EDUCATION AND LICENSING NEWS

How much security deposit can I be charged? Can my landlord charge me a ' pet fee"? What happens to my security deposit while I'm a tenant? These are some of the questions which are frequently asked by tenants and answered in the Commission's new publication "Questions and Answers on: Tenant Security Deposits."

Although designed primarily for use by residential tenants, this pamphlet also addresses many of the problem areas encountered by real estate agents in handling tenant security deposits.

Copies of the pamphlet can be obtained without charge from the Commission Office with additional supplies available for your distribution to your tenants and landlords. Please use the Order Form on this page of the Bulletin for requesting copies of "Questions and Answers on: Tenant Security Deposits" and the Commission's other informative publication "A Buyer's Guide to Vacation Real Estate in North Carolina."

North Carolina's high school students will once again receive from the Real Estate Commission an informative booklet explaining in simple terms the process of buying, selling, and renting real estate. For the twelfth year, "It's Your Move" Student Manuals and Teachers' Guides will be printed and delivered free-of-charge to North Carolina secondary schools for their use in economics, consumer education and related courses. To date, more than 300,000 copies have been furnished to "tomorrow's real estate consumers".

The North Carolina Real Estate Educational Foundation has named this year's recipients of two scholarships sponsored by the Real Estate Commission.

Ann M. Doyle of Southern Pines was awarded the 1991 "Joe Schweidler Memorial Scholarship" in recognition of having received the highest scholastic average in Series 200 of the REALTORS® Institute during 1990.

And Pauline E. Hagle of Fayetteville was named recipient of the "Blanton Little Memorial Scholastic Achievement Award" for outstanding scholastic achievement at the REALTORS0 Institute during 1990.

The scholarships are given annually in honor and memory of Mr. Schweidler and Mr. Little who served as Executive Directors of the Real Estate Commission.

The Commission congratulates Ms. Doyle and Ms. Hagle for their singular accomplishments.

The Real Estate Commission was pleased to sponsor again this year in cooperation with the North Carolina Real Estate Educators Association a conference for North Carolina real estate educators.

Eighty-five real estate and appraisal educators and instructors attended the day and a half meeting which included a workshop for appraisal course instructors, programs for new and veteran instructors, and presentations by noted real estate educators and authors.

Participating in the conference were the Commission's Director of Education and Licensing Larry A. Outlaw, Education Officer Evelyn Johnston, Examination and Licensing Officer Ann Britt, and Associate Legal Counsel Marilyn E. Tomei, with Education Secretary Penny Childress, Education Clerk Renee Weaver, and License Specialist Faye Hewett assisting with the arrangements.

LICENSING
North Carolina Enters
Reciprocal Licensing Arrangement
With Georgia

The North Carolina and Georgia Real Estate Commissions have entered into a reciprocal. licensing arrangement whereby qualified real estate brokers and salesmen may obtain nonresident real estate licenses from the other state without completing additional education or experience, or passing another real estate licensing examination.

Under the terms of the arrangement which became effective duly 1, a resident North Carolina broker or salesman who is licensed in good standing can qualify for a nonresident Georgia license by completing and filing with the Georgia Real Estate Commission an application form and related materials and paying the required license fee. If you are a salesman, you must also demonstrate that you will be supervised by a broker who holds a (resident or nonresident) Georgia broker's license. And if you intend to operate in Georgia as a corporation or partnership, the corporation or partnership must obtain a Georgia real estate license.

If you fail to renew or otherwise lose your North Carolina license, your nonresident Georgia license would also become invalid. Likewise, if you relocate your residence to a state other than Georgia, your Georgia license would be canceled. However, if after obtaining your nonresident Georgia real estate license, you become a legal resident of that state, you can convert your license to resident status without further real estate education, experience or examination.

For further information regarding obtaining a nonresident Georgia real estate license under this reciprocal arrangement, contact the Georgia Real Estate Commission, Suite 500 - Sussex Place, 148 International Blvd., NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1734 (Phone 404/656-3016).

The North Carolina General Assembly has enacted legislation sponsored by Senator Alexander P. Sands (D-Rockingham) to benefit certain military personnel who held occupational licenses which expired during the Persian Gulf War. This is how it works:

If you were deployed or stationed outside North Carolina after August 6, 1990 as a result of "Operation Desert Shield" or "Operation Desert Storm" and your real estate or other occupational license expired while you were out of state, you will be given up to 90 days from your return to North Carolina to renew your license. Your license will remain valid until the expiration of this 90-day period, and when you renew, your fee will be reduced based upon the length of time you were outside North Carolina.

For example, if in response to hostilities in the Persian Gulf, you were on (or called to) active duty and sent to Saudi Arabia or any other station outside North Carolina and you returned to North Carolina on August 1, you would have until November 1 (90 days following the June 30 expiration of your license) to renew your real estate license without penalty. Although your license would have normally expired on June 30, it will remain in effect until November 1, and if you renew your license by this date, your renewal fee will be reduced by 1/12 since you were deployed out of state for one month (July) during the period for which you are renewing.

If you (or someone you know) is affected by this new law, please feel free to contact the Records Section of the Real Estate Commission for additional information.

License Exams
Made More Secure

At the request of the Real Estate Commission, the N.C. General Assembly enacted legislation to further protect the security of licensing examinations. As a result, the Commission and other occupational licensing boards will be better assured that examination questions and other confidential information will not be compromised and that persons who steal, buy, sell, etc. examination questions and related materials will be subject to appropriate criminal penalties.

The Commission wishes to especially thank Senator J. K. Sherron (D-Wake) and Representative John C. "Pete" Hasty (D-Robeson) for their valuable assistance in the passage of this legislation.