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 February 14, 2024
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 20 licenses, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 3 licenses, approved the issuance of 1 license, revoked 1 license, ordered hearings in cases involving 9 licensees, reprimanded 2 licensees, and closed cases without action against 2 licensees.
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: 16; total approved: 7; total approved with conditions: 2; continued: 6; and deferred: 1.
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
Expense Authorization for Travel: The Executive Director presented a draft Expense Authorization for Travel Policy. After discussion, the Commission agreed that that Mr. Malarney and Mr. Lindsey would work with the Executive Director and the Director of Regulatory Affairs to rework the language of the policy and bring it back to the Commission at the March meeting.
Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement (RPOADS): The Compliance Manager discussed the revised RPOADS including feedback from the January business meeting and Commission members. The Commission also discussed making the RPOADS available on July 1, 2024, to allow the market ample time to prepare for the new form. Mr. Malarney commended Ms. Vuotto on her work on the RPOADS.
The Commission suggested that for the next RPOADS draft:
Proposed Changes to Occupational Licensing Boards’ Authority: The Director of Regulatory Affairs reported that the General Statutes Commission is responsible for making technical changes to the statutes. The General Statues Commission is considering removing the term “moral turpitude” from the Real Estate Commission’s section of the statutes. They are working on a draft and the Director of Regulatory Affairs will share the proposed legislation when a draft is ready.
Update Instructor Seminar: The Director of Education and Licensing provided a report on the Update Instructor Seminars (UIS) for the 2023-2024 license year and reviewed the 2024-2025 UIS budget. Upon a motion from Ms. O’Connor, the Commission approved the 2024-2025 UIS budget. Ms. Mallette was not present for the dicussion or decision in this matter.
Larry A. Outlaw Excellence in Education Award Selection: Upon the motion of Ms. O’Connor, the Commission voted to meet in closed session pursuant to N.C.G.S § 143-318.11(a)(2) with the Director of Education and Licensing to select the recipient of the Larry A. Outlaw Excellence in Education Award. Upon the motion of Mr. Ramseur, the Commission voted to come out of closed session pursuant to N.C.G.S § 143-318.11(a)(2). The recipient of the Award will be announced at the March 19, 2024, Spring Educators Conference. Ms. Mallette was not present for the discussion or decision in this matter.
Examination Provider Transition Report: The Director of Education and Licensing reported that all systems are ready to transfer exam administration from PSI to Pearson VUE. Candidates can start taking the license examination with Pearson VUE on March 1, 2024, at 68 testing centers across the state of North Carolina. In preperation for the transition, eight Instructor Development Workshops were held to assist in the item-writing process. On February 7, 2024, the Education Division met with over 100 instructors to explain the entire transition process. The Director of Education and Licensing noted that the transition process also will be discussed at the March 19, 2024 Spring Educators Conference. The Director of Education and Licensing commended the Education and Examination Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Software Engineer on the amount of detailed work that went into the transition. Ms. O’Connor commended the Director of Education and Licensing and the team for making the transition process seem effortless.
Report on License Numbers: As of February 1, 2024, there are 127,088 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Active Full Brokers – 78,995
Active Provisional Brokers – 5,020
Brokers-in-Charge – 18,090
BIC Eligible Brokers – 6,238
Inactive Full Brokers – 17,401
Inactive Provisional Brokers – 7,642
Firms – 17,350
Limited Nonresident Commercial Brokers – 259
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00am, Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at Salem College, Dale H. Gramley Library, Reading Room in Winston Salem, NC and is open to the public. It can be viewed via Zoom online video.
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 January 17, 2024
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 9 licenses, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 1 license, closed 4 cases without action, ordered 5 hearings in cases involving licensees, and left 5 cases pending.
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: 12, total approved: 1, total approved with conditions: 4, continued: 5, and deferred: 2.
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
Expense Authorization for Travel: The Commission reviewed and discussed Chairman Malarney’s memo addressing funding for conference attendance. Upon the motion of Mr. Black, the Commission directed staff to bring a proposed amendment to the Commission’s travel policy to its February business meeting.
