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 11, 2024
Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 12 licenses, accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of 1 licensee, accepted the voluntary surrender of 2 licensees, ordered hearings in cases involving 7 licensees, reprimanded 1 licensee, approved the issuance of 1 real estate broker license, approved payment from the Real Estate Education and Recovery Fund in the amount of $45,000, revoked 1 license, and permanently revoked 2 licenses.
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 based upon criminal background checks, information supplied by the applicant, and in-person interviews.
Total candidates considered: 15; total approved: 5; total approved with conditions: 3; continued: 4; total deferred 3.
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.
Larry A. Outlaw Excellence in Education Award Rubric: The Director of Education and Licensing presented the Larry A. Outlaw Excellence in Education Award rubric. He noted that the guidelines and nomination instructions go out to educators, are posted on the website, and are distributed to brokers. The nominations will be open on January 6. Upon the motion of Ms. Mallette, the Commission added a “respect for the award criterion,” namely, “that the nominee should demonstrate an understanding of the award’s purpose, values, and prestige, acting in a way that aligns with the award’s intended meaning and not taking the nomination lightly; essentially, showing appreciation for the recognition and behaving in a manner that upholds the award’s reputation.”
Spring Educator’s Conference: The Director of Education and Licensing reported that the Spring Educator’s Conference will be held on March 27, 2025, at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. The theme is “Raleighwood – How to be an Education Star.” He noted that the Commission Chair typically welcomes attendees and sometimes makes additional remarks. The Executive Director traditionally provides a presentation including statistical information, and an overview of ongoing policy discussions at the Commission. The Director of Regulatory Affairs and the Assistant Director of Regulatory Affairs will also present on regulatory affairs issues. Mr. Lindsey said he would be happy to participate and will discuss with the Director of Education and Licensing presentation ideas.
Community College Education Programs: The Director of Education and Licensing provided a report on the Community College Prelicensing Education Program. The Director of Education and Licensing noted that he and staff worked closely with Dr. Andrew Gardner, Associate Vice President of Workforce Strategies, to work on increasing awareness of careers in real estate and the online prelicensing course available to community colleges to offer to their students. He reported that in 2024, the number of community colleges offering the online prelicensing course increased from ten to thirteen. The Education staff have also participated in Community College career fairs to build the knowledge of real estate careers. The Director of Education and Licensing commended the Assistant Director of Education and Licensing, the Education Officer, and the Consumer Resource Officer on their work on the Community College education programs, and former Commission Chair Jeff Malarney for spearheading the online prelicensing course initiative.
REEA Conference/DREI Summit: The Director of Education and Licensing reported that the national Real Estate Educators Association (REEA) Conference/Distinguished Real Estate Instructor (DREI) Summit will be in Atlanta, Georgia from January 9-11, 2025. The Assistant Director of Education and Licensing, the Education and Examination Officer, and the Director of Education and Licensing will be attending this event.
Financial Report: The Commission received and reviewed the monthly Financial Report presented by the Chief Financial Officer for the period ending November 30, 2024.
Probable Cause Recommendations: The Assistant Director of Regulatory Affairs and the Commission attorneys presented the probable cause recommendations, followed by proposed settlements. Following a discussion of public and private use of property, the Commission suggested staff to write a Bulletin article about this aspect of disclosure of material facts and present the article to the Commission before it is published. Mr. Black commended deputy legal counsel on his presentation of Case D24-2994. The Assistant Director of Regulatory Affairs introduced the new receptionist for Regulatory Affairs.
Appeals: The Assistant Director of Regulatory Affairs reported that Ms. Joellen Shipman’s case is still pending. She reminded the Commission that Ms. Shipman failed to perfect her appeal in Superior Court. The NC Office of the Attorney General is handling that appeal and is filing a motion to dismiss.
Closed Session: 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)(5) with the Executive Director, Chief Administrative Officer, and the Assistant Director of Regulatory Affairs to discuss a legal matter. Upon a motion from Mr. Ramseur, the Commission came out of closed session.
