Overview Objective Materials grading Exam ELI Policies and Procedures Contacting the Instructor Beginning the Course
LGL 115: Real Estate Law (3 Credits)
Instructor: John Wells

Overview

This course covers the basics of property law applicable to common real estate transactions and documentation thereof, including:  deeds; contracts; leases; mortgages (including deed of trust); systems of surveying and land description; and systems of recording and search for public documents of real property ownership/liens.  An overview of landlord-tenant law is provided.

Entry Level Competencies:LGL 110 is a co-requisite for students majoring in Legal Assisting. Proficiency (at the high school level) in spoken and written English is recommended for successful completion of this course.

 
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Objectives

 

If you do well in this course, you will be able to:

  1. Describe the basic principles of substantive real estate law. 
  2. Recognize, define and correctly use basic real estate terms.
  3. Draft the basic instruments used in common residential real estate transactions.
  4. Correctly summarize the legal effects of the provisions contained in the instruments described in the preceding bullet.
  5. Prepare a title examination order and successfully analyze a title examination report.
  6. Identify and correctly resolve ethical issues posed in the context of hypothetical problems akin to those faced by professionals working in the area of real estate law.
  7. Differentiate between the roles of attorneys and paralegals in real estate transactions, and identify activities which, when performed by a paralegal, constitute unauthorized practice of law.
  8. Integrate and apply the knowledge gained in the course to solve hypothetical real estate-related problems that might be faced by a client, as well as assist an attorney in each phase of a residential real estate closing. 
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Materials

 



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Grading
 

There are six independent projects, two closed-book exams, and five pass/fail online activities in this course.

Your course grade will be determined by the following percentages, subject to adjustment if necessary for performance on pass/fail activities:

Assignment
Points
Percentage of Grade
Five hands-on projects
600
60
Midterm exam
200
20
Final exam
200
20

Grading Scale
A
900-1000
B
800-899
C
700-799
D
600-699
F
0-599

NOTE:

  • There are five online discussion activities. They are graded on a pass/fail basis. Your failure to complete, or failure to earn a passing grade on, these pass/fail activities will result in reduction in the final semester grade, from whatever it would otherwise be, as follows: failure of 2 activities subtracts one grade letter; failure of 4 or more activities results in an "F" grade for the course.
  • You must pass the final exam to pass the course.
  • Legal Assisting curricular students should recognize the importance of ethics to their profession and be especially mindful of violations – which include both receiving and giving assistance unless Instructor has specifically indicated that collaboration is permitted. In this course, a serious incident of plagiarism or other types of academic dishonesty, or repeated incidents after Instructor warning, will result in administrative withdrawal of the student and a grade of “F” in the course.

 

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Exams

 

There are 2 exams in this course. You are expected to take your examinations at one of the NVCC campus Testing Centers. Be sure to allow enough time to complete your exam before the Testing Center closes; Testing Centers have specific policies relating to the administration of ELI exams. You will need to take a photo ID, your NovaConnect empl ID number, and the appropriate Exam Pass when you go to the Testing Center.

For Testing Center locations, hours of operation and policies, click here.

For information on taking exams outside of the metropolitan area, click here.

 
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ELI Policies and Procedures

 
This is an Extended Learning Institute (ELI) course. ELI courses differ from campus courses in several important ways, including enrollment dates, communication with faculty, assignment completion requirements, and exams. You must follow ELI's policies and procedures if you take this course. Read (or review) ELI's Policies and Procedures before you begin the course. If you have questions, call ELI at (703) 323-3347 or (888) 435-6822.

 
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Contacting the Instructor

 

I am here to help you succeed in this course. Occasionally questions or problems may arise. Here is how to contact me when they do:

E-mail: jowells@nvcc.edu

You can always email me 24/7. Please put 115 somewhere in the subject line of email and your name at the end of all email messages.

 
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Beginning the Course
 

1. Use your web browser to connect to http://www.nvcc.edu/bbstart. Follow the directions to determine your email, Blackboard and VIVA account user names and passwords.
2. Access your email account and make sure you know how to use it; you will be required to use this account for all course-related email.
3. Log on to Blackboard at http://learn.vccs.edu.
4. Click on this course under "My Courses." Review the entire course to make sure you understand what will be required of you. Then start completing the assignments.

Please note that account generation takes approximately one week from the time of your paid registration. If you cannot log on after one week, contact the IT Help Desk. If you can log on to Blackboard, but your course isn't listed, please contact ELI or your instructor.