October 2011 Volume 7 Issue 10 GREC RENews MMoonntthllyyNNeewwslseltetetrteorf of thethGe eGoerogrgiaiaRReeaal EstEastetatCeoCmommmisisssiioon Calendar GREC Brokerage Course & HU Trust Accounts Class Dates: UH October 26 &27, 2011 Atlanta Board http://www.abr.org November 16 & 17, 2011 West GA Board www.westgaboard.org November 29 & 30, 2011 Southwest GA Board (229)377-8986 December 14 & 15, 2011 GIRE http://www.learning realestate.com Common Violations Class HU Dates: U October 19, 2011 400 North Board Dawsonville, GA (706) 216-5229 October 26, 2011 Paulding Board (678) 663-6387 November 2, 2011 East Metro Board 770-787-3763 GREC Annual Schools Meeting December 1 & 2, 2011 Athens, GA Click here to see GREC Disciplinary Sanctions Georgia Real Estate Commission Suite 1000 International Tower 229 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30303-1605 Phone 404-656-3916 Clipart from MicrosoftTM Office You must have a an active real estate license to perform Property Management services. This Issue: Facts on Property Management P.1 Trends in Licenses & Violations P.1 Checking Your Education P.2 Focus on Terminology P.2 Cold, Hard, Facts Every Licensee Should Know About Property Management Managing property in Georgia is a real An individual licensee cannot rent estate brokerage activity that requires out personal property without the a real estate license, whether done by knowledge and supervison of a company or an individual. his/her Broker. Property Management includes the A principal/owner (individual or leasing of homes for rent. A company) may manage his/her own salesperson who wants to lease a properties without a license but not house for a client must conduct this anyone else's property. activity through the brokerage firm Anyone can file a formal complaint that holds his or her license. against an unlicensed person or An individual licensee managing entity performing property properties for others must give management without a license security deposits and rental payments The Commission issues a Cease to his/her broker for deposit. and Desist order to unlicensed Security deposits and rental payments individuals or companies providing must be deposited in a firms' Trust Property Management services Account registered with the without a license. Fines can be Commission levied for violating the order. Trends in Licenses and Violations At a recent meeting of the Education Advisory Committee of the There are 90,115 real estate licensees Georgia Real Estate Commission, Real Estate Commissioner William in Georgia. (Three years ago, in 2008, there were 105,000 licensees, which is Rogers, Jr. presented information a decrease of 14,885 licensees.) regarding the decline in the number of About 76% of licensees are currently licensees renewing their licenses and on Active status the most common violations. The 23% of licenses are on Inactive status following statistics are as of Over the past 18 months, 7,910 September 1, 2011. licensees have chosen not to renew ... continued on page Page 1 H Enroll Now Free GREC CE Courses Online 1. "Avoiding Trust Account Trouble" 2. "Being a Broker & Staying Out of Trouble" 3. "Practicing Real Estate & Staying Out of Trouble" Click Here GREC RENews October 2011, Volume 7 Issue 10 TTrreennddss iinn LLiicceennsseess aanndd VViioollaattiioonnss...... ...continued from page 1 their licenses. (This is an average of 439 per month.) There are about 5,000 licensed Appraisers in Georgia, and the number is decreasing at about 30 per month. Those applicants seeking to obtain a real estate license have also declined, averaging about 300 per month. In consideration of market conditions, a decrease in these numbers is not surprising. However, because of the decline in numbers and related fees to be received by the Commission, the Georgia Real Estate Commission is strongly focused on efficiency in operations. Over the last year, Commissioner Rogers has implemented procedures to speed up case investigations and the disciplinary process. As of October 3 2011, over 900 cases have been processed this year. Many recent violations concern Property Management. Property Management Violations: The many recent violations concerning Property Management fall into two categories: 1. Licensees conducting Property Management activities without following the License Laws, Rules, and Regulations. 2. Non-licensed individuals performing Property Mangement activities for another party. To sign up to HU receive the GREC RENewsletter Click Here U Comments or HU Suggestions Click Here U GREC FAQ: www.grec.state.ga.us How can I find out what courses and education hours are posted to my license? From the GREC web site at www.grec.state.ga.us, start by selecting the Agents/Firms drop down tab on the left of the screen. Select Online Services System Proceed to Online Services System Enter your License number and password. (Folow the instructions to create a password if you have not done so already.) Individual course names, completion dates, number of credit hours, and the School name are listed in reverse chronological order. If you completed a specific course that is not listed, you should contact the school where you took the course to have the school post the course to your record. (You can also update your email address or change your mailing address through the Online Services System.) Georgia Real Estate Commission Suite 1000 International Tower 229 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30303-1605 Phone 404-656-3916 Focus on Terminology: "Property Management" 43-40-1. Definitions GA Code 43-40-1 Definitions (7) "Property management services" means the provision, for a valuable consideration, to another of marketing, including referring prospective tenants; leasing; physical, administrative, or financial maintenance; and overall management of real property; or supervision of the foregoing activities for another pursuant to a property management agreement." You must have an active real estate license to perform Property Management services and receive a fee. Page 2