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Staff Appearances
Fred Moreno, Chief Deputy Legal Counsel, spoke at the North Carolina Vacation Rental Managers Association meeting on December 6.
Nick Smith, Auditor/Investigator, spoke at the LOTSAR meeting on December 8.
The January 2023 Commission meeting will be in Wilmington!
The North Carolina Real Estate Commission is pleased to announce that it will be holding its January 18-19, 2023, business meeting and hearings in Wilmington, North Carolina. You are cordially invited to join the Commission members for coffee on Wednesday, January 18th at 8:30, before the meeting begins, and to stay or attend the meeting at any time throughout the day. The business meeting is expected to begin Wednesday at 9:00 and to last until mid-afternoon.
The meeting will be held at:
EMBASSY SUITES WILMINGTON RIVERFRONT – SALON I
9 ESTELL LEE PLACE, WILMINGTON
The Commission members welcome the opportunity to meet you and hear your thoughts. While not required, we will appreciate your RSVP by January 11th to exec@ncrec.gov for planning purposes. We look forward to seeing you in Wilmington!
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Updates
Social justice, biases (often times implicit), and discrimination have been hot topics throughout the real estate market over the last few years. As the North Carolina Real Estate Commission works to bring awareness and enhance the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in real estate brokerage it requires all hands on deck.
The Commission is open to, and welcomes, all feedback on new DEI initiatives and ways to successfully implement them. Additionally, if you have witnessed or been subjected to racism or discriminatory behavior in any real estate related activities it is important that you provide this information to the Commission. To provide feedback or information on your experiences with racism or discrimination in real estate related activities contact the Commission’s DEI Officer here.
Weston’s Law Revised
In July 2021, 7-year old Weston Androw of Canton, Ohio became trapped between an elevator car and elevator shaft in the vacation home his family rented on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. EMS workers were able to free Weston from the elevator but were not successful in resuscitating the young boy. Weston’s tragic death spurred action by lawmakers to enact a new law regarding safety requirements for elevators in short-term rental properties. On July 8, 2022, Governor Cooper signed House Bill 619, also known as Weston’s law, which is designed to prevent future injuries and deaths resulting from gaps in certain residential elevators.
The law applies to elevators in private residences, cottages or similar accommodations that are rented for 15 or more calendar days per year. Similar to the North Carolina Elevator Safety Act, the law defines an elevator as any hoisting and lowering mechanism, with a car or platform, which moves in guides and serves two or more floors of a building or structure.
Weston’s Law allows for a maximum gap of 4 inches between the hoistway face of the landing door and the car door of an elevator. Additionally, the law mandates minimum force requirements for elevator doors and gates. All elevator designs must be able to withstand 75 pounds of applied force. When this amount of force is applied, the doors and gates must not deflect (bend or curve) more than ¾ of an inch, become permanently deformed, or be displaced from the guide or tracks.
If elevator doors or gates do not currently comply with the aforementioned safety requirements, the landlord of the rental property cannot allow for the elevator to be operated until the safety conditions are met.
If the gap between the car door and landing door is greater than 4 inches, then the landlord must install a permanent door space guard or door baffle of at least 31.75 inches in height. This addition must be able to withstand 75 pounds of force applied horizontally using a 4-inch diameter sphere.
Once the landlord installs a door, door space guard, door baffle or gate in compliance with these safety requirements, the landlord must provide the Commissioner of Insurance with either a statement signed by a professional elevator installer certifying installation or a receipt for purchase of the item that was installed, a statement signed by the landlord stating the date of installation, and photographs which depict the door, door space guard, door baffle or gate that was installed pursuant to the law.
Weston’s Law went into effect October 1, 2022. Property managers should advise their landlord-clients to implement measures that comply with the safety requirements. Any person who violates the landlord’s attempt to prevent use of an elevator until it meets these requirements may be charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor criminal offense. Property managers handling short-term rentals should take reasonable steps to ensure that any elevators comply with the new law and refrain from representing any landlord who has failed to comply but is continuing to allow the elevator to be used.
Technology Survey: Will You Help Us Help You?
Do you rely on technology to conduct your brokerage activities? Have the advancements in technology made you feel like you have been left behind?
The Commission is aware that technology has consistently impacted the practice of real estate brokerage over the past several years. Some brokers have expressed their frustration about the challenges they face while conducting brokerage activities.
In an effort to determine the need for educational materials to meet the technology needs of brokers in North Carolina, and the best source of those materials, the Commission is asking for your assistance in completing a survey. This survey will take approximately 3-5 minutes to complete and your responses will remain anonymous. The Commission values the input of the brokerage community and would like to thank you in advance for your participation.
The deadline for survey submission is Monday, December 12, 2022.
You can access the survey here.
If you have any further questions or comments, please contact the Education and Licensing Division at 919.875.3700 or educ@ncrec.gov.
Disciplinary Actions
JOSEPH DAVID CANDELARIA (CONCORD) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Candelaria for a period of 6 months, effective December 1, 2022. Commission found on February 4, 2022, Candelaria timely submitted a criminal conviction form reporting four felony convictions of possession of marijuana, but failed to timely respond to two Letters of Inquiry. Candelaria failed to report four additional drug related misdemeanor convictions in 2016 as well as a probation violation.
ANDREA VACAFLOR AYOROA (CHARLOTTE) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Ayoroa, effective December 1, 2022. The Commission found that in or around February 2022, Ayoroa acted as a buyer’s agent for a client who contracted to purchase a vacant lot. After the termination of the contract, Ayoroa’s buyer-client filed a complaint with the Commission against the listing agent. During the course of the investigation of the initial complaint, Ayoroa failed to timely provide a substantive response to multiple Letters of Inquiry.
CHRISTINE D COX (HICKORY) – By Consent, the Commission suspended Cox for ninety (90) days, effective September 20, 2022. The Commission found that Cox acted as a listing agent for residential property located on a lake and included a boat dock. After the property went under contract, it was discovered that the boat dock lacked a tag and it was further discovered that the boat dock was not permitted. The buyers terminated the contract a few days later without expending any funds. Respondent disclosed the lack of permit issue to the next buyer. During the course of the investigation, Cox failed to timely reply to multiple letters of inquiry.
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.
The Real Estate Commission is currently searching for an attorney to serve as Associate Legal Counsel II to prosecute cases before the Commission involving allegations of violations of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules.
Click here for more information.
Staff Appearances
Janet Thoren, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Len Elder, Director of Education and Licensing, and Mike Gray, Chief Auditor, spoke at the North Carolina Association of Realtors Convention on October 18.
Janet Thoren, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Kristen Fetter, Deputy Legal Counsel, Mike Gray, Chief Auditor,and Chad Wilson, Auditor-Investigator, spoke at the ARELLO Regulatory Investigator Seminar on November 1-3.
Fred Moreno, Chief Deputy Legal Counsel, spoke at the Greensboro Regional REALTORS meeting on November 1.
Sheryl Graham, Consumer Protection Officer, spoke at the Keller Williams Realty office meeting on November 9 and at the Brunswick County Association of REALTORS office meeting on November 17.
Bruce Rinne, Information Officer, Brian Heath, Consumer Protection Officer, spoke at the Longleaf Pines REALTOR Association meeting on November 22.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Updates
As a part of the Commission’s ongoing effort to combat discriminatory behavior in real estate brokerage we are committed to evaluating the annual Update courses to include relevant topics and resources. To this end, the 2020-2021 General Update Course included substantial material on fair housing, and the 2021-2022 Update Course included substantial information on racial equity. This material can serve as a great resource and is available for reference on the Commission’s website.