Monthly Financial Report, Quarterly Investment, and Education & Recovery Fund Report: The Commission received and reviewed the monthly Financial Report, Quarterly Investment Report, and Education & Recovery Fund Report presented by the Chief Financial Officer for the period ending December 31, 2023. The Executive Director noted that the Accountant had updated and modernized the reports and the changes had been approved by the Finance Committee.
FY2023-2024 Income and Expense Projections: The Chief Financial Officer reviewed the adjusted FY2023-24 Income and Expense Projections, which were also approved by the Finance Committe. Mr. Lindsey noted that the projections are now more favorable and commended Commission staff.
Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement (RPOADS): The Compliance Manager presented the reformatted RPOADS form and asked for feedback from the members. She noted that staff was hoping to reduce the instructions to one page, increase the size of the check-circles, and eliminate more of the white spaces on the form, among other things. The members suggested adding and modifying specific language to improve readability of the form.
License Examination Provider Transition: The Director of Education and Licensing provided a report on the status of the transition between PSI to Pearson Vue for license examination services. The industry training date is February 26, 2024. He reported that the transition is on schedule and that PSI will end testing on February 28, 2024 with Pearson Vue beginning testing on March 1, 2024. The Director of Education and Licensing commended the software engineer for his dedication, expertise, and hard work in accomplishing the many technological requirements for making the transition.
2024 Educators Conference: The Director of Education and Licensing provided a report on the upcoming 2024 Educators Conference. The Educators Conference is planned for Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at the McKimmon Center at North Carolina State University and includes a theme that recognizes education providers as superheroes in their field. The Director of Education and Licensing noted that the Commission will solicit nominations from January 15 – February 2, 2024, for the Larry A. Outlaw Excellence in Education Award. The Chair appointed Ms. Mallette to the award committee along with existing Education Committee members Mr. Black and Ms. O’Connor.
January 2024 Education Town Hall: The Assistant Director of Education and Licensing provided a report regarding the January 11, 2024, Education Town Hall. She stated there were approximately 110 Instructors, Education Directors, and Education Providers in attendance. During the Education Town Hall, staff provided information about the license examination provider transition and the 2024-2025 Update course topics. Mr. Black and Ms. O’Connor noted that the Town Halls are a helpful communication tool between staff and the Education Providers.
Report on License Numbers: As of January 1, 2024, there are 126,278 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Active Full Brokers 78,995
Active Provisional Brokers 5,068
Brokers-in-Charge 17,985
BIC Eligible Brokers 6,174
Inactive Full Brokers 17,357
Inactive Provisional Brokers 7,431
Firms 17,171
Limited Nonresident Commercial Brokers 256
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00am, Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at the Carolina Hotel, South Room in Pinehurst and is open to the public. It can be viewed via Zoom online video.
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 December 13, 2023
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 13 licenses, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 5 licenses, accepted the voluntary surrender of 2 licenses, closed cases without action against 1 licensee, left cases pending involving 1 licensee, and ordered hearings in cases involving 6 licensees.
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: 11, total approved: 3, total approved with conditions: 3, continued: 3, and deferred: 2.
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
Financial Report: The Commission received and reviewed the monthly Financial Report presented by the Chief Financial Officer for the period ending November 30, 2023.
Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement (RPOADS): The Commission approved the Disclosure Statement language with the below revisions. The Commission then directed Staff to commence the RPOADS graphic design layout and present the draft for the Commission’s consideration.
General and BIC Update Course Topics: The Legal Education Officer reviewed with the Commission the list of possible 2024-2025 Update Course topics recommended by the Commission members who answered the survey. The survey asked for the priority of topics from all the suggestions previously provided by the Commission members, staff, licensees, and educators. Upon the motion of Mr. Aceto, the Commission approved the topics for the 2024-2025 NCREC Update Courses, with the addition of succession plans and Fair Housing, along with some illustrative case studies.
