Licensees as of April 1, 2019

It’s Time to Renew Your License!

The annual period for renewal of your real estate license begins at midnight on May 15 and continues until midnight June 30. If you do not renew by June 30, your license will expire.

Per Commission Rule 58A .0503, you must renew online at www.ncrec.gov. To renew online, login to your record on the Commission’s website, www.ncrec.gov, on or after May 15. Your PIN (password) will be the last four digits of your Social Security number unless you have changed it.

You will have to answer questions during the license renewal process. All licensees must provide the “Employee Misclassification” disclosure and certification. Additionally, if you are a Broker-in-Charge, you will be required to disclose information regarding your trust account(s) and any criminal convictions or disciplinary actions that have occurred within the previous year, if applicable.

The renewal fee is $45.00.  You may pay by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, or PayPal. A printable confirmation of renewal will appear on your screen when the process is complete.

If your renewal fee has not been received by the Commission by June 30, your license will expire. To reinstate an expired license, you must pay a $90 fee between July 1 and December 31. Failure to reinstate the former license by December 31 will result in your having to submit a new application, including application fee and criminal background report. You will also be required to take additional education and/or pass the state license examination. Refer to the “Reinstate your License” page on the Commission’s website (www.ncrec.gov) for detailed information regarding the reinstatement process.

Be sure to renew your license even if you do not complete your continuing education by June 10. By doing so, your license will be changed to inactive status on July 1, rather than expired. Refer to Rule 58A. 1703 for license activation instructions.

NOTE: If you hold BIC Eligible status and your license expires or changes to inactive status on July 1, you will automatically lose BIC Eligible status and, in turn, BIC designation (if applicable).  If that happens, and you wish to regain BIC Eligible status, you must (1) return the license to active status; (2) meet the experience requirements for BIC designation; (3) take the 12-hour Broker-in-Charge Course before re-designation; and (4) complete and submit the Request for BIC Eligible Status and/or Designation form (REC 2.25).  Do NOT take the 12- hour BIC Course before your license is on active status! Refer to Rule 58A. 0110 for detailed instructions regarding regaining BIC Eligible status and BIC designation.

Opioid Crisis

We are partnering to support More Powerful NC, a public education campaign that launches this week to raise awareness about the opioid epidemic and empower North Carolinians to take action to address the crisis in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities.

The More Powerful NC campaign is supported by a coalition of North Carolina businesses, healthcare organizations, and state agencies that helped create, fund, and provide resources for this campaign, which was initiated by Attorney General Josh Stein and DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen.

The campaign website, www.MorePowerfulNC.org, helps people understand the risks associated with opioids and provides treatment and recovery resources. The website also gives people a wide range of tools and ideas to get involved in their communities and be part of our work to confront the epidemic.

We hope that you will take the time to visit the More Powerful NC website, take the pledge to take action, and share the campaign website with friends and family. You can also share the social media post below to help others learn about the campaign (and don’t forget to use the hashtag #MorePowerfulNC).

The only way we can combat this epidemic is if we all step up and do our part. Together, we are stronger than the opioid crisis.

Wire Fraud in Real Estate Closings

Highjacked real estate wire transfers resulted in losses of more than $56 million in 2017 alone.   

How are cyber criminals intercepting real estate funds?  Take a look at this video from NAR for important information brokers should know.

https://www.nar.realtor/videos/cyber-crime-cyber-security-and-the-real-estate-professional

New Disclosure Required for Applications and Renewals

Effective January 1, 2018, as required by the NC state legislature in NCGS § 143-765, all applicants for occupational licenses, including license renewal, must disclose any investigations for employee misclassification.

**NCGS § 143-765 applies to applications for and renewals of all occupational licenses, permits, and certifications, so the certification and disclosure statements will be required during the license renewal process of existing licensees. License renewal occurs annually between May 15 and June 30.  Due to the new requirement, every licensee will be required to complete the renewal process individually.  Brokers-in-Charge will not be able to renew the licenses of affiliated brokers.** 

All North Carolina Real Estate Commission applications — including broker, firm, limited nonresident commercial, and private school licenses, temporary practice permits, and timeshare registrations — have been updated to be in compliance with the new law.

