OAR 161-020-0120: Continuing Education Course Content Guidelines

This rule contains the course content guidelines which courses must satisfy in order to be approved under these rules as Continuing Education as defined in these rules: (1) General Guidelines: (a) The course must involve a minimum of two classroom hours of instruction on acceptable real estate appraisal or related topics; (b) The course must contribute to the goal of maintaining or increasing the knowledge, skill and competence of real estate appraisers with regard to the performance of real estate appraisals in a manner that best serves the public interest; (c) Any course that covers a real estate appraisal topic may be acceptable if it does not present information so basic in nature that the stated goal of continuing education will not be satisfied by the course; (d) In order to be an acceptable real estate appraisal related topic, the education provided in the course must directly contribute to increasing or maintaining the appraiser's ability to perform real estate appraisals; (A) Courses are not acceptable if they would merely contribute to the appraiser's personal development rather than to the appraiser’s ability to perform real estate appraisals; (B) Courses are not acceptable if they would contribute only generally to the appraiser's knowledge of the business field, rather than specifically to operating an appraisal business. (2) Acceptable Topics — This list is to assist education providers in understanding the course content requirements under these rules. Topics may include, but are not limited to the following: (a) Real Estate Appraisal Topics: (A) Ad Valorem taxation; (B) Arbitration, Dispute Resolution; (C) Courses related to the practice of real estate appraisal or consulting; (D) Development cost estimating; (E) Ethics and standards of professional practice, USPAP; (F) Valuation bias and fair housing laws and regulations; (G) Land use planning, zoning; (H) Management, leasing, timesharing; (I) Property development, partial interests; (J) Real estate law, easements and legal interests; (K) Real estate litigation, damages, condemnation; (L) Real estate financing and investment; (M) Real estate appraisal-related computer applications; (N) Real estate securities and syndication; (O) Developing opinions of real property value in appraisals that also include personal property and/or business value; (P) Seller concessions and impact on value; (Q) Energy-efficient items and "green building appraisals" (R) Writing an Effective Narrative Report. (b) Other Real Estate Appraisal Topics: (A) Appraisal Laws, Standards and Ethics (review/update/applications); (B) Appraising Any Specific Type of Property (for example: single-family residences, condominiums, manufactured housing, apartment complexes, office buildings, warehouses, farms, rural properties, etc.); (C) Appraising from Blueprints and Specifications; (D) Case Study of a Particular Type of Property; (E) Cash Equivalency; (F) Cash Flow Forecasting; (G) Computer Applications in Appraising; (H) Condemnation/Right of Way Appraising; (I) Estimating Accrued Depreciation; (J) Estimating Building Costs; (K) Feasibility Analysis; (L) Federal Agency Appraisal Regulations/Requirements; (M) Highest and Best Use Analysis; (N) Litigation (involving appraisal issues/appraiser testimony); (O) Mass Appraisal; (P) Mortgage-Equity Analysis (Ellwood Formula); (Q) Real Estate Market Analysis (advanced or specialized application); (R) Review Appraising; (S) Sales Comparison Techniques (advanced or specialized application); (T) State Agency Appraisal Regulations/Requirements; (U) Subdivision Analysis; (V) The Appraisal Foundation's National USPAP Course, the Appraisal Foundation’s National USPAP Continuing Education Course, or their equivalents; (W) URAR Form Preparation; (X) UCIAR Form Preparation; (Y) Use of Financial Calculators in Appraising; (Z) Valuation of Partial (special) Interests. (c) Real Estate Topics: (A) Real Estate Development; (B) Real Estate Finance; (C) Real Estate Investments; (D) Real Estate (property) Law; (E) Real Estate Property or Asset Management; (F) Real Estate Mathematics; (G) Real Estate Syndication; (H) Real Estate Taxation; (I) Federal/State Taxation of Real Estate Investments; (J) Land Use Controls/Zoning. (d) Business Topics: (A) Accounting; (B) Corporate Finance; (C) Economics (macro and micro); (D) Investments; (E) Statistics. (e) Other Topics: (A) Appraising Machinery and Equipment; (B) Business Valuation; (C) Construction; (D) Surveying. (3) Unacceptable Topics — This list is to assist education providers in understanding the course content requirements under these rules. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) Real Estate Topics: (A) Real Estate Practices: (B) Real Estate Sales (and related topics); (C) Real Estate License Law; (D) Agency Law; (E) Real Estate Office Management. (b) Business Topics: (A) Advertising/Marketing; (B) Bookkeeping; (C) Business Administration; (D) Business Law; (E) Computer Principles/Programming/Systems; (F) Office Management/Systems; (G) Personnel Management; (H) Principles of Management; (I) Typing/Word Processing. (c) Personal Development Topics: (A) Communications (oral or written); (B) Interpersonal Communications; (C) Memory Improvement; (D) Public Speaking; (E) Speed Reading; (F) Stress Management; (G) Time Management. (d) Other Topics: Appraiser Examination Preparation.