HBCU Outreach: The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer reviewed the DEI program for calendar year 2023. The Commission members commended the DEI Officer on her work.
License Statistics: The Director of Education and Licensing reviewed the Broker License Issuance Report, noting the total broker licenses issued by month, the total broker original licenses issued, and the total broker licenses reinstated from December 2022 – November 2023. Mr. Lindsey requested that certain data become part of the Monthly Licensee Report in the Consent Agenda. Mr. Lindsey would also like to consider whether those brokers coming in to North Carolina without taking the exam require additional supervision from the BIC. Ms. O’Connor noted that every provisional broker requires unique supervision depending on the broker. Mr. Black asked that the rulemaking list for future consideration include a review of Rule 58A .0511 – Licensing of Persons Licensed in Another Jurisdiction. Mr. Lindsey commended the Director of Education and Licensing on the license statistics report.
Report on License Numbers: As of December 1, 2023, there are 125,394 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Active Full Brokers 78,668
Active Provisional Brokers 5,207
Brokers-in-Charge 17,948
BIC Eligible Brokers 6,129
Inactive Full Brokers 17,116
Inactive Provisional Brokers 7,109
Firms 17,044
Limited Nonresident Commercial Brokers 250
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00am, Wednesday, January 17, 2024, in the Commission’s office in Raleigh and is open to the public. It can be viewed via Zoom online video.
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 November 8, 2023
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 14 licenses, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 4 licenses, accepted the voluntary surrender of 1 license, seek 1 injunctive relief, denied the issuance of 1 license, continued consideration of 3 licensees, reprimanded 2 licensees, closed cases without action against 6 licensees, left cases pending involving 5 licensees, and ordered hearings in cases involving 13 licensees.
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: 12, total approved: 4, total approved with conditions: 2, continued: 4, and deferred: 2.
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
Financial Report: The Commission received and reviewed the monthly Financial Report presented by the Chief Financial Officer for the period ending October 31, 2023.
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. S761, Additional General Assembly Appointment, passed into law extending Mr. Ramseur’s term from June 30, 2026, to July 31, 2026.
Donovan v. Excel Property Management, et al.; 23-CVS-001591: The Special Deputy Attorney General for the North Carolina Department of Justice provided a report on the case Donovan v. Excel Property Management, et al.; 23-CVS-001591 noting that they appeared in New Hanover Superior Court on Tuesday, November 7, on behalf of the Commission and the judge dismissed the case against the Commission as well as the other two named defendants.
Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement (RPOADS): The Executive Director provided an overview of the rulemaking process relating to the RPOADS rule, 21 NCAC 58A .0114, and presented a revised version of the Disclosure Statement for the Commission’s consideration. Upon the motion of Ms. O’Connor, the Commission voted to continue the RPOADS discussion to the December meeting.
General and BIC Update Course Topics: The Legal Education Officer reviewed a preliminary list of possible 2024-2025 Update Course topics based upon suggestions provided by Commission members, staff, licensees, and educators. Mr. Bullard, Mr. Aceto, and Ms. O’Connor commended the Director of Education & Licensing, the Legal Education Officer, and the Education Division on the amount of work that went into the 2023-2024 Update courses to make them both engaging and enjoyable for brokers and instructors. Mr. Black requested that unlicensed activity be added to the list of possible topics for the 2024-2025 Update Courses. The Legal Education Officer will send a survey to the members to rank their preferred topics for inclusion in next year’s Update Courses. Mr. Lindsey requested that competency in specialty practice areas, licensee conduct, agency formation, how to read disciplinary actions, and how to communicate with the Commission also be added to the list of topics for the GenUp, and to the BICUP, provisional broker/BIC supervision. Mr. Lindsey commended the Director of Education & Licensing and the Legal Education Officer on their recent presentation to BICs in Charlotte noting that it was extremely well received and attended. Mr. Bullard inquired whether the Commission should be prepared to address the issue of agency compensation in light of the recent litigation against the National Association of REALTORS®. The Executive Director stated that North Carolina is in a better position than many other states because of its existing rule requiring agency disclosure, including written buyer agency agreements. Staff will monitor the litigation and report to the Commission if changes and/or education is needed. The Legal Education Officer noted that Law and Rules and Licensing and Education are standing topics each year, and that an approved instructor requested that current complaints/FAQs be a third standing topic as well. Standing topics will limit available time in the four-hour courses for other topics. Mr. Black asked the Legal Education Officer to let the members know of overlapping topics to help them with ranking their preferences.
