The following are summaries of actions taken by the Real Estate Licensing Board since the publication of the last Bulletin. Persons interested in further details concerning these or other actions of the Board should contact the Licensing Board office.
Partial Re-take of Licensing Examinations
November, 1981 -The Board adopted a policy whereby license applicants who pass one of the two sections of their licensing examination would not be required to re-take that section on their rescheduled examination. The policy became effective beginning with the March, 1982 examination.
License Renewal Stickers
December, 1981 -The Board approved plans to issue "license renewal stickers" to licensees to be affixed to their real estate licenses (See "Rules and Regulations" below). A different colored sticker will be issued each year at the time the license is renewed. Inasmuch as the licenses of brokers and salesmen who are associated with a real estate firm are normally displayed together in the firm's office, it is hoped that the renewal sticker will serve as a reminder to those licensees who have failed to renew their licenses.
Fingerprints Discontinued
December, 1981 -The Board voted to discontinue (effective with applications for the March, 1982 licensing examination) its general fingerprint requirement for license applicants, and to instead require fingerprints of only those applicants whose license applications or other information indicate that a more complete and detailed character investigation is warranted.
Business Brokerage
January, 1982-The Board reviewed a recent magazine article which described the activities of North Carolina "business brokers" (i.e., persons who price, market, and negotiate the purchase and sale of businesses and business opportunities for others). The Board directed its Legal Counsel to issue a general notice to the public setting forth the Board's position that persons who act as agents in the purchase, sale, or exchange of businesses in North Carolina which include real estate, leases, or any interest therein must first obtain a North Carolina real estate license.
Rules and Regulations
January, 1982-The Board ordered a rule-making hearing for the purpose of receiving comments from the public relevant to the proposed amendment of certain rules and regulations of the. Board. In general, the subjects and issues to be addressed by the new rules include: Requiring the display of license renewal stickers (Rule .0101); acceptance of license applications based upon a postmark date (Rule .0302); the addition of trust account guidelines to license examination subject matter (Rule .0402)1- and subjecting persons to certain real estate education as a condition for reinstatement of their licenses (Rule .0505).
(The rule-making hearing was held on March 9, but as of the printing of this Bulletin, a decision had not been made by the Board regarding the adoption of these Rules.)
Contract for Examinations
February, 1982-After soliciting and obtaining bids, the Board approved a contract with Educational Testing Service, the low bidder, to provide real estate licensing examination services to the Board during the period July 1982-June 1983. The contract was approved by the Division of Purchase and Contract of the N. C. Department of Administration in accordance with established procurement procedures for state agencies.