Intro to Real Estate Law

Intro to Real Estate Law

October 15, 2025 - November 19, 2025

 Do you wish you had a better grasp of real estate legal issues? Do you need a better understanding and appreciation of the laws and regulations that govern the U.S. real estate industry? Do you need tools to enhance your relationship with the lawyers who work on behalf of your company? This six-week, 12-hour online evening course, “Intro to Real Estate Law," will demystify law for the real estate professional or the student who wishes to become one.
 
Those who should attend include students seeking a real estate concentration, real estate professionals already in the field, paralegals who work with lawyers on real estate matters, and anyone considering getting in to real estate.

Module Schedule:

The US legal system as it relates to CRE and land interests
Week 1 - October 15, 2025

In order to understand many of the legal doctrines to come, it helps to have an overview of the basic principles of the U.S. legal system, from the structure of our courts and adversarial legal system to the roles and responsibilities of local, municipal, state, and federal laws and regulations that play a role in real estate. In this module, attendees will also learn about land interests – present and future.

Record searches, deeds and conveyances
Week 2 - October 22, 2025

This module will cover record searches, the various kinds of deeds and the conveyance of real estate.

Co-ownership and describing land interests
Week 3 - October 19, 2025

This module will the various ways in which real property can be owned by co-owners including joint tenancy, tenancy in common, and ownership through entities. This module will also cover surveys, metes and bounds legal descriptions, the government rectangular system and plat maps.

Leases and real estate contracts
Week 4 - November 5, 2025

This module will cover the basics of commercial leases, common provisions, defaults and remedies. This module will also cover the fundamentals of contract law most relevant to real estate professionals, including offers, counteroffers, and acceptance, contract breaches; and remedies for breaches. Participants will walk away with an understanding of the core issues that can arise in the real estate context relating to contracts.

Financing the transaction, mortgages and foreclosure
Week 5 - November 12, 2025

This module will cover how transactions are financed, mortgages and deeds of trust. This module will also discuss creditor and borrower rights and foreclosure.

Closings and taxation
Week 6 - November 19, 2025

This module will cover the fundamentals of contract law most relevant to real estate professionals, including offers, counteroffers, and acceptance, contract breaches; and remedies for breaches. Participants will walk away with an understanding of the core issues that can arise in the real estate context relating to contracts.

Key Takeaways from the course:

  • Gain a general understanding of key legal concepts in real estate
  • Understand key legal issues that give a clearer picture of rights of both tenants and landlords, sellers and buyers
  • Analyze details of a contract with more precision and awareness of key provisions
  • Learn about key U.S. court cases and the implications cases have on real estate
  • Understand how much real estate transactions are financed, closed and taxation issues surrounding transactions

Instructor biography:
Deanne Stodden is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the Leeds School of Business. Deanne is a leader in the Colorado real estate community as she is the managing editor of the Colorado Bar Association/CLE Colorado Real Estate Practice Book. She has experience teaching real estate law courses to new Colorado lawyers and paralegals.