Tag: USA

A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Real Estate License in South Carolina

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As an aspiring real estate salesperson in South Carolina, you need to start working towards getting your real estate license. While obtaining a real estate license in South Carolina can seem like a daunting process, you can navigate through it smoothly if you have the right information and carefully follow the required steps. Once you have your South Carolina real estate license, you will have set yourself on a path to building an exciting and prosperous career in the real estate industry. 

Photo by Binyamin Mellish on Pexels.com

In this article, we will explore how to get a real estate license in SC to allow you to have an easy route on the journey toward becoming a properly licensed real estate salesperson. 

Fulfill the basic requirements

Before you embark on pursuing your real estate license in SC, you need to ensure you meet the following pre-requisites:

  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Have a high school diploma or an equivalent 
  • Be a US citizen or a legally admitted alien
  • Have a social security card

Complete the pre-licensing education

Your journey to getting your real estate license starts with enrolling in an accredited real estate course. The South Carolina Real Estate Commission requires all aspiring real estate salespersons to complete 90-hour pre-licensing education and this must be provided by an approved institution. 

Fortunately, you have a choice between studying in person or taking online real estate courses. There are several real estate schools offering accredited courses. You can check out RealEstateU, one of the best online real estate course providers in the country, as you consider the real estate schools you can study with.

Apply to sit for the South Carolina real estate exam

After completing your coursework for the pre-licensing education, you are eligible to apply to sit your real estate state exam. You can submit your exam application online or by mail. You must fill in all the needed information correctly and submit all the needed documents, and pay the required fee.

Schedule your state exam with PSI 

The South Carolina Real Estate Commission has appointed PSI as the exam provider so you must schedule and attempt your South Carolina Real Estate State Exam through PSI Services. You can schedule the exam either online or via phone.

Pass the SC real estate state exam

Having scheduled your state licensing exam, the next hurdle is to sit and pass the exam. The exam has two portions—the national and state portions, and you have to score 80% in each to pass the overall exam. The exam results are issued at the testing center immediately after completing the exam. It is crucial you prepare adequately and get to the exam center in good time.

Undergo the background and fingerprint check

You need it submit 3 criminal background checks—two fingerprint checks (state and national) and a social security number-based check.  The State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) conducts the state fingerprint-based criminal background check, while the FBI conducts the national one. The SR&I is the one approved by the commission to conduct the social security number-based criminal check.

Find a sponsoring broker

It is mandatory to get a licensed real estate broker in South Carolina who will sponsor you so you can work as a real estate salesperson in the state.

Submit your application for the South Carolina real estate license

You will receive the initial salesperson application form for your SC real estate license from PSI once you pass your state exam. Fill in the form correctly and submit all the relevant supporting documents and pay the set fee to complete your license application. After the South Carolina Real Estate Commission approves your license application, they will issue it and mail it to your sponsoring broker. 

Conclusion

Obtaining your real estate license in South Carolina doesn’t have to be a daunting process if you know how to go about it. Follow the above steps and you will have your license in no time and embark on a successful real estate career in the state. 

Quad to become Quad plus

Theme

On 12th march 2021, India, the USA, Australia and Japan conducted the first ever summit to discuss regional and global challenges. Till now there were only semi-regular meeting.

What is Quad?

  • India, Australia, the USA & Japan came together to collaborate in relief efforts after the Indian Ocean earthquake and Tsunami in 2004. This Tsunami core group formed ‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)’ in 2007.
  • The primary objective of Quad nations is to ensure a free and open Indo-pacific region, which is increasingly being misused by China to its advantage. Quad nations conducted their largest joint naval exercises in 2020.
  • Quad is informally called ‘Asian NATO‘ since it has the scope to become a powerful coalition just like NATO in Europe and North American countries.