Spring Educators Conference: The Director of Education & Licensing provided a preliminary budget for the Spring Educators Conference scheduled for March 19, 2024, at the McKimmon Center at North Carolina State University. The budget for the conference previously approved by the Commission was $25,000. The Director of Education & Licensing proposed a registration fee of $49.00. Upon the motion from Mr. Lindsey, the Commission accepted the proposed budget for the Spring Educators Conference with a registration fee of $49.00.
License Examination Transition and Item Writing Workshops: The Director of Education & Licensing reported that staff in both Education and Licensing and IT are working to make a smooth transition for license examination services from PSI to Pearson Vue in February. One significant change will be 60 state examination questions instead of 40. A number of Item Writing Workshops have been scheduled with instructors to generate test questions. Sixty-four instructors are involved in the eight Item Writing Workshops. Each day, questions are drafted for a different section of the exam. There has been great collaboration with the instructors and the Director commended the Education and Examination Officer on their work on the Item Writing Workshops.
November Education Town Hall: The Director of Education & Licensing reported that 60 instructors attended the November 6 Education Town Hall. Great feedback was received on the Item Writing Workshops. The educators also discussed topics such as forms training and mediation training. All of the Town Halls for 2024 are scheduled from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. via Zoom and will take place on January 11, April 9, July 23, and October 8. Ms. O’Connor commended the Director of Education & Licensing and the Legal Education Officer on the response and interaction they had with the instructors and education providers.
Report on License Numbers: As of November 1, 2023, there are 124,563 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Active Brokers 83,474
Active Provisional Brokers 5,266
Brokers-in-Charge 17,885
BIC Eligible Brokers 6,081
Inactive Full Brokers 23,907
Inactive Provisional Brokers 6,851
Firms 16,942
Limited Nonresident Commercial Brokers 240
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00am, Wednesday, December 13, 2023, in the Commission’s office in Raleigh and is open to the public. It can be viewed via Zoom online video.
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 October 11, 2023
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 3 licenses, permanently revoked 1 license, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 1 license, closed cases without action against 6 licensees, left cases pending involving 5 licensees, and ordered hearings in cases involving 24 licensees.
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: 1, total approved with conditions: 2, 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
Independent Annual Audit: The Executive Director reported that the Finance Committee had reviewed the audit report with the auditors and staff. The Commission’s independent auditor also provided an overview of the audit. Upon the joint motion of Mr. Lindsey and Mr. Ramseur, the Commission approved the annual audit.
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. The Director of Regulatory Affairs noted that the budget, H259 2023-2024 Appropriations Act, did pass into law.
Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement (RPOADS): Staff provided an overview of the rulemaking process relating to the RPOADS rule, 21 NCAC 58A .0114, and presented a revised version of the Disclosure Statement for the Commission’s consideration [Exhibit 9]. The Commission discussed the first page relating to instructions and two sections, Sections A – B, during its meeting and noted various topics to be addressed by staff in the next draft including clarifying the instructions regarding the obligation to respond to questions, reformatting ‘additional information spaces’ that relate to the questions, and simplifying the question and table structure. Mr. Malarney asked that the public comment matrix be included in next month’s Disclosure Statement exhibit. The Commission took no action on the Disclosure Statement and will continue its discussion during the November business meeting.
