Many real estate agents have contacted me expressing great concern about a list of proposed changes to the South Carolina Real Estate Licensee Statute found in South Carolina Code §40-57-105(1). I have reviewed the offering and find many legal issues with each provision. (I will address the issues in a later post).
The proposed changes were:
- A BIC or PMIC shall be responsible for reviewing and approving all advertising and marketing materials of associated licensees and teams to assure compliance with the requirements of South Carolina Code of Laws Title 40 Chapter 57
- Associated Licensees and teams shall not advertise or conduct regular business at an office location other than the one under which their license is affiliated.
- Licensees must identify the first and last name under which their license is issued when advertising as a real estate salesperson, broker or property manager in any medium.
- Team members must be affiliated under the same office established under a BIC. Wherever a team name is identified in marketing real estate services, the name of the brokerage office under which the team members are affiliated must also be identified prominently and visibly in the immediate proximity of the team name.
- A BIC shall regularly review office policy manuals with associated licensees. If teams are allowed by a brokerage under the office policy, the office policy manual shall address teams and team marketing requirements.
- A BIC shall conduct(biennial/quarterly) in-person meetings with all associated licensees in which office policies and SC license law compliance are addressed. Dates of meetings, agendas, and sign in sheets shall be maintained by the BIC for five years.
On September 26, the South Carolina Association of REALTORS sent an email to licensed brokers asking for comments on the 6 proposed changes. According to the email the Real Estate Commission Task Force was planning to adopt these new regulations by October 11.
Don’t fret . . . just yet.
According to my sources at the Real Estate Commission, these proposals were nothing more than rough ideas that were under consideration and were not intended to be vetted or presented to the legislature until 2020. Apparently someone leaked the list to the Association prematurely. My sources also confirm that the task force is still working on many ideas which may or may not make the final cut.
Instead of needlessly complaining to the Task Force about these problematic provisions that are not final, we could better utilize resources and provide our own list of proposals. Perhaps this is something the Central Carolina REALTORS Association (CCRA) contract committee could undertake. As you will recall it was the work of that committee that was instrumental in stopping the second Seller Disclosure Form that was proving to be disastrous.
BLAIR CATO would like to thank everyone who attended our South Carolina Military Family Care Association event on September 19. Together with your help we raised $18,500 for the organization that helps service members and their families who are facing a financial crisis. To date we have donated almost $70,000 to this great organization!
We also would like to thank our wonderful co-sponsors who helped make the event wonderful. Sponsors were: Great Southern Homes, Executive Construction Homes, Clark’s Pest Control, 2-10 Home Buyer’s Warranty, Lamplighter Insurance, Giles Insurance Brokers, Cool Care Heating & Air, Zerorez, Guild Mortgage, Movement Mortgage, Lending Path Mortgage, Mortgage Network, Palmetto Mortgage Group, Consolidated Multiple Listing Service, KW Beverage and Southeastern Insurance Consultants.