For Tee'd Off Tuesday this week I will stay on topic and discuss Real Estate.  May is license renewal month in Connecticut and this year since I have been busy preparing to run the Rock-n-Roll Marathon with the Team in Training I have not yet completed my required continuing education classes.

In past years I have always gone the traditional route and sat through each class but running 5 days a week consumes many hours so I decided to try the on-line course that allows me to fit the hours into my schedule.  The first two courses went pretty smooth, Current Issues in Real Estate I and II are required by the state and seemed bug free.  Next I have two electives so for my first course I picked Red Flags Property Inspection Guide.  That course did bring on a little frustration.

The courses are all laid out the same,  a reading assignment followed by a 10 question quiz that requires a score of 100 to pass before moving on to more reading and testing. Getting all questions right is not as easy as you would expect.  Maybe I think differently from the rest of the world but I always seem to stumble into disagreements.

One quiz where my performance was less the 100% was the result of this question. A 50/50 shot with a True or False answer which I thought I confidently knew.  Well the WISE ASS that developed the test decided to play games with spelling and that set my attitude in a negative direction for the rest of the course.

During a reading assignment I was struck with another bout of confusion.  Seems I am being told that the  distance from the top of a slope with a drop greater than 1 vertical unit in 3 horizontal units to the face of a footing can not exceed 40 feet.  Fortunately the illustrator was bright enough to know the author was confused and should have said the distance need not exceed 40 feet.

So...  As you can see Real Estate Continuing Education is one more of the behind the scenes annoyances that takes our time and money.

This course contained many more questionable errors.  One statement on the test read "Tree branches extending over a roof will cause transpiration." I would say an overhanging branch is an indicator that the roots may extend under the foundation and remove moisture but as stated the question is flawed.   

Here is another example of a test question I thought was poorly defined.  True or False - All retaining walls last at least 10 years.  Anyone with a little design knowledge or construction background might consider that statement false. An incorrectly installed wall could easily collapse after a hard rain.  Poorly designed drainage might allow water to build up behind the wall causing freeze damage during the winter and failure in the spring.  The wizard who decides right and wrong concerning test answers wasn't smart enough to ask a question that could clearly be True or False.

Yes.... Today I'm Tee'd Off because I have to waste my time and money dealing with all the bureaucratic bull that goes with being a Realtor! 

I did learn enough to offer a RED FLAG...... Warning.... Beware of the Real Estate Continuing Education Class entitled Red Flags Property Inspection Guide Version 3.0 because it contains plenty of non-sense.