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Staff Appearances

Sheryl Graham, Consumer Protection Officer, spoke at The Real Estate Group’s meeting on September 8.

Jean Hobbs, Auditor/Investigator, spoke the Charlotte NARPM’s Chapter Meeting on September 15.

Employment Opportunities Available

Are you interested in joining the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission? From time to time, employment opportunities become available. They are posted on the Commission’s website under the “About Us” tab.

We currently have opportunities available for the following positions:

Click here for more information.

Why Test Your Well Water? – New Brochure

The Commission is pleased to make available the new “Why Test Your Well Water?” brochure.  The brochure was created by the UNC School of Law, Law Student Well Water Pro Bono Project in conversation with the UNC Superfund Research Program, the NC Department of Health & Human Services (NC DHHS) Division of Public Health – Private Well & Health Program, and the NC Real Estate Commission.  It describes relevant laws, possible well water contaminants, testing resources, and recommended testing schedules, and provides links to online resources where homeowners and home buyers can get detailed answers to their questions about private well water issues. The brochure is available on the Commission’s Publications page: here. Look for the Spanish language version coming soon!

Update Courses for Specialty Practice

Do you specialize in commercial brokerage or residential property management?  Did you know that there specialty versions of the Update course that focus on these practice areas?  

Each year, the Commission determines what topics will be addressed in the next license year’s General Update (GENUP) and Broker-in-Charge Update (BICUP) courses, and Commission staff develops course materials based on the Commission’s directives.  Once the course materials are finalized, Commission Rule 58H .0403(f) permits education providers (EPs) and approved instructors to create specialty versions of the content. 

Per the rule, the development of a specialty Update course is a joint effort between the EP/instructor and the Commission, and all content is jointly owned.  The EP or instructor must receive the prior written consent of the Commission to make modifications to the content, and all modifications must relate to the same subject matter and educational objectives as the prescribed Update course content.

When developing a specialty version of the Update course, an EP or instructor must evaluate the subject matter to determine if the prescribed Update course content meets the needs of their targeted group of brokers.  For example, if the prescribed course includes a topic like cybersecurity, the topic would be applicable to brokers in all specialty areas, so it would remain in the specialty versions.  However, the examples and/or discussion questions might be altered to make the topic discussion more relatable to a targeted group of brokers.  

In contrast, if one of the topics in the prescribed Update course is not directly applicable to the targeted group of brokers, an entirely different topic may be substituted.  For instance, if a prescribed Update course focuses on home inspections, the subject matter may not be applicable to commercial brokers. Therefore, another “commercial-specific” topic would be substituted in the commercial specialty version.  

Commission Rule 58H .1702(a) requires brokers to complete eight credit hours of real estate continuing education (CE) courses each year, comprised of a 4-hour Update course, either GENUP or BICUP, and a 4-hour elective course.  

Whether a broker takes the standard version or a specialty version of the Update course, the broker must ensure they are taking the appropriate version based on their license status.  Provisional brokers and “full” brokers who do not have BIC Eligible Status must take a GENUP course.  A broker with BIC Eligible Status must take a BICUP course to retain BIC Eligible Status.

Currently, there are two specialty versions of the Update course, Commercial and Property Management, and there are GENUP and BICUP versions of both.  

Brokers may choose to complete multiple versions of the Update course in a license year, but they will receive credit for only one Update course. The completion of additional Update courses will not satisfy the elective course requirement or provide “rollover” credit.

Are you interested in registering for a specialty version of the Update Course?   Go to the CE Course Schedules page on the Commission’s website to search for upcoming courses.  Update courses are delivered in-person and via synchronous distance delivery (aka, “live-online”).

The current GENUP courses are titled:

The current BICUP courses are titled:

Commission rules do not limit the number of specialty versions that can be created. EPs and approved instructors who are interested in developing a specialty version of the Update course should contact the Education & Licensing Division at educ@ncrec.gov or 919.875.3700.

Do you have ideas for Update course topics?

The Commission welcomes your ideas and suggestions.

The Commission will discuss topics to be included in the 2022-2023 General Update and BICUP courses during their October and November 2021 business meetings. If you have a suggestion, please send it via email to educ@ncrec.gov.

For more information about the Update Course, contact the Education and Licensing Division at educ@ncrec.gov or 919.875.3700.

Current Stats: Monthly Licensee Count as of September 1, 2021

License Status: How do I check the license status of a broker?

Have you ever wondered if a broker’s license status was inactive? Did you know that you can check the license status of a broker on the Commission’s website?

To determine the license status of a broker:

  1. go to www.ncrec.gov;
  2. click on Licensing;
  3. click on Brokers;
  4. enter the License Number, Name, City, or County of the broker; and
  5. click on Search.

The license record database on the Commission’s website now displays all brokers with an active and inactive license status. If a broker’s license is inactive, a note will be displayed at the top of their license record.

As stated, per Rule 58A .0504(a), a broker who has an inactive license status shall not engage in any activity requiring a real estate license.

See Commission Rule 58A .0504(a) for a full explanation of active and inactive license status. For more information regarding a broker’s license status, contact the Commission’s Education and Licensing Division at LS@ncrec.gov or 919.875.3700.

Disciplinary Actions

JOY LORI STEIN (MURPHY) – The Commission accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of the broker license of Ms. Stein effective August 16, 2021. The Commission dismissed without prejudice allegations that Ms. Stein violated provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules. Ms. Stein neither admitted nor denied misconduct.

Employment Opportunities Available

Are you interested in joining the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission? From time to time, employment opportunities become available. They are posted on the Commission’s website under the “About Us” tab.

We currently have opportunities available for the the following positions:

Click here for more information.

Staff Appearances

Dee Bigelow, Information Officer, spoke at the Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage Meeting on August 11.

Miriam Baer, Executive Director, spoke at the Compass Real Estate – North Carolina Sales Meeting on August 17.

Sheryl Graham, Consumer Protection Officer, spoke at the REMax Master Key Meeting on August 31.