Ohio Professional Housing Provider (OPHP)
What is the OPHP designation?
The OPHP designation is a statewide, education-based certification program designed to recognize the high level of knowledge and professionalism among the designation holders. It is sponsored and overseen by the Ohio Real Estate Investor’s Association (OREIA).
Why obtain the OPHP designation?
Only persons completing the educational requirements will be permitted to hold themselves out to the public as an Ohio Professional Housing Provider. The designee will be recognized in the form of an award certificate and the right to use the designation, and should recognize that having a basic education in the topics outlined below will increase his or her ability to reach his goals in real estate investment. Further, as OREIA works to make the OPHP designation more recognizable, it is hoped that the OPHP holders will have an advantage in dealing with legal and governmental bodies when a “my word against his” situation occurs. It will also aid in encouraging legislators to think of educated investors as a larger group for political action. Other tangible benefits, including discounts on courses and educational materials, may be added as the program develops.
Course of Study
The course of study will be divided into 42 clock hours of core courses and 18 hours of elective topics for a total of 60 hours of formal education.
Download and use the MASTER RECORD SHEET to track your progress
The core topics are as follows:
| Appraisal |
2 Hours |
Including formal appraisal methods (cost, income, and replacement), Haines instruction and demos, how to compare properties, etc. |
| Contract Law |
3 Hours |
Including basic contract law; using contracts and clauses to protect yourself, developing contracts such as leases, options, purchase contracts etc., for the real estate investment business. |
| Ethics |
1 Hour |
Including ethics in financing, negotiations, etc. |
| Exit Strategies |
2 Hours |
Including discussions regarding wholesaling, retailing, lease/options, renting, selling with owner financing, etc. |
| Fair housing law |
3 Hours |
Including federal, state, and local fair housing regulations |
| Finance |
6 Hours |
Including conventional financing, FHA/VA financing, owner financing of all types; comparing, financing, offering financing. |
| Inspections |
2 Hours |
Including pre- and post- purchase inspections; move-in and move-out inspections. |
| Insurance |
2 Hours |
Including what type of property insurance is appropriate for investment property; negotiating for the best rates and coverage; renter’s insurance, worker’s compensation, liability insurance, etc. |
| Landlord-Tenant law |
2 Hours |
Including responsibilities of landloards and tenants, evictions, etc. |
| Management |
4 Hours |
Including record keeping; dealing with tenants; maximizing cash flow; etc. |
| Marketing |
2 Hours |
Including how to market properties for sale and for rent; how to market to prospective sellers. |
| Negotiation |
3 Hours |
Including negotiating with sellers, buyers, renters, contractors, vendors, banks, etc. |
| Purchasing |
2 Hours |
Including finding deals and calculating profitability. |
Rehab, classroom
Rehab, Hands-on |
1 Hour
1 Hour |
Rehab Classroom (1 hour): Including estimating rehab costs, which projects will pay for themselves, etc.
Rehab Hands-on (1 hour): Including actual hands-on opportunities and demonstrations, volunteer work for organizations such as, Habitat for Humanity, and rehab property tours. |
Regulations, Local
Regulations, Federal |
2 Hours
2 Hours |
LOCAL (2 hour): Including zoning and building codes, foreclosure laws, etc. Attendance at meetings of the city council or other political for the purpose of learning, testifying, objecting to new or existing local laws can be counted.
FEDERAL (2 hours) Including regulations affecting real estate investment OTHER THAN tax laws and fair housing laws, such as; lead paint regulations, wetlands regulations, underground storage tank regulations, Environmental Quality Zone regulations, etc. |
| Tax law |
2 Hours |
Including calculating and minimizing taxes, and tax laws as they affect the real estate investor, 1031 exchanges, property taxes. |
The remaining 18 hours may include further education in any or all of the above topics, as selected by the OPHP candidate.
How will I obtain these hours? These hours may be obtained through local association meetings and seminars. Or through courses taught outside of the local groups. All outside courses and seminars must meet the following requirements: they must be taught live; they must be pre-approved by the OPHP committee; and they must provide a certificate of attendance acceptable to the OPHP committee.
How do I track My Progress? Ultimately, it is up to you to keep track of your progress, but your OPHP chair will likely be tracking your progress as well. When you register and get checked into a GDREIA event, your PHP hours are logged into a database. For other events, such as The OREIA Summit, or visits to another Ohio-based REIA, you will need a paper form to turn in to your OPHP chair.
Download and use the MASTER RECORD SHEET to track your progress (just in case the online records ever become compromised).
For those fortunate enough to have completed individual subjects prior to 2018, we are working on placing "transfer credits" into the database. Those will have dates from the last weeks in December of 2017. If you don't remember being here on those dates, that's because you weren't. It's our way of making sure that you get all those check-marks you deserve!
How Do I access that Database Information? That requires a bit of work. Once you have logged into your GD REIA account, choose the "My Account > My Dashboard" link at the top right of the web page. Once the page refreshes, scroll to the bottom and on the left side of the page is a link to "PHP Credits". That link will reveal what we have in the database.
What if the Database Information does not match my own records? Scan a copy of your MASTER RECORD SHEET and email it to the OPHP chair explaining the differences. We will do our best to make sure we update your profile.
Continuing education to maintain OPHP designation. Once the OPHP designation has been obtained, designees must complete 20 hours of continuing education every two years in order to maintain the designation. These hours are elective and may be used by the designee to continue his or her education as he sees fit.
WHAT ABOUT NATIONAL PHP? The National program is separate and was conceptually derived from the original Ohio program. Learn more about the National REIA PHP.
GRADUATION!
Notify your OPHP Chair when you have completed the requirements for graduation. You must notify the OPHP chair by September 1 of the year you complete your courses. The OPHP chair will forward this information to OREIA for inclusion in the Annual OPHP graduation ceremony that is held at the Summit in November. When you have made this step, you will be invited to the ceremony, and if you plan to attend the OREIA Summit, you will be able to attend free of charge! This will require some diligence on your part, because you will need to contact the registration group to register as an OPHP graduate (do not go through the regular online registration).