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Commission Spotlight: Information Officers

Do you have questions about your responsibilities as a broker? Do you need clarification on one of the Commission’s rules? If so, you may contact the Commission’s Regulatory Affairs Division. When you contact that division, your call will be directed to an Information Officer.

Information Officers field questions about:

The Commission’s Information Officers are knowledgeable about many aspects of brokerage practice and are experts regarding the Commission’s rules. However, there are some types of questions that they cannot answer, such as questions about compensation disputes between brokers. Also, the Information Officers cannot provide legal advice. When Information Officers are asked questions that are outside of the Commission’s purview, they will provide suggestions as to how / where to find answers.

For more information or to ask a question, contact Regulatory Affairs at RA@ncrec.gov or 919-719-9180.

How to Search for Online CE and Postlicensing Courses (April-June 2020)

On March 26, 2020, the Commission approved emergency rule, 21 NCAC 58G .0104, to allow CE courses to be offered through synchronous online learning until June 10, and Postlicensing courses to be offered through synchronous online learning until June 30.

Synchronous online learning means that the students and instructor are in separate places, but that everyone is participating in the course online at the same time.

To find CE courses being offered through synchronous online learning until June 10, 2020:

  1. Go to www.ncrec.gov;
  2. Click Education;
  3. Click Search CE Course Schedule; and
  4. Type ONLINE in the city field.
  5. Click on Submit.

To find Postlicensing courses being offered through synchronous online learning until June 30, 2020:

  1. Go to ncrec.gov;
  2. Click Education;
  3. Click Postlicensing Course Schedule; and
  4. Scroll to city name ONLINE.

Course schedules are updated daily upon notification by course providers. You may also contact providers directly to inquire about available courses.

For more information about the Commission’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, visit the COVID-19 page on the Commission’s website.

How to Find Information about Rule Changes

“When did that rule change?”

Have you ever been surprised to discover that a Commission rule had changed? If so, it’s time to subscribe to the Commission’s mailing list to receive notices about rule-making.

By law, before an agency like the Real Estate Commission creates a rule, it must provide public notice and comment opportunities.  Since all licensees and the public have the right to know the conduct required by a rule, an agency’s rules must be available to the public and to people regulated by the rule. 

Each year, usually in the fall, the Commission considers whether rules related to brokerage practice need to be created, amended, or repealed. If the Commission wishes to make changes, the proposed rules are published and the public is given a chance to comment before rules are adopted. The rule-making process typically takes a minimum of 6-9 months. When the Commission adopts new rules, they are typically effective at the beginning of a license year (July 1).

In extreme situations, such as the current COVID-19 health crisis, the rule-making process may be shortened, to give an agency the ability to quickly adopt “emergency” rules to protect the health and safety of the public.

The Commission provides information to licensees and the public about proposed and adopted rules in a variety of ways, including notices on the Commission’s homepage and articles in the monthly eBulletin. Additionally, licensees and the public may subscribe the Commission’s rule-making mailing list, to receive email alerts of rule-making events.

To subscribe to the mailing list:

  1. go to www.ncrec.gov;
  2. scroll down to License Law & Rules Changes;
  3. click on Subscribe to the Commission’s mailing list to receive notice of rulemaking;
  4. type your name and email address; and
  5. click on Submit.

This mailing list is used solely for rule-making updates.

For more information, contact the Regulatory Affairs Division at RA@ncrec.gov or 919-719-9180.

Current Stats: Monthly Licensee Count as of April 1, 2020

Postlicensing Education Deadline

This article from the April eBulletin is republished here to remind brokers of the new Postlicensing Education requirement effective July 1, 2020.

Beginning July 1, 2020, Rule 58A .1902 will require a Provisional Broker to complete all three 30-hour Postlicensing courses within 18 months of initial licensure in order to maintain active license status. 

If you were licensed anytime during 2018, you must complete all your Postlicensing courses by June 30, 2020. If you have been licensed in 2019, you will have at least 18 months from your date of licensure to complete the courses.

Example #1: Licensed on February 1, 2018

Example #2: Licensed on March 17, 2019

Additional information about this important change is provided in the General Update (GENUP) and Broker-in-Charge (BICUP) courses throughout the year. Also, if you are a provisional broker, be on the lookout for email communications from the Commission about the changing education deadlines.

If you have further questions regarding this rule change, please contact the Education and Licensing Division at 919.875.3700.

NOTE: Please visit the COVID-19 page on the Commission’s website for information about emergency rules in place during March 26-June 30, 2020.

Update on Education Requirements – Public Health Emergency

On March 18, 2020, the Commission voted to approve two emergency rules addressing education issues during the public health emergency.  The rules are posted on the Commission’s website https://www.ncrec.gov/Pdfs/Rules/EmergencyRulemaking.pdf

Rule G .0104 provides relief to licensees with respect to the Commission’s education requirements. It requires schools and sponsors to cancel or suspend live, in-person classes beginning March 26 (the effective date of the rule) and allows for certain online alternatives as well as extensions of time.

