Humber Course 3: Top 10 Tips & Study Strategies

Passit Online Study Guides are now available for these Humber courses:
Course 1: Real Estate Essentials,
Course 2: Residential Real Estate Transactions,
Course 3: Additional Residential Real Estate Transactions, and  
​​​​​​​Course 4: Commercial Real Estate Transactions. 

If you’re prepping for the Course 3 exam, you’ve likely heard rumours that this exam is a tough one! As a free warm-up for the Passit Guide for Humber Course 3: Additional Residential Real Estate Transactions, we wanted to share our Top 10 tips and study strategies:

Passit’s Top 10 Course 3 Study Tips

1. Read carefully.

In a rapid-paced world, we increasingly scan blocks of text. In both the course and the exam, SLOW DOWN. Watch for NOT questions and stay calm. Read every word and, before reviewing the answer options, make sure you understand what is being asked. Re-read if necessary. Marks can be quickly lost by missing key words, for example:

• When preparing a resale condominium agreement of purchase and sale… vs. When preparing a resale common elements condominium agreement of purchase and sale...
• When reviewing the services available for a vacant lot for sale… vs. When reviewing the services available for a vacant rural lot for sale…

The answers in both of these cases would be very different if you missed the key terms. Take your time and don’t rush! Most people find that they are done the exam with time to spare.

2. Understand the details.

After successfully passing the Course 2 exam (congratulations!), you’ll be relieved to discover this course is about half the size. That means you’ll finish the course earlier, but that also means the exam will dive more into the details (as there’s less course content to draw from, but there’s still 115 exam questions!). It’s not enough to just understand the concepts. For this exam, you’ll need to know the fine points. Pay particular attention to timelines (e.g., tenancy notice periods), responsibilities (e.g., who to contact for a boathouse permit) and exceptions (e.g., what exemptions apply to employees of builders).

3. Expect to draw on material you’ve learned in prior courses.

Time spent fully understanding the second half of Course 2 will help you now! If you used Passit for Course 2, you’ve already learned many of the nuances that will help you for Course 3. Time spent tackling challenging Passit questions and reading the Topic Tips will serve you well! This course builds on many topics already introduced — you need a solid grasp of the fundamentals:

• Properly completing agreements
• Understanding the signing process (who does what, and when)
• Completing counter offers
• Understanding types of conditions (precedent, subsequent, etc.)
• Understanding documents and when to use them (notice of fulfillment, waiver, mutual release, amendment, etc.)
• Customer vs. client, representation agreements and associated duties/obligations

4. Print and review the available forms.

Course 3 includes links to several sample forms:

• Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS): M6 L7 pg 3
• APS —Condo Resale: M3 L3 pg 37
• APS—POTL —Common Elements Condo: M3 L5 pg 33
• Ontario Standard Form of Lease: M7 L1 pg 7
• Agreement to Lease: M9 L3 pg 3, 9, 11

Take the time to download/print and fully review the contents of these forms. Take a scenario from the course (or create one yourself) and fill the forms out on paper. Reviewing and completing the entire document, in its actual form, will help you understand the purpose of each section. Practice explaining the meaning of each pre-printed clause and why it is included in the agreement. For example, the status certificate clause in a condo APS aims to make the buyer aware of any issues relating to the overall health of the condo corporation (e.g., unexpected costs due to legal actions or special assessments). Visually compare the forms to understand the differences (e.g., review the APS—Condo Resale and then the APS – POTL).

5. Study in segments.

This course is best tackled in logical sections. This helps to solidify your knowledge before you move on. Here are our recommended sections:

• Modules 1-3 (Condominium)  
• Modules 4–6 (New Construction, Rural, Multi-Unit)  
• Modules 7–9 (Leasing/Tenancy)  

6. Prioritize the hot topics.

Many people ask: What should I make a top priority for my final review? Focus your review on the testable details. Give regulations and timelines (e.g., new home warranty inclusions) higher priority than concepts that can be reasonably deduced (e.g., what are visual clues of deferred maintenance). Gauge time based on your personal comfort level with the concepts. For example, if you’ve rented recently, you’re probably already familiar with the Ontario Standard Form of Lease. Here’s our breakdown of the absolute must-know parts of the course, along with where you’ll primarily find them covered:​

