Rule Change Benefits Brokers-in-Charge
To expand real
estate educational opportunities for persons serving as brokers-in-charge of
real estate offices and to better assure that a cadre of qualified individuals
is available to serve as brokers-in-charge, the Real Estate Commission recently
amended its rules to enable brokers to become “broker-in-charge eligible.”
Prior to the
January 1 rule change, a broker-in-charge who had any “break in service,” that
is, any period when he or she was not actively managing an office, would be
required to satisfy the initial experience and education requirements when he
or she was redesignated a broker-in-charge. Under the new rule, however, a broker may
become “broker-in-charge eligible” and may retain that status indefinitely,
even during periods when he or she is not actively serving as broker-in-charge
of a particular real estate office.
To become
“broker-in-charge eligible,” a broker must either:
1. be designated on Commission records as a broker-in-charge as
of January 1, 2008 and have satisfied all initial requirements to serve as a
broker-in-charge; or
2. declare oneself a broker-in-charge on or after January 1,
2008 and satisfy the initial experience
and education requirements (2 years full-time brokerage experience and 12 hour
Broker-in-Charge Course).
Once a broker has
designated himself or herself as a broker-in-charge and satisfied the initial
requirements, that broker may retain his or her broker-in-charge eligibility
indefinitely thereafter by continually maintaining his or her broker license on
active status and by taking the Broker-in-Charge Annual Review course each year
beginning the license year after the license year when the broker was
designated a broker-in-charge. For
example, a broker who declares himself or herself as a broker-in-charge in
March 2008 will first be required to take the Broker-in-Charge Annual Review
course during the July 2008-June 2009 license year and continuing each year
thereafter. A broker’s “broker-in-charge eligibility” will
be terminated if the broker does not complete the Broker-in-Charge Annual
Review course (and the mandatory Real Estate Update course) each year or the
broker loses his or her license for any reason, e.g., failure to renew, license
suspended, etc..
If your
broker-in-charge eligibility is terminated, then to be redesignated
a broker-in-charge you must:
1. have an active license and demonstrate that you have at
least two years full-time (or equivalent part-time) real estate brokerage
experience within the past five years;
2. take the
12-hour Broker-in-Charge Course (or, if you have taken the 12-hour
Broker-in-Charge Course within the past three years, you may instead take the 4
hour Broker-in-Charge Annual Review Course); and
3. submit a properly completed Broker-in-Charge Declaration
form to the Commission.
However, so long
as a broker remains “broker-in-charge eligible,” he or she may have periods
when he or she is not actively managing an office, but may then be redeclared broker-in-charge of a particular office by
simply submitting a properly completed Broker-in-Charge Declaration form to the
Commission and will not be required to take the 12-hour Broker-in-Charge
Course.
Brokers-in-charge
who neither live in