you will receive credit for any course you complete with us should you receive an audit letter from LARA.  

HUD Settles Fair Housing “Redlining” Claim for $200 Million

5/27/2015

 
Invest nearly $200 million through increased home mortgage lending activity in majority-minority census tracts in these areas;On May 26, 2015, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced an agreement with Associated Bank, N.A. to resolve a disparate treatment redlining case, one of the largest redlining complaints brought by the federal government against a mortgage lender.  At approximately $200 million, it is the largest settlement of this kind that HUD has ever reached.

The settlement stems from a HUD-initiated complaint alleging that from 2008-2010, the Wisconsin-based bank engaged in discriminatory lending practices regarding the denial of mortgage loans to African-American and Hispanic applicants and the provision of loan services in neighborhoods with significant African-American or Hispanic populations.

“This settlement sends a strong message that HUD does not tolerate practices that unfairly restrict an equal and open housing market,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro.  “Discriminatory lending practices have too often cut off too many credit-worthy families from the opportunities they need to thrive.  This agreement will ensure that more Americans can fulfill their hopes and aspirations.”

Over the next three years, Associated Bank will pay nearly $10 million in the form of lower interest rate home mortgages and down payment/closing cost assistance to qualified borrowers in majority-minority census tracts in the housing market areas of Chicago; Milwaukee; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Racine, Wisconsin; Kenosha, Wisconsin; and Lake County, Illinois.  In addition, the bank agreed to:

  • Invest nearly $200 million through increased home mortgage lending activity in majority-minority census tracts in these areas;
  • Provide nearly $3 million to help existing homeowners repair their properties in these predominantly minority communities;
  • Pay $1.4 million to support affirmative marketing of loans in the above census tracts;
  • Commit $1.35 million for community reinvestment and fair lending education and training;
  • Open four loan production offices in majority-minority census tracts (three in the Chicago area and one in the Milwaukee area), subject to regulatory approval, in addition to three branches Associated has opened or is committed to opening in or near majority-minority census tracts in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Racine since HUD’s complaint was filed; and
  • Offer fair housing training to all its employees and agents with substantial residential lending activity within six months and maintain a second level review process for all denied residential loans.

Background
HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity filed a disparate treatment fair housing complaint alleging that between 2008 and 2010, Associated Bank discriminated on the basis of race and national origin regarding the denial of mortgage loans to qualified African-American and Hispanic applicants and the provision of loan services in majority-minority census tracts. HUD’s analysis of Associated Bank’s mortgage lending activity indicated that, compared to other mortgage lenders, Associated made few loans in majority-minority census tracts in five metropolitan areas in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, but did make loans in nearby predominantly white tracts.

The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale of a dwelling because of race or national origin.  The Fair Housing Act also makes it unlawful for any person or other entity whose business includes residential real estate-related transactions to discriminate against any person in making available such a transaction, or in the terms or conditions of such a transaction, because of race or national origin.

1 Stop Coned LLC offers several Michigan real estate continuing courses on fair housing topics so you can learn more about the dos and don’ts under the Fair Housing Act while earning mandatory con ed hours.

SOURCE:  HUD press release (No. 15-064) and legal documents (portions of press release used with permission of HUD)

    Author

    1 Stop ConEd LLC is a proud Michigan company that is owned and operated by two licensed Michigan real estate brokers/attorneys.  They are the authors of this blog.

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