MARYLAND REAL ESTATE COMMISSION .us



MARYLAND REAL ESTATE COMMISSION

500 North Calvert Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

Mission: Protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public

through examination, licensing, and regulatory activities regarding real estate

BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES

March 17, 2010, 10:30 a.m.

Highlights from the meeting:

New PSI exams begin 3/4/10

Legislative update

License count dips to 45,489

CE regulations published

Watch out for private transfer fee

Disclose ground rent

PRESENT:

Commissioner J. Nicholas D’Ambrosia, Chair (Industry)

Commissioner Anne S. Cooke, Vice Chair (Industry)

Commissioner Marla S. Johnson (Industry)

Commissioner Robin L. Pirtle (Consumer)

Commissioner Georgiana S. Tyler (Industry)

Commissioner Colette P. Youngblood (Consumer)

Elizabeth Trimble, AAG, Counsel

Katherine F. Connelly, Executive Director

J. Steven Long, Assistant Executive Director

Shannon Davis, Outreach Coordinator

Patricia Hannon, Education Administrator, Session Recorder

ABSENT:

Commissioner Surina Jordan (Consumer)

Commissioner Nancy R. Simpers (Industry)

Harry Loleas, Deputy Commissioner, O & P

PUBLIC IN ATTENDANCE:

Robert Johnston, AACAR

CALL TO ORDER:

J. Nicholas D’Ambrosia, Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:35 a.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Motion (made by Georgiana S. Tyler, seconded by Anne S. Cooke) To approve the minutes of the February 17, 2010 business meeting. Unanimous approval.

REPORT OF COMPLAINTS/ADMINISTRATIVE DISMISSALS:

Motion (made by Colette P. Youngblood, seconded by Marla S. Johnson) To approve the Administrative Dismissals for the month of March 2010. Motion carried.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

1. Education – Georgiana S. Tyler, Education Chair

• For the month of February 2010, 272 salesperson and 36 broker exams were administered.

• The new PSI exams will begin March 4, 2010. Pre-licensing education providers received notice from PSI; a copy of the notice was in each Commissioner’s folder.

2. Legislative – Anne S. Cooke, Legislative Chair

• HB 83 “Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation-State Real Estate Commission-Continuing Education” was amended to alternate the new required topics, starting January 2012, and to set a course application fee at $25. The bill passed with amendments and is now with a Senate committee.

• HB 406 “Real Estate Licensees-Services Provided Through Teams” unanimously passed the House committee without amendments. It is now with a Senate committee and scheduled for hearing on March 24.

• SB 1063 “Task Force to Study Deceptive Real Estate Practices” establishes the task force and sets out the membership. Maryland Real Estate Commission will serve on this task force if enacted. No hearing is scheduled yet.

The 2010 legislative session ends on Monday, April 12. Ideas for next year’s legislative session will be discussed at the May business meeting.

COMMENTS FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Katherine F. Connelly

1. Current license count totals 45,489, of which 4,812 are brokers, 3,179 associate brokers, 36,727 are salespersons, 550 branch offices, 4 time shares, 56 reciprocal brokers, 14 reciprocal associate brokers, 147 reciprocal salespersons. Of the total, 4,670 are inactive.

2. The Guaranty Fund balance through January 31, 2010 is $2,358,575.27.

3. The Exam Review Committee finalized its review of the state-specific exam questions. The new tests were implemented March 4.

4. Chairman D’Ambrosia and Ms. Connelly met with Senator Della on HB 83 and will submit an amendment so that the 7.5 hours remain for licensees holding graduate degrees in law or real estate.

5. Industry Outreach – Executive Director Connelly taught a continuing education course for Carroll County board on March 4 and attended an agent event for Coldwell Banker on March 16; will present a continuing education class for the Mid-Shore board at the end of March, and future programs are planned for Garrett County and the Eastern Shore.

6. The request to hire a contractual investigator was finally approved. The position was advertised and applications received. Soon interviews will begin

7. 2009 CE Audit – Cases were opened on those who failed the audit or failed to respond. So far 13 have asked for a hearing to reduce the fine. Commissioners D’Ambrosia and Johnson volunteered to serve on the panel for the audit hearings.

8. A software program will be available soon to audit continuing education hours when the license is renewed; a notice will be automatically generated to those licensees selected.

9. The continuing education regulations were published in the February 26, 2010 issue of the Maryland Register. Comments will be accepted through April 15, 2010. The Commissioners will decide final action at the April 21, 2010 business meeting.

10. A new software program sends an automatic email to the continuing education provider when a CE application is actually approved. Providers have asked for this enhancement for a number of years, and thanks to the Department’s IT Unit for meeting this need.

11. After July 1, 2010, all out-of-state travel will stop for Maryland government. The Department will grant the special fund boards an exception of one person to one regional and one national meeting per fiscal year. This policy will affect attendance at the ARELLO meetings in April and September. In September 2011, ARELLO meets in Baltimore. In-state travel is allowed.

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12. Assistant Director Long and the Department’s IT staff person will be trained on the new software purchased by MD REC to track complaints. The cost of the training is still to be decided.

13. Charlotte Streat-Thornton, assigned to complaints and education, had surgery and is recovering. She will return in May.

14. Dias Real Estate Academy was recently certified by the Maryland Higher Education Commission to offer 60 hours of classroom instruction in principles and practices for salespersons.

15. Nothing heard yet on who will be appointed as Commissioners to fill the two Industry vacancies.

COMMENTS FROM COUNSEL: Elizabeth Trimble

A new real estate fee to watch for is a private transfer fee to benefit investors, or the original developer of the property, by creating a cash flow from each future sale of the property. Many states do not allow private transfer fees, while other states do allow it. Read more about these fees in The Washington Post article of March 6, 2010 by Kenneth R. Harney. Home buyers and agents are advised to read contracts carefully.

COMMENTS FROM CHAIR: J. Nicholas D’Ambrosia

The latest Commission Check newsletter is posted online, and licensees were notified by email of the link. Chairman D’Ambrosia complimented staff on a job well done.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Whose responsibility is it to find out if a property has a ground rent? In the multiple listing service, a listing agent may disclose there is a ground rent, or may not, placing the onus on the buyer to find out. Counsel advised the responsibility is the seller’s and the seller’s agent to disclose all the facts. An article will be prepared for the next newsletter.

2. Another area of responsibility for all licensees is timely communication and documentation regarding the transaction – that is, return telephone calls, keep records of conversations, then document-document-document. If it isn’t documented, it wasn’t done. A newsletter article will be prepared.

3. As a reminder, on REO properties, the REO, its agent, and the broker must follow state law. If a complaint is filed and real estate violations found, a case will be opened even if a federal lending institution is involved. Brokers with REO clients need infrastructure to handle the transaction properly. Lack of communication is not a broker’s protection.

ADJOURNMENT:

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:55 a.m. The next monthly business meeting is Wednesday, April 21, 2010.

APPROVED AS PRESENTED ____________________________________________________

J. Nicholas D’Ambrosia, Chairperson

APPROVED AS AMENDED ______________________________________________________

J. Nicholas D’Ambrosia, Chairperson

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