Brokers-in-charge, check those renewal cards!

By Gary R. Caddell, Investigator

Attention brokers-in-charge! Do all of the agents in your office have current real estate licenses? Are you sure?

As broker-in-charge, you are responsible for determining that each licensee under your supervision has properly renewed his or her license. To fulfill your responsibility as required by Commission rule, you must do more than simply remind the agents under your supervision to send in their renewal fees: You must personally verify the current status of each license.

Ask to see each licensee's renewal "pocket card," which the Commission sends - usually within seven to ten days after receipt of payment. Check the expiration date to make sure it is marked "6/30/95." If a licensee tells you that the pocket card has been lost or was never received, contact the Commission's Records Department to confirm that the license was in fact renewed.

A broker or salesman's failure to renew means that the agent is no longer licensed. If you are that agent's broker-in-charge, you must make certain that he or she does not engage in any real estate sales, property management , or other activity which requires a license until the license has been properly reinstated.

The Real Estate Commission has disciplined brokers-in-charge for allowing brokers and salesmen under their supervision to continue to act in a brokerage capacity after the expiration of their licenses. You can easily avoid being disciplined on these grounds by checking the renewal card of each licensee employed in your office.