• Condominium Governance and Legislation: M1 L3 & L4
• Condominium Agreements: M3 (all lessons)
• Builder Agreements and Working With Builders: M4 L2, L3, L4
• New Home Warranty and Taking Possession: M4 L6, L7, L8
• Rural—Use Restrictions, Environmental Impact, Farmland: M5 L2
• Rural—Services, Access, Shore Road Allowances: M5 L3
• Rural—Clauses and Conditions: M5 L7
• Multi-Unit Compliance (Zoning, OBC, Fire Code): M6 L2
• Multi-Unit Agreements and Clauses: M6 L7
• Tenancy Types, Landlord/Tenant Rights, Standard Lease: M7 L2
• Legislation Impacting Leases: M7 L4
• Landlord Safety Compliance: M7 L5
• Rent Roll & Tenant Ledgers: M7 L8
• Leasing Condominiums: M8 L1
• Lease vs. Agreement to Lease: M9 L3
• Agreement to Lease: M9 L4
  
• Remember: These topics are top priorities and the most challenging, but the entire course will be covered on the exam—expect questions from all lessons. Exam questions are computer-generated and all content is fair game. Skimming this course is short sighted. Students often share their exam topics, but remember your exam could be very different! The best approach is to be ready for anything.

7. Set your exam date strategically.

Keep an eye on the Course 3 Humber exam schedule for your area, as available exam dates can be checked without booking. Due to COVID-19 all exams are currently running online only, via Proctortrack. In general, exams are bookable a minimum of 7 days out.

8. Know what to expect on exam day.

​​​​​​​This is a three-hour exam, entirely multiple choice, with 115 questions. Don’t forget to bring photo ID and know your Humber user ID and password. You’re permitted to bring a non-programmable calculator and a transparent water bottle (no label). All watches must be removed and phones off.

9. Take advantage of scrap paper.

Note: This tip only applies to in-person exams, as virtual exams do not permit scrap paper.
Exam centres can provide scrap paper (you must return the paper upon completion of the exam). Many people find this helpful for:

• Jotting down notes/acronyms to refresh your memory.
• Making a list of question numbers and answer options to double-check, along with notes about particular topics and why you were unsure. This can be very helpful when a follow-up question helps give you the answer for a question that you previously skipped. If you noted the prior question and topic, you can easily swap between the two questions to help deduce the right answer.
• Organizing/consolidating details provided in a question to help you select the correct answer without making a mistake (e.g., a counter offer timeline).

10. Don’t panic.

You will find this exam tricky, and you need to know ALL of the course content. Prep for your exam with a disciplined and methodical approach. Use the daily study strategy to keep you on track. Cramming the night before the exam will overwhelm your active memory. Set aside time in the week prior to your exam for a review of the course from start to finish. For this phase, we recommend:​​​​

• Setting aside 45 minutes to study
• Warm yourself up with 20 Passit Rapid Recalls and an All Course Passit TERMinator
• Challenge 20 MCQs in the Passit MCQ 550 (Study Mode)
• Review your results, note your areas of difficulty and re-read the applicable course materials and Study Buddy notes.
• Take a break, refresh! Then repeat!

Remember to read all of the explanations and Topic Tips, as this helps solidify the reasoning and not just the answer. Prioritize fully understanding why an answer is correct/incorrect over answering the most number of questions.

Update: Passit for Course 3 is Available Now!

Passit is now available for these Humber courses:
Course 1: Real Estate Essentials,
Course 2: Residential Real Estate Transactions,
Course 3: Additional Residential Real Estate Transactions, and
Course 4: Commercial Real Estate Transactions.

Now that Passit for Course 3 is available, you have quick and easy access to hundreds of practice questions with full answer explanations to solidify your reading, test your knowledge and simplify your studying! An extensive number of Topic Tips help consolidate need-to-know facts and explain commonly misunderstood topics. Each Passit Guide is custom developed by a team of Ontario real estate education experts, so it’s a highly reliable resource you can trust!

Not sure Passit is worth it? Don’t take our word for it, here’s what students have to say.