About the Course

Between now and 2010, the rate of foreclosures on residential properties in the United States is expected to reach high levels not seen in decades. Frequently cited as contributing factors are home owners' inability to pay the rising costs of adjustable-rate mortgages, coupled with dramatically changed market conditions which make it more difficult to sell their homes.

Because of its greater-than-average inventory of existing housing stock, and because low-interest-rate mortgage money had been readily available, Pennsylvania is among states that anticipate a significant number of foreclosures. In fact, four Pennsylvania metropolitan areas -- Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown -- consistently rank among USA Today's quarterly compilation of the nation's Top 100 markets with foreclosure activity.

Homeowners who face this kind of financial crisis need professional assistance in both selling their current property and finding less expensive alternative housing. Buyers want help finding and obtaining the market’s foreclosure bargains. Investors seek help for longer-term strategies.

All three needs are addressed in Polley Associates' continuing education course, "Helping Clients Understand Foreclosures."

This course covers the causes and implications of foreclosures in Pennsylvania and nationwide. It reviews more than a dozen options homeowners can use to avoid foreclosure. It addresses, in depth, the how-to and why of "short sales" ... one of the most popular choices to avoid foreclosure ... and their effects on sellers, buyers and mortgage lenders alike. It describes how investors can purchase properties in foreclosure both before and at sheriff sale auctions; examines new business opportunities for licensees in selling foreclosed properties repossessed by lenders; and looks at the future of real estate as lawmakers cope with foreclosure-related problems.

"Helping Clients Understand Foreclosures" is a course intended to make licensees aware of, and effectively meet, their clients’ foreclosure-related needs. It draws upon Pennsylvania real estate license law, rules and regulations; federal Housing and Urban Development regulations, rules affecting FHA, VA, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae mortgages; various IRS regulations, the Federal Reserve Board Survey of Consumer Finances, foreclosure case law in the states of Pennsylvania, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin, and Illinois; current and proposed amendments to the federal Truth In Lending Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act; and historical data from the Center for Responsible Lending, the National Association of Realtors, the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, and the PA Assn. of Mortgage Brokers.

This is a full-day course. It fulfills 7 hours of the 14 hours of mandatory continuing education (MCE) required by the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission for salesperson's or broker's license renewal.