Penalties for violations of the Real Estate License Law and Commission Rules vary depending upon the particular facts and circumstances present in each case. Due to space limitations in the Bulletin, a complete description of such facts cannot be reported in the following Disciplinary Action summaries.
GEORGE N. ANGEL (Kernersville) - By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Mr. Angel effective October 5, 1994. The Commission found that between 1990 and 1994, Mr. Angel, as broker-in-charge of a licensed real estate corporation, had failed to maintain the account designations and records required by the Commission for those accounts which held the funds of others. The Commission noted that between 1991 and 1994, Mr. Angel corrected all of these account designations and established proper records.
ANGEL ASSOCIATES, INC. (Kernersville) - By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Angel Associates, Inc. effective October 5, 1994. The Commission found that between 1990 and 1994, Angel Associates, Inc. had failed to maintain the account designations and records required by the Commission for those accounts which held the funds of others. The Commission noted that between 1991 and 1994, Angel Associates, Inc. corrected all of these account designations and established proper records.
MAXINE BARTLETT (Charlotte) By Consent, the Commission suspended Ms. Bartlett's broker license for 45 days effective October 15, 1994. The Commission then stayed its Order for a probationary term of 45 days. The Commission found that Ms. Bartlett had allowed her broker license to expire on June 30, 1992, but had continued to engage in real estate brokerage through early September 1994. The Commission further found that Ms. Bartlett had earned and was paid significant compensation during the period while her license was expired. The Commission noted that upon Ms. Bartlett's discovery that her license had expired, she ceased all brokerage activity, applied for reinstatement of her license, and cooperated in the Commission's inquiry.
JAMES DILLON BRYANT (Sneads Ferry) - By Consent, the Commission revoked Mr. Bryant's broker license effective September 10, 1994. The Commission found that Mr. Bryant had represented to a lender a purchase price which was substantially greater than the actual price of a townhouse unit for which he was seeking financing. The Commission further found that Mr. Bryant had failed to pay the lender on a timely or regular basis. In a separate transaction, the Commission found that in connection with Mr. Bryant's application for acquisition and construction financing for his residence, Mr. Bryant had provided the lender with a false construction contract onto which he had placed the signature of a builder without the builder's knowledge or permission. The Commission noted that all loans have been repaid from the sale of the properties. Mr. Bryant neither admitted nor denied any misconduct.
MARY F. CABE (Dillard, Georgia) - By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Ms. Cabe effective September 1, 1994, The Commission found that Ms. Cabe had failed to verify the accuracy of her representations to the buyer of a residential property that the property was a suitable site for a house in addition to the mobile home already located there. The Commission further found that the representations, in fact, were false, in that local health officials had determined that the property was not suitable for an additional homesite. The Commission also found that the listing contract Ms. Cabe employed in the transaction did not contain an anti-discrimination provision as required by Commission rule. The Commission noted that Ms. Cabe and another agent involved in the transaction had taken steps to resolve the subsequent complaint to the satisfaction of both the buyer and the seller.
WILLIAM C. DEES (Goldsboro) By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Mr. Dees effective September 15, 1994. The Commission found that Mr. Dees had paid a brokerage fee to an employee of a builder in connection with the sale of a property not owned by the builder. The employee was not then licensed by the Real Estate Commission. The Commission noted that the employee subsequently obtained a real estate salesman license.
JAMES M. DURHAM (Raleigh) - By Consent, the Commission suspended Mr. Durham's broker license for 90 days effective January 1, 1995. The Commission then stayed its Order for a probationary term of one year upon condition that Mr. Durham successfully complete the Commission's Trust Account Short Course before January 1, 1995. The Commission found that Mr. Durham had failed to keep trust account transaction ledgers, journals or check stubs or to maintain running balances or perform monthly trial balances in connection with his property management business. The Commission further found that Mr. Durham had deposited tenant security deposits for properties which he personally owned into the same account as those for properties which he managed for others and that he had allowed a shortage to occur in his tenant security deposit trust account and an overage to occur in his -rental account. The Commission noted that Mr. Durham has corrected the shortage and partially corrected the overage in his accounts.
LUTHER D. FAUCETTE (Burlington) - The Commission accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of Mr. Faucette's broker license effective October 10, 1994. The Commission dismissed without prejudice charges that Mr. Faucette had violated the provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules pertaining to the handling of the funds of others in real estate transactions. Mr. Faucette neither admitted nor denied any misconduct.
MILDRED B. FAUCETTE (Burlington) - The Commission accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of Ms. Faucette's broker license effective October 10, 1994. The Commission dismissed without prejudice charges that Ms. Faucette had violated the provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules pertaining to the handling of the funds of others in real estate transactions. Ms. Faucette neither admitted nor denied any misconduct.
