Beware of Online Rental Scams

You can help ensure a successful vacation when making your rental arrangements online by contacting the property owner or property manager directly. The Real Estate Commission cautions you that online rental scams are present and encourages you to take the extra steps necessary to avoid a vacation disaster. The following video is courtesy of WRAL TV, Raleigh:
http://www.wral.com/online-rental-scams-can-mean-vacation-disasters/13609192/

New Video Presentations

The Commission has created two new video presentations to assist its licensees: 1) “Are You Ready for a Spot Audit?” and “Residential Tenant Security Deposits”.  The Commission has a video library, which can be accessed from its HomePage under Resources, offering assistance with many of the day-to-day activities faced by licensees. [link to video library].

Bruce W. Moyer Named Director, Education and Licensing

The North Carolina Real Estate Commission is pleased to announce the appointment of Bruce W. Moyer as the Director of its Education and Licensing Division to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Larry A. Outlaw.  Mr. Moyer joined the Education and Licensing Division in 2012 as Education and Licensing Officer.

BIC Course Cancelled

The Broker-in-Charge Course scheduled for Jan 29 & 30 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh has been cancelled due to anticipated inclement weather that may threaten safe travel conditions. Licensees currently registered for this class may reschedule to another class online at the Commission’s website under “Course Registration,” but will need their confirmation number for the Raleigh class (beginning with 2007-826-*****). There are ample spaces available in the February 4 & 5 Greensboro class and in the February 10 & 11 Wilmington class. The next class in Raleigh will be March 5 & 6. The Commission regrets any inconvenience caused by this unexpected cancellation.

Miriam Baer Elected Sr. District Vice-President

ARELLO 2013 President Leon Lewis announced that Miriam J. Baer, NC District 2 Vice President, has been elected by the District Vice Presidents as the Senior District Vice President for 2014 and will serve as the Senior District Vice President member on the Executive Committee for 2014.

BICAR Improvement Plan

The Commission requires all brokers-in-charge (BICs) to take a Broker-in-Charge Annual Review (BICAR) course, along with the required Update course. This completes the BIC’s annual continuing education (CE) requirement. The Commission recently considered whether to change the requirement to a biennial review, so that BICs could choose an elective every other year. Mindful of its goal to provide BICs with timely information critical to their role, the Commission determined to retain the annual requirement, but to make improvements to the BICAR course.

The Commission will be convening a focus group to develop its plan for BICAR course improvements. The group will include BICAR educators and BICs representing sectors of the brokerage industry including:

• Residential brokerage
• Commercial brokerage
• Property management
• Solo practice
• Firms with multiple associates

The Commission may also survey BICs for more input. If you receive a survey, please respond to give the Commission direct feedback about what would be most useful to you as a BIC.

Watch the Commission’s Web site, blog, and social media for further developments.

Mandatory Disclosure of Mineral Rights with Real Estate Sales

With very few exceptions, state law now requires all sellers, even builders and sellers of new construction, to disclose in the sales contract the status of oil and gas rights regarding any property offered for sale. The limited exceptions deal primarily with transfers of property pursuant to court order or the administration of an estate, sales between co-owners of the property, and lease with option to purchase contracts where the lessee occupies the dwelling. Notably, parties negotiating a real estate sale cannot waive this oil and gas rights disclosure even if they agree not to complete a residential property disclosure statement pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 47E.

To find the mandatory language to include in boldface type in your real estate contract, see N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47E-4(b2). The law requires the seller to answer three specific questions, and then obtain the buyer’s initials to acknowledge the oil and gas disclosure as part of the real estate contract. The seller must answer the following: 1) whether the oil and gas rights were severed from the property by a previous owner; 2) whether the seller has personally severed such rights from the property in the past; and, 3) whether the seller intends to sever said rights from the property prior to transfer of title to the potential buyer. All three questions must be answered “yes” or “no,” except that question 1) may be answered “no representation” by the seller.

Residential Property Disclosure Form Undergoes Further Revision

The Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement, which was revised by legislative mandate in 2011, has undergone further revision. The new form will be required for all properties placed on the market on or after January 1, 2013. For those properties placed on the market prior to January 1, 2013 that require a corrected Disclosure Statement pursuant to G.S. § 47E-7, the new form will be used.

You will find the new form on the Forms page of this Web site under Consumer Forms. More information about the new form is available on page one of the October 2012 Bulletin.

BIC Eligibility

The Commission’s Broker-in-Charge Annual Review (BICAR) course is designed for and restricted to currently designated brokers-in-charge and brokers who are broker-in-charge eligible. A broker who is not a broker-in-charge or who is not broker-in-charge eligible will not receive credit for the BICAR course.

A broker is broker-in-charge eligible when he or she has been designated as a broker-in-charge and completed the Commission’s 12-hour Broker-in-Charge course. A broker may maintain that eligibility indefinitely, even when not serving as a broker-in-charge, by taking the Broker-in-Charge Annual Review (BICAR) course each license period. The BICAR satisfies the annual continuing education elective requirement. In addition, the broker must also take the mandatory annual Update course and timely renew his or her license.

From time to time a broker who has lost his or her designation or eligibility will take the course and not fully understand why he or she is not receiving continuing education credit. If you believe yourself to be a broker-in-charge or broker-in-charge eligible, select “Licensees Only” from the menu on the left side of the Homepage and check your status. Eligible brokers will be able to login and select a “BIC Eligible Document” verifying their current eligibility status. All others will not have this option available to them. If you are unable to print a “BIC Eligible Document” from this area of the Web site and feel that your record is incorrect, please contact the Commission’s Information Services Section at 919-875-3700, Ext. 772.

A broker may lose his or her status or eligibility to serve as a broker-in-charge for any of the following reasons: 1) the broker’s license expires or the broker’s license is suspended, revoked or surrendered; 2) the broker’s license is made inactive for any reason, including failure to satisfy the continuing education requirements; 3) the broker fails to complete the Broker-in-Charge Annual Review Course; or 4) the broker is found by the Commission to have not possessed the experience required at the time of either initial designation as a broker-in-charge or re-designation as a broker-in-charge.

Please take the time to consult the Commission’s Web site prior to taking the BICAR course to verify that the Commission’s records reflect that you are indeed a broker-in-charge or broker-in-charge eligible to ensure you will receive your continuing education credit.

Publications – New and Updated

The Commission has published a new Questions and Answers brochure, “N.C. Military Personnel Residential Lease Termination” and updated its Real Estate License Law and Commission Rules book.

The new brochure is free and focuses on questions regarding the rights of members of the U.S. Armed Services to terminate a lease contract under North Carolina and/or Federal law. It is part of an outreach program undertaken by the Commission to inform service members of these rights. Orders for the publication may be placed online using the order form for free publications linked from the Publications page of the Commission Web site or by printing and mailing or faxing the order form for free publications.

Updated to include all current law and rule changes, the July 2013 edition of the Real Estate License Law and Commission Rules is available for purchase online at $3 each using the order form for purchased publications. Its 116 pages include the Real Estate License Law, Commission Rules and the Commentary on the License Law and Commission Rules., The Commentary is provided to assist real estate licensees, prelicensing course students and others in understanding the law and the rules.