Draft Rule Text: The Compliance Manager presented draft rule text on the rule topics presented during its October 2024 meeting with a proposed rulemaking schedule for an effective date of July 1, 2025, noting that this would require a vote from the Commission at its December 11, 2024, meeting. She noted that publication and comment period will begin on January 15, 2025, with a public hearing in High Point, NC on February 19, 2025. Public comments will be received until March 16, 2025, with potential rule adoption at the March 19, 2025, meeting. The Commission made the following decisions regarding the rule text:
| 21 NCAC 58A .0106 – Delivery of Instruments | Upon the motion of Ms. O’Connor, the Commission voted to proceed with rulemaking with paragraph (a) being two sentences: “(a) Except as provided in Paragraph (b) of this Rule, every broker shall deliver a copy of any written agency agreement, contract, offer, lease, rental agreement, option, or other related transaction document to their customer or client within three days of the broker’s receipt of the executed document. A broker shall also deliver a copy of said documents within three days of receipt of a request by the customer or client. |
| 21 NCAC 58A .0302 – License Application and Fee | Mr. Black moved to proceed with rulemaking but with the maximum time in the rule a broker is prohibited from reapplying as described in sections (d) and (e) being reduced from two years to six months. The motion failed with Mr. Aceto, Mr. Alston, Ms. Mallette, Ms. O’Connor, and Mr. Ramseur voting against the motion. Ms. Sebti abstained from the vote. Upon a motion from Mr. Ramsuer, the Commission approved the rule as written. Mr. Lindsey and Mr. Black voted against the motion. Ms. Sebti abstained from the vote. Mr. Bell was not present for either vote. |
| 21 NCAC 58A .0502 – Firm Licensing | Upon the motion of Ms. O’Connor, the Commission voted to proceed with rulemaking with the text presented. Mr. Bell was not present for the vote. |
| 21 NCAC 58A Section 1800 – .1810 | Upon a motion from Mr. Alston, the Commission voted to proceed with rulemaking with the text presented. Mr. Bell was not present for the vote. |
| 21 NCAC 58H .0204 – Policies and Procedures Disclosure | Upon a motion from Mr. Black, the Commission voted to proceed with rulemaking with the text presented. Mr. Bell was not present for the vote. |
| 21 NCAC 58H .0206 – Advertising and Recruitment Activities | Upon a motion from Mr. Alston, the Commission voted to proceed with rulemaking with the text presented. Mr. Bell was not present for the vote. |
| 21 NCAC 58H .0209 – Expiration and Renewal of Education Provider Certification | Upon the motion of Ms. O’Connor, the Commission voted to proceed with rulemaking with the text presented. Mr. Bell was not present for the vote. |
| 21 NCAC 58H .0302 – Application and Criteria for Instructor Approval | Upon a motion from Mr. Alston, the Commission voted to proceed with rulemaking with the text presented. Mr. Bell was not present for the vote. |
| 21 NCAC 58H .0416 – Renewal and Expiration of Course Approval | Upon a motion from Mr. Aceto, the Commission voted to approve the rule text proceed with rulemaking with the text presented. t. Mr. Bell was not present for the vote. |
Evaluation of Statement of Economic Interest: The Executive Director gave a brief overview of the Statement of Economic Interest for Commission Members. The Executive Director then read into the record of the Commission’s meeting the results of the Evaluation of the Statement of Economic Interest of Commission member Sebti by the North Carolina State Ethics Commission; namely, that the Ethics Commission did not find an actual conflict of interest but did find the potential for a conflict of interest, and that the potential conflict does not prohibit her service on the Commission. The Executive Director concluded that these Statements will be kept on file as required by law.
Report on License Numbers: As of December 1, 2024, there are 124,379 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Active Full Brokers – 78,158
Active Provisional Brokers – 4,799
Brokers-in-Charge – 17,533
BIC Eligible Brokers – 6,588
Inactive Full Brokers – 17,326
Inactive Provisional Brokers – 6,545
Firms– 17,284
Limited Nonresident Commercial Brokers – 267
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00am, January 15, 2025, at the North Carolina Real Estate Commission in Raleigh, NC and is open to the public. It can be viewed via Zoom online video.
New Instructor Seminars
Due to high demand, several new instructor seminars were created and added to the schedule. These seminars will be offered in 2 formats until May: in person every other month, and by zoom. More seminars will be available in July and/or August, after the license renewal period has ended. If you have an interest in becoming a real estate instructor and meet the requirements, you may register for this course.
Property Manager Concerns
The NCREC sometimes receives calls about private owners managing their own property, and concerns that they are not following Landlord/Tenant Laws. While the NCREC cannot regulate the actions of a private property owner that does not have a real estate license, owners are still subject to following NC and Federal Laws concerning Fair Housing and Landlord and Tenant responsibilities. If you have a concern about the actions of an unlicensed property owner managing their own property, you should contact the Attorney General’s office for assistance.
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 March 15th here at the Commission building. A Zoom link will be available at ncrec.gov on the day of the meeting.
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.