Sif Malik's ePortfolio

During my first semester at Temple I took Real Estate Practice with Dr. Lammendola. This would be the first of two classes required for taking my Real Estate Salesperson exam and being able to work under a broker. Throughout this class we discussed the laws, procedures, and necessary documentation needed to make sure the transaction between a seller and buyer of real estate goes smoothly.

This semester (Fall 2010) I am taking the second course called Real Estate Fundamentals. As of right now we have covered ownership interests, types of ownerships, liens, rules and regulations. Most of the cases involving Real Estate go as far as the State Supreme courts. Only a few cases which involve constitutional violations are brought before the United States Supreme Court.

I have learned a great deal in this course and it has changed the way I view Real Estate. When I drove by houses, complexes, or even apartments I just said “Hey! That place looks neat.” Nowadays, I am not saying that line anymore. Now I am thinking to myself – what type of ownership interests do the landowners have? Are there any liens attached to the property? If so, which ones could they be? I haven’t gone to the county court to look up public records to see which property has what liens. However, I am curious and will probably do that in the near future.

One of the more interesting topics in this course is “Contract Law.” It touches on key points of contracts such as the requirements that need to be fulfilled for something to become a contract – whether it is a unilateral or bilateral contract. Or if it is even a contract at all. I did take “American Law & Society,” and we did cover contract law, but only a few simple examples. The contract process involved in Real Estate does use the same basis, but it gets complicated as things progress. Which I dare not explain on here. Not only would it require additional pages and links, but if you aren’t taking the course, the material will fly over your head.

Overall, Dr. Lammendola has done an extraordinary job teaching Real Estate; which can be one of the most confusing and complicated topics to any person majoring or not majoring in Law. Thankfully I’m not majoring in Law…yet.