Benefits of Quad:

  • Collaboration in defence, maritime security, counterterrorism, and information exchange is highly beneficial to all the Quad nations.
  • Many countries in the world are importing raw materials and goods from China and hence suffered a lot in the pandemic time due to broken supply chains. At present, all the Quad nations have trade relations with China. Quad is a great opportunity to diversify supply chains to reduce dependence on China and to opt for Free Trade Agreements among each other. This kind of economic collaboration is helpful to all the countries involved and also for the global economy.
  • In order to diversify supply chains, Quad nations may help among themselves with the investments to tap the resources. This is very helpful in getting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). For example, at present Australia has the world’s sixth-largest reserves of rare-earth minerals, which is essential to manufacture smartphones, EV batteries and high-powered motors. China supplies almost 60% of the world’s rare earth minerals. The positive thing is that most of Australia’s are untapped and needs investment to extract the minerals. And by this, dependence on China for rare earth minerals will be reduced. This cooperation is a great opportunity for all the Quad nations to increase exports and to improve the economy.
  • Quad meeting in 2020 included New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam too, which is signalling towards the Quad-plus coalition.
  • It was announced that financing for Covid vaccines is the top priority for the latest meeting, which is going to be conducted on 12th March 2021. This cooperation is very beneficial to strengthen global health security.

Conclusion:

Quad is a great opportunity to diversify supply chains and to counterbalance China’s aggression. There is a high possibility that some other countries too will take part in it and it may become Quad plus. Quad has the potential to become a strong coalition like NATO in Europe.

ARREST WARRANT FOR DONALD TRUMP

Iran and Trump

Iran has issued an arrest warrant for US President Donald Trump over the drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Monday.

Trump is one of 36 people Iran has issued arrest warrants for in relation to the death of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Fars, but the Tehran attorney general Ali Alqasi Mehr said Trump was at the top of the list.

Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said on Monday that Trump, along with more than 30 others Iran accuses of involvement in the January 3 attack that killed General Qassem Soleimani, face “murder and terrorism charges”, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported. Alqasimehr did not identify anyone else sought other than Trump, but stressed Iran would continue to pursue his prosecution even after his presidency ends. Also, Mehr claimed Trump would be prosecuted as soon as he stands down presidency after his term ends, Fars reported.

Iran also said it had asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for these 36 individuals, semi-official state news agency ISNA reported, though it was unlikely that Interpol would grant the request.

Interpol, based in Lyon, France, said in a statement its constitution forbade it to undertake “any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character. Therefore, if or when any such requests were to be sent to the General Secretariat, Interpol would not consider requests of this nature.”

The US’s Iran envoy Brian Hook described the move as a “propaganda stunt”.

“Our assessment is that Interpol does not intervene and issue Red Notices that are based on a political nature,” Hook said at a news conference in Saudi Arabia. “This is a political nature. This has nothing to do with national security, international peace or promoting stability… It is propaganda stunt that no one takes seriously,” he said.

Red notice request

Alqasimehr was also quoted as saying Iran had requested a “red notice” be put out for Trump and the others, the highest-level notice issued by Interpol, requesting that seeks the location and arrest of the individual named.

Under a red notice, local authorities make the arrests on behalf of the country that requested it. The notices cannot force countries to arrest or extradite suspects, but can put government leaders on the spot and limit suspects’ travel.

After receiving a request, Interpol meets by committee and discusses whether or not to share the information with its member states. Interpol has no requirement for making any of the notices public, though some do get published on its website.

The US killed General Soleimani, who oversaw the Revolutionary Guard Corps’s expeditionary Quds Force and others in the January attack near Baghdad International Airport.

The assassination came after months of incidents raising tensions between the two countries and ultimately saw Iran retaliate with a ballistic missile strike targeting American troops in Iraq.

Political Stunt

US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook called the move a “political stunt” during a joint press conference with the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir on Monday.

“It’s propaganda that we’re used to,” Hook said. “This has nothing to do with national security, international peace or promoting stability, so we see it for what it is – it’s a propaganda stunt that no one takes seriously and makes the Iranians look foolish,” he added.

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport in January along with five others, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

The strike, condemned by Iran and its allies as an “assassination,” raised the specter of further regional destabilization.

A spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, announced in early June that an Iranian citizen had been sentenced to death for allegedly working for foreign intelligence agencies. Esmaili claimed that Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi Majd disclosed the whereabouts of Soleimani to US intelligence officials.

The Trump administration viewed Soleimani as a ruthless killer, and the President told reporters in January that the general should have been taken out by previous presidents. The Pentagon blamed Soleimani for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and US allies in the months leading up to his killing.

“General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” the Pentagon said at the time, calling the strike “decisive defensive” action aimed at deterring future Iranian attacks.