Commission Meeting News
Key reports, issues, and decisions of interest to licensees and/or the public are reported here from the most recent Commission meeting:
Commission Meeting of August 16, 2023
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 13 licenses, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 3 licensees, revoked 2 licenses, reprimanded 1 licensees, closed cases without action against 4 licensees, left cases pending involving 7 licensees, and ordered hearings in cases involving 18 licensees. The Commission approved payment from the Real Estate Education and Recovery Fund in the amount of $7,215 to a consumer who suffered a direct monetary loss because of certain acts committed by a real estate licensee.
License Applications Involving Character Issues: License applicants who have character issues such as prior criminal convictions or disciplinary actions by another licensing board are separately considered by the Commission. Decisions are made based upon criminal background checks, information supplied by the applicant, and in-person interviews.
Total candidates considered: 6, total approved: 2, total approved with conditions: 1, continued: 3, and deferred: 0.
License Examination Results: If you are interested in reviewing the most recent statistics and pass rates regarding the North Carolina broker license examination, click here: License Examination Results
DEI Staff Survey Results: Staff presented the DEI staff survey results noting that 74% of staff fully participated in the survey, 9% of staff partially completed the survey, and 17% of staff did not complete the survey.
Legislative Report: The Director of Regulatory Affairs reviewed the Legislative Report, summarizing bills that are currently pending in the General Assembly that relate to real estate brokerage, occupational licensing, or other matters of interest to the Commission.
BIC Span of Control: The Director of Regulatory Affairs reviewed the Broker in Charge Education and Span of Control report. Mr. Lindsey commended the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Staff on the updated presentation of the survey results. Mr. Malarney and Mr. Lindsey created a work group to review the report and make recommendations about the next steps to pursue relating to the span of control of brokers-in-charge. The Executive Director asked Commission members to email her or the Director of Regulatory Affairs their feedback on BIC span of control.
Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement: Staff presented the public comments that were submitted relating to the proposed revisions to the Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement form. Staff received 684 responses from brokers, attorneys, organizations, and the general public. The overall feedback was 91% positive. The Director of Regulatory Affairs provided a memo to the Commission members with preliminary staff recommendations for consideration by the Commission. Staff provided an in-depth review of each of these recommendations.
Item-Writing Workshops: The Director of Education & Licensing provided a report on proposed item-writing workshops to help education providers and instructors develop meaningful end-of-course examination questions. There will be eight item writing workshops with +20 attendees. Four of the workshops will be held in Raleigh and four will be held in the Charlotte area beginning in October.
Education Town Hall: The Director of Education & Licensing provided a report on the August 9, 2023, Education Town Hall noting that it was structured as a ninety-minute open forum for the 70 instructors present. Most of the time was spent discussing the shift from PSI to Pearson Vue for the Commission’s license examination. The educators present provided a positive response to the change of testing providers.
Other Business: The Executive Director and the other members of the Commission recognized Mr. Bullard for his appointment to the National Association of REALTORS® Legal Action Committee.
Report on License Numbers: As of August 1, 2023, there are 121,250 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Active Brokers 80,555
Active Provisional Brokers 4,685
Brokers-in-Charge 17,520
BIC Eligible Brokers 6,034
Inactive Brokers 24,066
Inactive Provisional Brokers 6,554
Firms 16,411
Limited Nonresident Commercial Brokers 218
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, September 13, 2023, in the Commission’s office in Raleigh and is open to the public. It also can be viewed via Zoom online video.
Staff Appreciation and Achievements
During the August Commission meeting, a staff appreciation luncheon was held to thank the staff for their enthusiastic service to NCREC and the public. Several service awards were given in gratitude for 5, 10 and 15 years of dedicated service. Special congratulations to Janet Thoren, who was awarded the 25 year service award, and Miriam Baer who received the 35 year service award. Sincere thanks to all of our valued staff, you are appreciated.
Is No Due Diligence Period Allowed In a Contract?
As a result of a very competitive real estate market, buyers have been coming up with new strategies to attract the seller to their offer over others. One such strategy that has recently evolved in NC is a no due diligence period offer, in which the buyer offers a substantial due diligence fee and earnest money deposit, but does not require a period of time to investigate the property to change their mind and get their earnest money back. Calls have come in asking if this is allowed. Buyers and sellers can agree to any legal terms that they wish in a contract. It is recommended to consult an attorney about the risks of this type of offer, and to understand the potential losses of both the due diligence fee and earnest money if the buyer later changes their mind.
You are invited!
The monthly Real Estate Commission meetings are always open to the public, and you are invited to attend in person or online via Zoom. The meeting next month is September 13th here at the Commission building. A Zoom link will be available at ncrec.gov on the day of the meeting.
Wire Fraud Series
Last week the final wire fraud seminar was held in Asheville. These courses were designed by the Commission, the NC State Bar and Investors Title, to debunk myths about wire fraud, teach prevention tactics, discuss liability and reporting to authorities, and review recovery data. If you were unable to attend one of these courses and would like information or resources on wire fraud, visit these links to assist you in wire fraud prevention and/or recovery.
C.Y.B.E.R. – Overview of how to assess wire fraud risk and establish policies for prevention.
S.I.M.P.L.E. – Seller and notary identity verification methods and red flags.
W.I.R.E. – Process and worksheet to verify wires.
F.A.S.T. – Step by step plan and worksheet to take quick action if wire fraud is discovered.
Do you know what a CoBRA flood zone means?
A CoBRA zone is an area designated by the Coastal Barriers Resources Act. Properties located in CoBRA zones are not able to obtain federal flood insurance, or federal funds for mortgage products. It is important to research properties before placing an offer to make sure that they qualify for federal funding if needed. Failure to do so could result in the loss of due diligence fees, if the inability to obtain funding/insurance is discovered after entering into a contract to purchase a property. See page 410 (9-19) of this document from fema.gov for more details about CoBRA zones.
You are invited!
The monthly Real Estate Commission meetings are always open to the public, and you are invited to attend in person or online via Zoom. The meeting this month is August 16th here at the Commission building. A Zoom link will be available at ncrec.gov on the day of the meeting.