BIC Span of Control: The Executive Director reported that the BIC Span of Control Workgroup met and reviewed the BIC Span of Control exhibit the Commission received. At Mr. Lindsey’s request, the workgroup members discussed the scope of the problems including both misconduct and the failure to act. The group will continue to meet and make updates to the full Commission. Mr. Lindsey asked Mr. Aceto and Mr. Ramseur for any suggestions on the BIC span of control. Mr. Ramseur stated he would be an alternate for the workgroup. Mr. Lindsey offered to share the workgroup minutes from the first meeting and noted that the group is working on how best to approach the subject.
General and BIC Update Course Topics: The Director of Education and Licensing reviewed with the Commission a preliminary list of possible 2024-2025 Update course topics based upon suggestions provided by Commission members, staff, licensees, and educators. As to requests for topics that are generally outside the Commission’s scope, e.g., negotiation training, Ms. O’Connor suggested that these topics be directed to the NC REALTORS® Association. The Director of Education and Licensing asked that the Commission consider any topics that they would like to include in the Update Courses for further consideration at the November meeting.
North Carolina Real Estate Educators Association (NCREEA) Fall Conference: The Director of Education and Licensing reported that NCREEA held its fall, in-person conference in Winston-Salem at the end of September. Ms. Cheryl Sain was awarded Program of the Year and Ms. Melea Lemon was awarded Instructor of the Year. The Director of Education and Licensing noted that the entire Education staff presented at the conference and he gave the closing presentation.
Education Committee Meeting: The Director of Education and Licensing suggested an Education Committee meeting with Mr. Black and Ms. O’Connor to discuss the Education Advisory Committee and topics for the Update course.
Report on License Numbers: As of October 1, 2023, there are 123,647 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Active Brokers 82,981
Active Provisional Brokers 5,244
Brokers-in-Charge 17,802
BIC Eligible Brokers 6,042
Inactive Full Brokers 16,962
Inactive Provisional Brokers 6,662
Firms 16,805
Limited Nonresident Commercial Brokers 237
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00am, Wednesday, November 8, 2023, in the Commission’s office in Raleigh and is open to the public. It can be viewed via Zoom online video.
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 September 13, 2023
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 11 licenses, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 3 licensees, closed cases without action against 9 licensees, left cases pending involving 3 licensees, approved 1 license application following a hearing, granted approval to seek injunctive relief if needed against 5 individuals, and ordered hearings in cases involving 22 licensees.
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: 12, total approved: 3, total approved with conditions: 5, continued: 0, and deferred: 4.
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
ARELLO Awards: The Executive Director reported that the Commission is receiving three awards at the 2023 ARELLO Annual Meeting later in September. The Commission received an education award for the Wire Fraud Seminars, a second education award for the Instructor Training and Development provided at the 2023 Spring Educator’s Conference, and a communication award for Website Innovation & Design for the implementation of the LADS database system for instructors and education providers. The Executive Director commended staff on the work that went into each of the programs, including Ms. Thoren, Mr. Elder, and Joshua Oglesbee.
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. The Director of Regulatory Affairs noted that H422, Unfair Real Estate Agreements Act, passed and was signed by the Governor. The Attorney General’s office sought and obtained a temporary restraining order against the company involved.
Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement: Staff provided an overview of the rulemaking process relating to the Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement and presented staff recommendations for consideration of revisions to the instructions and certain questions. The Commission discussed whether to add “NA” as an option to the RPOADS. Mr. Malarney noted there was a qualifier in question F5 which should be struck from the form and the word “current” should be included in question F9. Mr. Malarney commended Staff for their work on the statement. Ms. O’Connor indicated that she liked the reformatting and approach of the disclosure form.
Consumer Resources and Projects Report: The Director of Education & Licensing and Consumer Resource Officer provided a report on the current consumer outreach and education projects while noting that consumer resources have been created for the Timeshare Act. The Consumer Resource Officer also provided an update on the status of the consumer outreach projects. Mr. Lindsey commended Staff on their work with consumer outreach. Mr. Black commended Staff for the improvement in the Commission’s social media presence since last year. Mr. Bullard suggested inviting high school students to the Commission meetings as part of the high school real estate career outreach project.