Q: May schools and sponsors offer in-person courses in April?
A: No. All in-person classes must be cancelled or suspended through April 30, 2020. 

Q: Can I take the Update (General Update or BICUP) course online? What about my Postlicensing course(s)?
A: YES! Under the emergency rule, Update and Postlicensing courses can be offered via synchronous distance learning from March 26-April 30. Synchronous learning means that the students and instructor are in separate places, but that everyone is participating in the course online at the same time.

Q: How can I find an Update or Postlicensing course being offered via synchronous distance learning?
A: Update courses: Go to the Commission’s website (ncrec.gov), click on Education, and click on Search CE Course Schedule. In the search screen, type ONLINE in the city name field, then click on Search.

Postlicensing courses: Go to the Commission’s website (ncrec.gov), click on Education, and click on Postlicensing Course Schedule. Courses are grouped by city name. Scroll down to city name “ONLINE.”

Q: What if I start a Postlicensing course after the rule goes into effect, but for whatever reason, I cannot finish?
A: While the rule is in effect, the school must allow you to make up missed course hours by attending another offering of that course, and the content has to be the same as the part you missed.

Q: I am a broker and need more time to take the 12-hour BIC Course. What should I do?
A: Email a request for an extension of time to bicext@ncrec.gov .  You will not have to submit supporting documentation while the rule is in effect.  You will be granted an automatic 90-day extension. 

Q: What if I can’t find an Update or Postlicensing course by my deadline. What should I do?
A: CE Update and Elective courses:  The Commission will grant an automatic 90-day extension to brokers who have not completed CE by June 10.  No request form is needed. 
Postlicensing courses: The Commission will grant an automatic extension through September 30, 2020, to brokers who have not completed Postlicensing.  No request form is needed.

Please send an email to our office for further information (ls@ncrec.gov). Because of the current health crisis, we have more questions and fewer staff than usual. We appreciate your patience as we work to address your questions and concerns.

Commission Building Closed; Staff are Available by Phone, Email, and Webform

NC REAL ESTATE COMMISSION BUILDING CURRENTLY CLOSED TO ALL VISITORS; STAFF ARE AVAILABLE BY PHONE, EMAIL, WEB FORMS

The members and staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission are concerned about the health and safety of our licensees and the public. For the protection of everyone, effective Monday, March 23, 2020, our building is closed to all visitors. The Commission remains open for business via telephone, email, and at ncrec.gov, including applications, web forms, and more.

Contact us at 919-875-3700, via this website, or by email to the addresses listed below. We’re here to help. If you call and get a voice mail, please leave a message and we will return your call

Main Number – 919-875-3700

Education & Licensing – 919-875-3700; LS@ncrec.gov

Regulatory Affairs – 919-719-9180; RA@ncrec.gov

Administration – admin@ncrec.gov

Executive – exec@ncrec.gov

Current Stats: Brokers Licensed per Month

Note: Click on the image to enlarge it.

Mary Wills Bode has been appointed to the Commission

Mary Wills Bode of Raleigh has been appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to the North Carolina Real Estate Commission for a term ending July 21, 2022, announced Miriam J. Baer, Executive Director.

Mary Wills Bode of Raleigh has been appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to the North Carolina Real Estate Commission for the term ending July 21, 2022, announced Miriam J. Baer, Executive Director.

Bode is the Executive Director of North Carolinians for Redistricting Reform (NC4RR) in Raleigh, a bipartisan non-profit co-chaired by Tom Ross and Rep. Chuck McGrady that seeks to improve representative democracy through redistricting reform.

Prior to her role with NC4RR, Bode was a corporate attorney at Proskauer Rose LLP and Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in New York, where she specialized in capital markets, leveraged finance, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

While in law school, Bode worked for the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of North Carolina (EDNC), The Honorable U.S. Magistrate Judge William Webb, U.S. District Court, EDNC in Raleigh, North Carolina, as well as The Honorable Senior District Judge Malcolm Howard, U.S. District Court, EDNC in Greenville, North Carolina.

She was honored with The American Lawyer’s M&A Global Deal of the Year for her cross-border legal work in Europe in 2016.   Bode holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a member of the North Carolina Law Review, and Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Psychology from Wake Forest University.

Appearances

Jean Hobbs, Auditor/Investigator, recently spoke at Allen Tate’s business meeting in Charlotte NC.

Nick Smith, Consumer Protection Officer, recently spoke at Keller Williams of Greensboro’s Time Out Tuesday Series in Greensboro NC.

Marcia Waldron, Auditor, recently spoke at Greensboro Landlord Association in Greensboro NC.