Topics for 2012-13 Update, BICAR Courses

“Green building,” permit requirements, and summary ejectment procedures will be the primary topics of the 2012-2013 Real Estate Update Course.

“Green building” will explore what is meant by the term, by whose definition, how it may be assessed, and its relative costs and benefits.  Related to building or renovating is the issue of permits and when they are required. General permitting requirements will be discussed and then applied to several different fact situations for licensees to determine if a permit might be required.

Consistent with the intent to include content relevant to property management, next year’s Update will provide an overview of the laws governing summary ejectment and the procedure for evicting tenants from and lawfully regaining possession of residential rental properties. These laws apply to all residential landlords and thus include brokers who either manage residential property for others or who own their own residential rental property. If pending legislation revising residential landlord-tenant law passes before September, then coverage of important aspects of that legislation will be included.

The Update Course will also touch briefly upon the following subjects: changes in Real Estate License Law and/or Commission rules impacting licensees, including the revised Residential Property Disclosure Statement, an alert about bid-rigging in foreclosure sales and recent real estate scams, and a discussion about a licensee’s duty of confidentiality to his/her principal.

2012-13 BICAR Course

Next year’s BICAR Course will feature a review of selected Commission disciplinary cases and address selected administrative and supervisory matters related to a broker-in-charge’s responsibilities, including various record retention requirements imposed by Real Estate License Law and rules as well as those of the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor or other governmental agencies regarding what documents must be kep, in what forms, and how long. A related topic will cover issues arising from “independent contractor” status including tax, civil liability, and agency law perspectives, as well as worker compensation matters.

Problem areas BICs encounter in supervising both their associated agents and the content of actual advertising will be discussed including examples from advertisements.

This article came from the May 2012-Vol43-1 edition of the bulletin.