MARC ANDREW CASORIA (Hendersonville) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Mr. Casoria effective June 26, 2019. The Commission ordered Mr. Casoria to comply with all restrictions imposed on his driving privileges and, during the period Mr. Casoria is restricted to driving a vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device, he shall not operate a motor vehicle while transporting real estate clients or customers. The Commission found that Mr. Casoria, on or about February 28, 2019, was convicted of a Level II DWI and timely disclosed this DWI on April 1, 2019. Mr. Casoria was sentenced to seven days in jail with 120 days suspended, 12 months of supervised probation, a 12-month driver’s license suspension, and substance abuse assessment and treatment.
CENTURY 21 TRIANGLE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT (Raleigh) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Century 21 Triangle Property Management effective June 10, 2019. The Commission found that the firm operated as a property management firm without first obtaining a license from 2014 to April 19, 2018 and allowed day-to-day operations to be run by an unlicensed individual. The firm failed to maintain trust account records in compliance with Commission rules including failure to include required information on ledgers, holding rents in an operating account and reconciliations not being performed in a timely manner. The Commission noted that the firm’s trust account records are currently in substantial compliance with Commission rules.
MENTALLA EFFAT (Charlotte) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Ms. Effat for a period of 12 months effective June 14, 2019. The Commission then stayed the suspension for a probationary period through June 13, 2020. The Commission required that Ms. Effat’s license status remain as provisional broker for a period of five years from the effective date and required completion of all postlicensing courses within 18 months. In addition, Ms. Effat must inform current and future BIC’s of this Consent Order and provide her BIC with all executed transactional documents within 24 hours of execution, so long as she is a provisional broker. The Commission found that Ms. Effat left one firm to join another and believed that she could take two buyer clients of the former firm with her to the new firm. Ms. Effat created and provided termination agreements to the two buyer clients after her employment by the former firm had ended. Both buyers signed agency agreements with Ms. Effat and her new firm prior to signing the termination agreements with the former firm. Furthermore, the former firm did not sign the termination agreements releasing the buyers from their contract. Once Ms. Effat was advised by her new BIC that she could not bring these clients to the new firm without permission, Ms. Effat ceased communicating with those buyers. While at the new firm, Ms. Effat executed agency agreements with buyers who went under contract to purchase properties, without informing her BIC or providing the firm with copies of transaction documents.
LORI LOVE (Mount Pleasant) – The Commission accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of the broker license of Ms. Love effective July 22, 2019. The Commission dismissed without prejudice allegations that Ms. Love violated provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules. Ms. Love neither admitted nor denied misconduct.
LYRUBEC PROPERTIES LLC (Charlotte) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the firm license of Lyrubec Properties for a period of 24 months effective June 14, 2019. The Commission then stayed the suspension for a probationary period from June 14, 2019 until June 13, 2021. The Commission found in a review of Lyrubec Properties’ two trust accounts that: deposit slips were not designated “trust” or “escrow”; cancelled checks failed to identify the property or owner; bank disbursement transactions failed to identify the purpose for the disbursement; ledgers failed to identify the owner and tenant, the purpose of the monies deposited, or the purpose of disbursements; separate ledger sheets were not maintained for each security deposit; deficit spending existed; and a shortage was present in both accounts. The shortages appear to have been attributed to the former bookkeeper who was arrested and charged with felonious embezzlement. Lyrubec Properties has brought its trust accounts into compliance with Commission rules and the shortages have been funded. The Commission previously reprimanded Lyrubec Properties in 2013 for trust account related issues.
AUDRA L. MELTON (Raleigh) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Ms. Melton for a period of 43 months effective November 30, 2017. The Commission found that Ms. Melton self-reported December 10, 2015, convictions of misdemeanor DUI and felonious Homicide by Vehicle while DUI, in Pennsylvania court. Ms. Melton was incarcerated for 18 months and released on parole. Ms. Melton has returned to North Carolina, is on supervised probation through June 30, 2021, and is unable to restore her driving privileges until December of 2020. Ms. Melton’s broker license has been inactive since July 1, 2014.
S K GOODMAN INC (Huntersville) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded S K Goodman, Inc. effective February 1, 2019. The Commission found that Goodman’s qualifying broker and broker-in-charge supervised a provisional broker who acted as listing agent for a commercial property on which a residential house was located. The owner of the property was living in the house at the time of the listing and told the provisional broker that city water and sewer served the property. Without independently verifying that the property was connected to city sewer, the provisional broker advertised the subject property in the MLS as being connected. After closing on the property, the buyer discovered a septic tank on the premises and the city informed the buyer that the property was connected to city water but not city sewer.
SELLING SOLUTIONS REAL ESTATE (Fayetteville) – By Consent, the Commission permanently revoked the firm license of Selling Solutions Real Estate effective July 31, 2019. The Commission found that Selling Solutions managed a residential property and disbursed rent proceeds to the property owner without receiving a rent payment from the tenants, causing deficit spending. Selling Solutions was unable to produce all financial trust account documents requested by the Commission. A review of Selling Solutions Real Estate’s trust account records found that: deposit slips, checks, and bank statements were not labeled “trust” or “escrow”; cancelled checks failed to identify the purpose for disbursement; deposit tickets failed to identify the purpose of the monies deposited, the date of the deposit, or the remitter; ledger sheets failed to identify to whom disbursements were paid; there was a lack of an audit trail; and that deficit spending was occurring. Selling Solutions Real Estate failed to provide all leases and management agreements to the Commission and disbursed funds from the Tenant Security Deposit account prior to the tenant vacating the subject property and in an amount more than collected, leading to a shortage.
LOUELLA M. VENABLE (Raleigh) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Ms. Venable for a period of 12 months effective November 1, 2018. Two months of the suspension were active with the remainder stayed on certain conditions. Ms. Venable agreed not to act as or become a broker-in-charge and not to engage in property management for a period of five years from the effective date of this order. The Commission found that Ms. Venable was qualifying broker and broker-in-charge of a property management firm when the Commission cancelled its license on December 20, 2017. Prior to securing a tenant, Ms. Venable did not have a signed property management agreement with a potential owner-client. Ms Venable, however, provided a signed property management agreement to the Commission during its investigation. Without the potential owner-client’s knowledge or authorization, Ms. Venable used DocuSign to sign the potential client’s name on the property management agreement and provided it to the Commission. Ms. Venable collected $2,125 in management fees despite not having a signed property management agreement with the owner-client. Ms. Venable failed to maintain the firm’s trust accounts and records in compliance with Commission rules.
CHERYL CUNNINGHAM WARREN (Charlotte) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Ms. Warren for a period of 24 months effective June 14, 2019. Six months of the suspension are active with the remaining 18 months stayed for a probationary period of two years from December 14, 2019 until December 13, 2021. Ms. Warren may not act as a broker-in-charge for a period of five years from the effective date, must disclose the trust account violations to the new acting broker-in-charge, and must not have control over the firm’s trust account during this period. The Commission found in a review of the firm’s two trust accounts that: deposit slips were not designated “trust” or “escrow”; cancelled checks failed to identify the property or owner; bank disbursement transactions failed to identify the purpose for the disbursement; ledgers failed to identify the owner and tenant, the purpose of the monies deposited, or the purpose of disbursements; separate ledger sheets were not maintained for each security deposit; deficit spending existed; and a shortage was present in both accounts. The shortages appear to have been attributed to the former bookkeeper who was arrested and charged with felonious embezzlement. The firm has brought its trust accounts into compliance with Commission rules and the shortages have been funded. The Commission previously reprimanded the firm in 2013 for trust account related issues.