SHARON FINCH (Chapel Hill) The Commission suspended Ms. Finch's broker license for one year effective June 1, 1994. Ninety days of the suspension are to be active and the remaining period stayed for a probationary term of nine months. The Commission found that Ms. Finch had failed to convey a commission check to the owners of the real estate firm where she was a broker-associate, and to whom she had promised, in a signed agreement, to turn over commissions collected in the firm's name. The Commission further found that Ms. Finch had misrepresented to the bank her authority to endorse the check which was made payable to the firm, had made an unauthorized endorsement of the check to herself and had deposited it to her own account even though she lacked any good faith basis for doing so, and had concealed from the firm her collection and deposit of the check.
HARVEY S. HARRIS (Wilmington) By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Mr. Harris effective October 7, 1994. The Commission found that Mr. Harris, as broker-in-charge of a real estate corporation, had operated the corporation without a corporate broker license. Upon being advised of this, Mr. Harris promptly applied for a corporate license.
MAR-BIL, INC. (Goldsboro) - By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Mar-Bil, Inc. effective September 15, 1994. The Commission found that Mar-Bil, Inc. had paid a brokerage fee to an employee of a builder in connection with the sale of a property not belonging to the builder. The employee was not then licensed by the Real Estate Commission. The Commission noted that the employee subsequently obtained a real estate salesman license.
ELIZABETH B. MCAFEE (Waynesville) - By Consent, the Commission suspended Ms. McAfee's broker license for 90 days effective October 20, 1994. The Commission then stayed its Order for a probationary term of one year. The Commission found that Ms. McAfee had represented a house she listed for sale as having been built in 1970 when in fact it was built in 1956. The Commission further found that Ms. McAfee had relied on an incorrect county real property data sheet when she updated the MLS sheet for the house. Ms. McAfee did not admit any misconduct or negligence.
GERALD R. MCKINNEY (Banner Elk) - The Commission accepted the voluntary surrender of Mr. McKinney's broker license for three years effective September 1, 1994. The Commission dismissed without prejudice charges that Mr. McKinney had violated the provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules while he was acting as broker-in-charge of a real estate firm. Mr. McKinney neither admitted nor denied any misconduct.
DONA J. OLSEN (Dillard, Georgia) - By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Ms. Olsen effective September 1, 1994. The Commission found that Ms. Olsen had failed to verify the accuracy of her representations to the buyer of a residential property that it was a suitable site for a house in addition to the mobile home already located there. The Commission further found that the representations, in fact, were false, in that local health officials had determined that the property was not suitable for an additional homesite. The Commission also found that the listing contract employed in the transaction did not contain an anti-discrimination provision as required by Commission rule. The Commission noted that after the buyer had withdrawn from the transaction, resulting in a dispute with the seller, Ms. Olsen and another agent involved in the transaction had taken steps to resolve the subsequent complaint to the satisfaction of both the buyer and the seller.
MARTHA J. SETZER (Waynesville) - By Consent, the Commission suspended Ms. Setzer's broker license for 90 days effective October 20, 1994. The Commission then stayed its Order for a probationary term of one year. The Commission found that Ms. Setzer had represented a house listed by her firm as having been built in 1970 when in fact it was built in 1956. The Commission further found that the incorrect date had been copied by the agency's broker-in-charge from the local county real property data sheet, but found that the house had originally been listed by a real estate agency which Ms. Setzer had owned at the time, and that the original listing had shown the correct age of the house. The Commission further found that Ms. Setzer's former agency had sold the house in 1976 and again in 1986. Ms. Setzer did not admit any misconduct or negligence.
WOODROW THOMASSON, JR. (Raleigh) - By Consent, the Commission suspended Mr. Thomasson's broker license for two years effective September 1, 1994. Nine months of the suspension are to be active and the remaining period stayed for a probationary term of two years. The Commission found that Mr. Thomasson had failed to deposit into a trust account a $1,000 check which he had received as a deposit in connection with an offer for a lease with an option to purchase a property but instead had paid it directly to the disciplinary action
owner of the property. The Commission noted that when the owner refused to return the deposit after the transaction failed, Mr. Thomasson had personally repaid the $1,000 to the buyer. In an audit of the financial records of Mr. Thomasson's property management business, the Commission determined that Mr. Thomasson had failed to designate as "escrow" or "trust" the bank accounts in which he maintained rental proceeds. The Commission further determined that although Mr. Thomasson had maintained separate transaction registers for each property, he had failed to maintain running balances or to perform bank reconciliations, had failed to maintain journal and check registers sufficient to create an audit trail, and had failed to perform bank reconciliations or trial balances.