CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE UPDATE #11

RENEW ON-LINE

The Department of Real Estate has announced another innovation. You can now renew on-line using a credit card to pay your fees. Check it out. One advantage of doing your renewal in this manner is that your records are updated quickly. One caveat: The program will deny you access if you try to renew more than 90 days before your expiration date.

CHANGES TO LICENSING

A DRE Task Force is studying requirements for license qualifications. If you are now or ever going to contemplate getting a sales or broker license, do it now. A couple changes that are already "on the books" are that exams will be returning to live classes, instructors must meet State Established Criteria, and Real Estate Practice will be a required course to get a Sales License. Also, if you are now or ever going to consider getting a DRE course approved, be aware that the requirements are becoming more difficult as you read this. Exams have to be submitted for DRE critique, the course outline requirements for live courses have tripled, advertising is reviewed and disapproved, etc., etc., etc. If you have any questions or would like advise about getting a course approved for you group, call Duane Gomer personally.

We have thorough FAQ's and information about all the licensing requirements on our website at www.DuaneGomer.com. Be our guest and remember to contact us for any questions, comments or recommendations. Incidentally, we have a popular flyer, "6 Reasons To Get A Brokers License". Reason #1 is: How about this close, "Mr. & Mrs. Homeseller, you have been talking to the other companies. I have a Broker's license, which indicates more education and experience. Did any of my competitors continue their studies and get a Broker license?" Could this get you a listing sometime and increase your income?

THE CAR RPA (DEPOSIT RECEIPT)

In a previous e-mail, the changes being made to the CAR RPA-11 were discussed. The Area Edition RPA (used primarily in Northern California) and the RPA were "combined" into one RPA that was scheduled to be released on October 1, 2002. The two old forms were not to be printed or sold after that date.

There were some protests and a change of course by CAR was forthcoming. It was announced in September that the October 1st deadline would be abated and the old new RPA's would still be printed.

At the CAR Director meeting in October, an official vote was taken among all the directors. The outcome: The "old-Southern California RPA" will not be printed after January 1, 2003. This date now appears to be in cement. If you have been using the "old RPA", you better start asking questions about the "new RPA".

Neil Kalin, the CAR Legal guru and form aficionado, noted three major concepts in a recent informative meeting at the Orange County Association of Realtors. The three changes involve:

1. Active removal of Contingencies
2. Termite terms subject to negotiation
3. Commission details are no longer on the RPA

To better explain these changes, I talked to Bob Hunt about three recent columns he wrote for the Orange County Register. Bob is a fountain of useful information and these columns should be read by all brokers and managers and distributed to their associates. Also, the CAR Legal Hotline has some excellent information sources so check with them.

Renewal and Licensing Information

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