Is higher education in your family’s future?  Join a college savings specialist from the Finance Authority of Maine to talk about planning and saving for higher education. Come learn about the aspirational and financial impacts of savings for students of all ages, as well as the program highlights of Maine’s Section 529 plan, a tool many families use to prepare for higher education expenses. Also, take home some tips and tricks for getting a jump-start on the scholarship search while your child is in middle school/ early high school.  Join Marie Pelletier, College Savings Counselor from the Finance Authority of Maine for this 1 hour virtual session and get a head start on saving for your child or grandchild’s higher education.

After taking this Zoom workshop, you’ll be able to determine if being a business owner is right for you. We’ll go over business planning, market research, and what it takes to get started, including licensing, operational, and legal considerations. We do this in a WHAT NOT TO DO format that highlights some of the common mistakes new business owners make. 

All registered participants will be sent a link to join this Zoom class. 

Peter Harriman has been working for nearly 8 years with the Maine Small Business Development Center. The Small Business Development Center is a free, confidential business advising service found in every state. These services are for new and existing businesses alike and can range from business planning, financial projections, human resources, tax strategies and more. In his 8 years, Peter Harriman has helped over 1,300 clients access over $14 Million in funding to help start over 98 businesses in Maine. The course, Starting a Business, will go through the fundamental questions and motivations Peter has learned over the years that help business owners understand how, when and why to start a new business.

Do you have children who will be looking at college in the next few years or might you be thinking of returning to school yourself? Now is a great time to start thinking about the college financial aid process and ways to boost college savings. The earlier you start, the more confident and relaxed you will feel when it is time to apply for financial aid. Join Jessica Whittier, College Access Counselor with the Finance Authority of Maine for this 1-hour workshop as we talk all things paying for college.

This 55-hour remote learning real estate agent course, approved by the Maine Real Estate Commission, is a prerequisite to taking the Pearson VUE state licensing exam. Based on the book, Introduction to a Successful Career in Maine Real Estate, by Charles “Kim” Coit, its content includes material that is basic to the practice of real estate in Maine. Concepts covered:

• How the business is organized and regulated by the Maine Real Estate Commission
• Licensing laws and agency relationships
• Fiduciary duties of a licensee with an agency agreement with a buyer or seller
• Private property rights with attention to the public and private limits that may exist on those rights.
• Required disclosures licensees must make to make to buyers and sellers
• Basics of contracts and how to complete agreements for real estate transactionsIntroduction to real estate financing and overview of different loan products available
• Closings and closing costs
• Tax considerations of property ownership
• Miscellaneous federal laws including Fair Housing and Americans with Disabilities.

The material is presented in manageable modules. Students read the text and then answer short questions based on the text. The questions are designed to help students focus on key points and reinforce learning. The course has four quizzes. Students take the quiz and with a passing grade of 75, move on to the next topics in the course. Students may retake quizzes until they secure a passing grade. The final course grade is the grade attained on the final exam. Students may retake the final exam as well. Students have 1 year to complete the course.

Upon passing this course AND completing a course evaluation required by the Maine Real Estate Commission, students will receive a Certificate of Completion. This Certificate is your ticket of admission to the Pearson VUE state licensing exam. Students have one year from the course completion to take the Pearson VUE test. We recommend taking the test as soon after completing the real estate agent course as possible.

When students pass the Pearson VUE exam, they affiliate with an agency. The Designated Broker of the Agency and the student sign the application for a license and send the application to the commission for processing.

Students are welcome to call or email the real estate course instructor at any time during the course with questions.

Materials include:

• Introduction to a Successful Career in Maine Real Estate textbook
• Maine Real Estate Commission License Law Reference Book

If you would like to recieve a hard copy of the text book click here to register and recieve it for an additional $25