Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 6 licenses, denied the issuance of 1 license, accepted the voluntary surrender of 3 licenses, reprimanded 1 licenses, closed cases without action against 5 licensees, left cases pending involving 4 licenses, authorized RA Division to seek injunctive relief of 3 licensees, 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 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: 11; total approved: 8.
License Examination Results: A summary of key data relating to persons taking the exam for the first time is provided below:
Individuals Tested for the First Time | ||||
Took prelicense course | Hold license from another state | |||
February 2023 | March 2022 through February 2023 | February 2023 | March 2022 through February 2023 | |
# Tested | 385 | 6072 | 18 | 266 |
% Pass both sections | 49% | 49% | N/A | N/A |
% Pass National section | 79% | 78% | N/A | N/A |
% Pass State section | 53% | 54% | 39% | 39% |
Regulatory Report: The Director of Regulatory Affairs reviewed a report showing the status of all cases pending in the Regulatory Affairs Division as of February 28, 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. Staff summarized H63 – Verification of Immigration Status – SAVE. The Commission directed staff to analyze bill H63 and provide input to the sponsors of the bill regarding Commission concerns.
Authority to Fine Licensees: The Director of the Real Estate Commission summarized the Commission’s prior interest in obtaining statutory authority to fine licensees for misconduct as a supplement to its existing authority to impose discipline. She noted that under the State Constitution, any fines received would go to the local school board rather than to the Commission. The last time the Commission pursued this was in 2010. At that time, staff reached out to the Association of REALTORS® (“NCR”) for support of the change; ultimately, NCR did not support it and no change was made. The Director indicated that if the Commission is interested in considering this matter again, staff could research it and bring back recommendations to the Commission.
Draft RPOADS Internal Policy: The Director of Regulatory Affairs reviewed a proposed internal policy for Commission review of the Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement (RPOADS) outside the rulemaking process. The NCREALTORS® would like to take the RPOADS form back to their Forms Committee for feedback. The Commission requested that acronyms in the Policy be defined and that specific contact information for key personnel be included. The Commission adopted the internal policy for the RPOADS review with the requested changes.
BIC Focus Groups: The Director of Regulatory Affairs provided a brief update on the progress of the BIC Focus Groups noting that she is working on a report and summary to present to the members at the April meeting.
Commendation: The Commission commended the Director of Education & Licensing and the Legal Education Officer on their recent presentation to the Durham Association of REALTORS®.
Closed Session: The Commission voted to meet in closed session pursuant to N.C.G.S § 143-318.11(a)(3) to consult with Special Deputy Attorney General Anne Brown regarding Leonard Paul LaRose v. NC Real Estate Commission; OAH case 23REC00687, and to consult with Commission counsel about a contract issue. At the conclusion of the closed session, the Director of the Real Estate Commission announced in open session that the Commission directed staff to send a letter to PSI about contract issues and to schedule a meeting with their representatives at the upcoming ARELLO meeting.
Report on March 8 Education Committee Meeting: The Director of Education & Licensing provided a report on the March 8 Education Committee meeting following a request that the Commission consider increasing the required number of Prelicensing course hours from 75 to 90. The Director noted that staff will review the Prelicensing course and the license examination and return with recommendations for the Commission.
Report on License Numbers: As of March 1, 2023, there are 127,234 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, April 19, 2023, at the Historic 1767 Chowan County Courthouse in Edenton, NC and is open to the public. It also can be viewed via Zoom online video.