Summarized below are the various changes in the North Carolina Real Estate License Law (C.S. 93A) which were enacted by the 1985 Session of the North Carolina General Assembly.
License Exemption
A real estate broker or salesman license will no longer be required of persons who perform certain limited acts associated with leasing non-residential real estate. Under the previous License Law, salaried employees of licensed real estate brokers who managed property for others were not required to obtain a real estate license in order to perform the following acts with regard to residential property: exhibit the units to prospective tenants; provide information about the lease; accept lease applications; complete and execute preprinted form leases; and accept security deposits and rents made payable to the owner or broker. However the employee's broker was held strictly accountable for any misconduct on the part of the broker's unlicensed employee(s). As amended, this licensing exemption will apply to persons who perform the same acts with regard to non-residential property.
License Fees
The Real Estate Commission was authorized to increase certain license fees charged to real estate brokers and salesmen. The annual license renewal fee could be increased to $25 (now $15). The application fee for a salesman license could be increased to $30 (now $20). The fee charged to issue a duplicate real estate license certificate was increased to $5 (previously $1). And a $10 fee will now be charged to research, report and certify a real estate broker, salesman or time share project's license history (previously no fee was charged).
The General Assembly noted that the previous and new license fees were generally well below those fees charged by other professional and occupational licensing agencies for similar services.
License Renewal
The Real Estate Commission was authorized to renew real estate licenses on a "staggered basis" rather than at the same time each year. However, the Real Estate Commission has no plans at this time to implement a "staggered" license renewal.
Time Share Projects
(Effective January 1, 1986)
Developers of time share projects will be required to record time share instruments (purchaser's deeds or sales contracts) within 45 days of the date of the purchaser's contract or they may place all payments made by the purchaser with an independent escrow agent for 120 days or until recordation, whichever first occurs. At the time the developer records the purchaser's deed, the purchaser's time share must be free and clear of any liens or other encumbrances. To ensure compliance, the developer must designate a person to act as Time Share Registrar who must see that the deeds are properly recorded, and if the Registrar knowingly or recklessly fails to record such deeds, he/she will be guilty of a "Class J" felony.
In addition to the Time Share Registrar, the developer will also be required to designate a licensed real estate broker to supervise. the time share sales activity at the project. ^`
The Real Estate Commission may increase the annual renewal fee for time share projects to $1500 (now $750).
The current five-day "cooling-off period" within which time share purchasers can cancel their sales contract will be non - waiverable.
Any claim or defense which would be available to a time share consumer in a lawsuit or action against a time share developer would be preserved for one year and would apply in an action between the purchaser and any holder of the purchaser's indebtedness. For example, if a time share project fails, the purchasers of time shares at the project could assert against any third party creditor (i.e., lender who has purchased the purchaser's note and deed of trust) any claim or defense which he might have against the developer.