Georgia Real Estate Commission GREC RENEWS Volume 2, Issue 2 February 2006 2006 Dates to Note February 14, 2006 Trust Account Class Metro South Board of Realtors 770-477-7579 March 8, 2006 Trust Account Class Greater Rome Board of Realtors 706-295-1727 April 25, 2006 Trust Account Class Statesboro Board of Realtors 912-489-7355 GREC Disciplinary Sanctions INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Significant Changes 1 Simulations 2 Focus on Terminology: "Simulation Based Training" Georgia Real Estate Commission Suite 1000, International Tower 229 Peachtree Street N.E. Atlanta, GA 30303-1605 2005 The Year in Review: Recent Changes to the Rules and Regulations The following is a summary of recent changes to the Rules and Regulations of the Georgia License Law. Not all modifications are mentioned in the following list. The underlined Rule title is a link to the actual wording of the ruling as it was modified and adopted. Please refer to the actual document for further clarification on any issue. Effective January 1, 2005 520-1-.04 and .10 Licensure and Brokerage. Amended Modifies the application requirements for licensure regarding criminal history reports. Requires a licensee preparing or signing a brokerage engagement or an offer to purchase, sell, lease, or exchange real property to include the six digit license number issued by the Commission of each firm and of each licensee participating in the transaction. Effective February 3, 2005 520-1-.09 and .11 Licensure and Brokerage. Amended Defines "media" to include all forms of advertising including the Internet. Stipulates that the real estate firm name must be of equal or greater size than any licensee's name and that firm phone numbers must be in advertising. Re-states and clarifies advertising requirements of licensees acting as principals. Effective May 22, 2005 520-2 Real Estate Education Clarifies school approval requirements and modifies the requirements for Instructor approvals. Clarifies limits on recruiting in the school or classroom. Effective June 28, 2005 520-1-.04, and.09 Licensure and Brokerage. Amended Clarifies the requirements and relative size print of the licensee's name and firm phone numbers in advertising. Stipulates issues regarding veterans' preference points in applications for licensure. Effective June 28, 2005 520-1-.04, .05, and .11 Licensure and Brokerage. Amended Rewords and stipulates that licensees must give written notification to their broker when acting as a principal in a real estate transaction. Clarifies veterans' preference issues and postlicense requirements for in-state and out-of-state licensees. Effective February 1, 2006 520-2-.04 Real Estate Education. Amended. Requires that prelicense courses include instruction in the understanding of, detection of, and reporting of mortgage fraud. 1 Georgia Real Estate Commission Suite 1000, International Tower 229 Peachtree Street N.E. Atlanta, GA 30303-1605 You can sign up to receive the GREC RENEWS electronic newsletter each month by visiting the GREC website or CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP RENews Newsletter Comments or Suggestions Click Here GREC Volume 2, Issue 2 February 2006 Georgia Broker Qualifying Examination Will be Simulation Based Beginning March 1, 2006, the broker exam will test in a new format. Although the exam will continue to be primarily multiple-choice questions, it will contain simulation-based questions. Simulations focus more on information gathering and decision making exercises using case studies. (A more detailed description of Simulation Based Training is in the Focus On Terminology section of this issue of GREC RENews.) While the course content for the broker prelicense curriculum has not changed, real estate schools will likely change the methods of instruction to focus on real life situations dealt with by Brokers. To become familiar with simulations, licensees can access simulation training exercises from the Education Section of the Commission's website at http://www.grec.state.ga.us/ or go directly to the online Simulations Website at http://www.goamp.com/PRODUCTS/REPsimtests.htm. Focus on Terminology: "Simulation Based Training" Simulation based training incorporates the analysis of case studies of specific situations. Branching Simulations allow users to control their path through a scenario. After reading the described situation, the user progresses through the simulation based upon the choices made in each section. The next set of questions branches in a different path depending upon the previous answer(s) the user selected. As a training tool, simulations are like case studies allowing participants to see the consequences of their decisions in a no-risk environment. This freedom to choose allows learners to explore different paths leading to a deeper understanding of the material. Therefore, testing by simulation should give a more accurate indication of the examinee's understanding of the subject matter. There are two types of questions in the simulation exercise: Information Gathering questions and Decision Making questions. Broker candidates and all licensees can practice simulations that are accessible from the Commission's web site. Information Gathering (IG): Questions to determine what information the licensee considers necessary to make a decision. Decision Making (DM): Questions requiring a decision based upon the information the licensee considered necessary. Other Links for Legislative Updates Do-Not-Call Rules Georgia Do Not Call: www.ganocall.com: Federal FTC Do Not Call: http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall/ FACTA Safeguarding Consumer Credit Information & Records disposal http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/11/factadisposal.htm Bills in The General Assembly & Legislator's Contact Information http://www.legis.state.ga.us/ 2