The North Carolina General Assembly’s recent session resulted in changes to laws affecting real estate and real estate brokers, including the following:
Effective June 27:
□ An amendment of the Planned Community and Condo Act requires the Commission to revise the Residential Property Disclosure Statement (“RPDS”) to provide for seller disclosure of a Homeowners Association (“HOA”) and restrictive covenants, to create a separate form to disclose certain information about the HOA, and to publish a brochure about restrictive covenants – all by December 1, 2012. The rulemaking to revise the RPDS is well underway. For more information, visit the Commission’s Web site, www.ncrec.gov, and click on “Rule Changes”.
Effective October 1
□ The creation of the Commercial Real Estate Broker Lien Act enables a broker to obtain a lien on property for commissions earned in commercial real estate transactions.
□ Amendments to the Real Estate License Law authorize attorneys licensed in North Carolina to deposit disputed earnest money with the clerk of Superior Court, just as brokers can now do.
Effective January 1, 2012
Changes to the Real Estate License Law:
□ Clarify a broker’s duty with regard to closing statements, their review for accuracy by the broker, and the requirement of the broker to notify all parties to the closing of any errors.
□ Clarify the criminal offenses and disciplinary actions by other occupational licensing boards for which a licensee can be disciplined.
□ Clarify the definition of a “bank” (in which a broker may deposit trust money) as a federally insured depository institution lawfully doing business in the state which agrees to make its records of the broker’s account available for inspection by the Commission’s representatives.
□ Allow brokers who do not/did not complete all 90 hours of postlicensing courses to remain licensed or be reinstated on inactive status until the requirements for returning to active status are satisfied.
□ Clarify the circumstances when attorneys, trusts and housing authorities are exempt from real estate licensing requirements.
This article came from the October 2011-Vol42-2 edition of the bulletin.