All applicants must certify that they have read and understand a Public Notice Statement from the Employee Classification Section of the State Industrial Commission (http://www.ic.nc.gov/121317ECSPublicNotice.pdf) and must disclose any investigations for employee misclassification.  If an applicant does not provide the certification and disclosure, the NC Real Estate Commission is not permitted to process the application.  Contact information for questions and inquiries is provided on the Public Notice Statement.

Free Webinar on Wire Fraud in Real Estate Transactions

There will be a free lunch webinar on wire fraud in real estate transactions sponsored by the Best Practices Task Force compromised of members from the NC Bar Association Real Property Section, RELANC and the NC Land Title Association.  Funding for the program is provided by RELANC and this link has details and directions on how to register:

http://mailchi.mp/58baf282792e/webinar-invitation-from-relanc-protecting-your-clients-from-cyber-fraud?e=d23bafb629

Two articles on the subject may also be of interest:

Best Practices to Prevent Interception of Incoming Wires:

http://files.constantcontact.com/a6ab3bd5401/d115d05c-d5de-459d-aff0-b94d976fd325.pdf

Best Practices for Outgoing Wires:

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Wire-Instruction-Fraud-Continues-to-Plague-NC-Lawyers.html?soid=1118263556714&aid=wQQ2Rx1p6hU

Noncommercial Underground Storage Tanks (USTs)

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Environmental Management Commission (EMC) have given preliminary approval to proposed temporary rules addressing noncommercial underground storage tanks (USTs).  A public hearing is scheduled for Monday, July 31, 2017. For information about what is considered a noncommercial UST, what to do in case of a possible leak or spill, and who to contact for more information, see DEQ’s summary and flow chart .

It’s June 1! Have you completed CE, yet?

To maintain an Active license, all brokers must complete eight (8) hours of continuing education by 11:59pm on June 10 each year.   Provisional Brokers and non-BIC Brokers must take the General Update course and one Commission-approved elective. BICs and BIC-Eligible Brokers should take the BICUP (Broker-in-Charge Update) course and one Commission-approved elective. See Commission Rule 58A .1702.

Reminder:  It’s also time to renew your license.  Visit the Commission’s homepage (www.ncrec.gov) to renew your individual, firm, or limited nonresident commercial license.  Renewing online takes less than 5 minutes. The deadline for license renewal is June 30.

Corean E. Hamlin Named Real Estate Commission Director of Education and Licensing

Corean E. Hamlin has been named Director of Education and Licensing for the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, effective December 14, 2016.

Hamlin joined the Commission as Education and Licensing Officer in 2014.

Hamlin holds a Master’s Degree from UNC-Greensboro and the Distinguished Real Estate Instructor (DREI) designation from the Real Estate Educators Association.

After a decade as a professional educator in other industries, Hamlin entered the real estate business, joining her family’s Asheville-based real estate firm as a residential sales broker in 2003.  From 2007-2014, Hamlin served as Instructor, Education Director, and Communication Director for the Asheville Board of Realtors®.  Additionally, she taught real estate prelicensing, postlicensing, and continuing education courses at Cumbie and Trull School of Real Estate from 2010-2014.

The primary responsibility of the Director of Education and Licensing is to plan and direct the Commission’s education, examination, and licensing programs and operations on a statewide basis.

Realtor® Code of Ethics Training Requirement

Are you a member of the Realtor® organization?  If so, you may need to take an ethics course before the end of this year.

As explained on realtor.org: REALTORS® are required to complete ethics training of not less than 2 hours, 30 minutes of instructional time within four-year cycles. The training must meet specific learning objectives and criteria established by the National Association of REALTORS®. The current four-year cycle will end Dec. 31, 2016.

Realtor®-members: To learn more about the ethics training requirement or to determine whether you need to take an ethics course, please contact your Realtor® board or association.

Brokers frequently contact the Real Estate Commission to inquire about ethics training.  However, ethics training is required by the Realtor® organization, not the Commission.  Only Realtor®-members are subject to the requirement.

NOTE: Some North Carolina real estate schools offer online and classroom-based ethics courses that satisfy the Realtor® requirement AND provide continuing education elective credit.  Click HERE to search the statewide continuing education course schedule.