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.