2023 License Law and Commission Rules: The Communication Officer distributed the newly published 2023 License Law and Commission Rules booklets to the Commission members, which were updated by the Communications Officer, Legal Education Officer and Compliance Manager.
Report on License Numbers: As of September 1, 2023, there are 122,629 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Active Brokers 82,412
Active Provisional Brokers 5,186
Brokers-in-Charge 17,715
BIC Eligible Brokers 6,013
Inactive Brokers 23,345
Inactive Provisional Brokers 6,411
Firms 16,641
Limited Nonresident Commercial Brokers 231
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at the Kimpton Arras in Winston-Salem and is open to the public. It also can be viewed via Zoom online video.
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.
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 July 19, 2023
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 17 licenses, 1 instructor approval, and 1 education provider approval, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 1 instructor approval, reprimanded 4 licenses, extended the time to satisfy conditions involving 1 licensee, closed cases without action against 3 licensees, left cases pending involving 6 licensees, denied 1 license following a hearing, continued cases involving 3 licensees, and ordered hearings in cases involving 14 licensees.
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: 10, total approved: 3, total approved with conditions: 2, continued: 3, and deferred: 2.
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
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 report on the BIC Focus Groups and surveys and asked Commission members to consider what actions and next steps they might like to pursue relating to the span of control of brokers in charge. The report will be reviewed at the August meeting and staff will seek the Commission members’ feedback on each of the topics listed.
Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement: Staff reported that the Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement rule changes were approved at the Rules Review Commission on June 15, and effective on July 1, 2023. The public comment period for the RPOADS form is open until August 1, 2023. The comments received during this period will be presented to the Commission at the August 16, 2023, meeting.
Commission Commendations: Mr. Fox commended Mr. Malarney and Mr. Lindsey on their elections as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Commission. He also commended Ms. Mallette on her nomination to the North Carolina Business Court and Mr. Black for his work as Chair of the Commission this year.
Renewals: The Director of Education & Licensing reported that as of July 1, 2023, 90% of brokers, and 89% of firms renewed their licenses, which is slightly below previous years. A total of 3,235 licensees were marked inactive due to a CE deficiency, and 13, 757 licenses expired due to the failure to renew. Further, he stated that 1,015 BICs lost their BIC status. Out of approximately 129,000 licensees, only 126 licenses were affected by an inactive BIC, 12 licensees were affected by a BIC who failed to complete CE, and 62 licensees were affected by an expired BIC.
Education Provider and Instructor License Examination Performance: The Director of Education & Licensing provided a report on the Education Provider and Instructor License Examination Performance. He indicated that 3,017 people tested on the NC licensing exam and first-time test takers had a 67.5% yearly pass rate. Sixty-four education providers offered the prelicensing course and only 3 fell below the 40% minimal competency threshold. Additionally, there were 147 instructors who taught prelicensing and only 6 instructors went below the 40% minimal competency rule. The Director commended the education providers for working to improve their delivery of education. Ms. Chandler asked that the Commission discuss the feasibility of allowing instructors to take a licensing exam periodically in order to determine the instructor’s competency level, noting that some instructors may be presenting incorrect information.
Year-End CE Student Survey: The Director of Education & Licensing provided a report on the year-end CE student survey noting that 13,244 surveys were returned over the course of the year. According to the survey results, there has been a transition of some courses from Zoom back to in-person. He noted that the survey respondents indicated that the overall performance of instructors and the perceived quality and value of the course remains very high. There were also improvements reported in student engagement and instructor delivery. In addition, the report included the most frequent comments on CE courses and the Update course.
Report on License Numbers: As of July 1, 2023, there are 115,911 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Active Brokers 79,298
Active Provisional Brokers 4,373
Brokers-in-Charge 17,223
BIC-Eligible Brokers 6,178
Inactive Brokers 21,133
Inactive Provisional Brokers 5,546
Firms 15,285
Limited Nonresident Commercial Brokers 195
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, August 16, 2023, in the Commission’s office in Raleigh and is open to the public. It also can be viewed via Zoom online video.
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 June 14, 2023
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 9 licenses, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 1 education provider approval, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 1 license, closed cases without action against 2 licensees, left cases pending involving 1 licensee, approved 1 license following a hearing, granted approval to seek injunctive relief if needed against 2 individuals, and ordered hearings in cases involving 16 licensees.
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: 9, total approved: 4, total approved with conditions: 3, continued: 1, and deferred: 1.
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
Legislative Report: Staff 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.
Annual Rulemaking: Staff reported that the proposed rule changes that the Commission voted to adopt at its April 19, 2023, meeting were approved by the Rules Review Commission on May 18, 2023, and are posted on the Commission’s website. The rules are effective July 1, 2023.
Renewals: The Director of Education & Licensing reported that 72% of brokers and firms had renewed as of June 14, 2023. They stated that since May 15, License Services staff have answered over 16,400 phone calls. Further, as of June 14, 3,246 brokers were CE-deficient because they did not meet the June 10 deadline. Based on past data, the Director of Education & Licensing is expecting approximately 750 brokers to remedy their CE deficiencies.
Update Course Development: The Director of Education & Licensing and the Legal Education Officer reported that the 2023-2024 Update course is complete. The student manual and the slide presentations have both been shortened in response to feedback from education providers. The first Update Instructor Seminar was taught on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, to 80 instructors at the McKimmon Center at NC State University.
Report on License Numbers: As of June 1, 2023, there are 129,601 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in the Commission’s office in Raleigh and is open to the public. It also can be viewed via Zoom online video.
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 6 licenses, accepted the voluntary surrender of 2 licenses, continued hearings to a later date for a case involving 1 licensee, closed cases without action against 1 licensee, left cases pending involving 6 licenses, revoked 2 licensees, and ordered hearings in cases involving 14 licensees.
License Applications Involving Character Issues: License applicants who have character issues such as prior criminal convictions or disciplinary action 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: 9; total approved: 8.
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
Legislative Report: Staff 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.
Rule 21 NCAC 58A .0114: The Commission thanked licensees and the public for their interest in the Commission’s rulemaking and their comments on the proposed rules. Staff reviewed the recommendations on Rule 21 NCAC 58A .0114, which if adopted would be effective July 1. The Commission then voted to adopt the changes as presented.
Draft Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement: Staff reviewed a draft revision of the Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement (RPOADS), noting that the form is divided into categories to clarify disclosure topics for the seller and the buyer. After review, the Commission voted to publish the draft RPOADS with the following revisions:
LaRose v. NCREC: 23 REC 00687: The Director of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission reported that the case, LaRose v. NCREC; 23 REC 00687, was dismissed by the Office of Administrative Hearings based upon lack of subject matter jurisdiction as well as other substantive grounds.
Renewals: The Director of Education & Licensing reported that licensees must renew by June 30, 2023 in order to maintain a license. They also reported on the comprehensive planning for renewals, including advance electronic notices and reminders in the Commission’s social media and the Bulletin. On the first day of renewals, License Services renewed 11,929 brokers, and 2,086 firm licenses, while taking 1,116 phone calls. By the second day, 19,202 brokers renewed along with 3,346 firms. A total of 17% of brokers have been renewed and 20% of firms. Commission member Chandler asked that staff revisit the possibility through rulemaking that an Education Provider would not be required to renew when they do not offer classes directly to students but still want to control their course content.
May 3 Education Town Hall: The Director of Education & Licensing reported on the May 3 Education Town Hall noting that 65 educators attended. There were questions about renewals, Prelicensing, Postlicensing, and CE approval. The next Town Hall is on August 7, 2023.
2023-2025 North Carolina Real Estate Manual: Staff presented the Commission members with the newest addition of the North Carolina Real Estate Manual. They thanked the Commission Chair Mel Black for his contribution on chapter five.
Report on License Numbers: As of May 1, 2023, there are 128,798 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in the Commission’s office in Raleigh and is open to the public. It also can be viewed via Zoom online video.