BRUCE CAGENELLO – ‘Much more interesting’
Real estate professionals going through their mandatory continuing education requirements over the next two years will notice some changes that members of the Connecticut Real Estate Commission hope will help them better serve their customers.
June 1 marked the beginning of the newest two-year continuing education cycle, in which real estate salespeople and brokers must complete 12 hours of coursework or pass a written exam. The commission is hopeful that changes to two mandatory classes will make Realtors’ education more up-to-date and interesting.
The commission decided last week that courses in Connecticut law and fair housing and Connecticut agency would no longer be mandatory. Real estate salespeople must finish their continuing education requirements by May 2008, and brokers must finish by March 2008.
The courses will be replaced by two three-hour courses called Current Issues in Real Estate I and II, which will cover 11 objectives such as new legislation and court cases.
“This came about as a result of lots of suggestions by lots of licensees,” said Bruce Cagenello, chairman of the commission.
Cagenello asked University of Connecticut professor Katherine Pancak to head an education committee to decide if the suggestions warranted a change to the courses. Pancak and others on the committee asked real estate professionals across the state for advice, and came up with topics the new courses should cover.
The courses will not only cover more topics, but their outlines encourage more case studies and discussions.
“It’s just going to be so much more interesting,” Cagenello said.
The courses may look at disciplinary cases, as well as case studies, Pancak said.
“We feel like that’s a really good way for people to learn,” she said.
In the past, the courses have not been changed and updated enough. The outline of the new mandatory courses will require that to happen, Pancak said.
“It’s an evolving course,” she said.
Course Breakdowns
Current Issues in Real Estate I will include information on the broker/salesperson relationship, agency representation, misrepresentation/nondisclosure, advertising and broker lien rights. The second course will emphasize fair housing, offers and contracts, deposits, electronic signatures, commercial real estate and a legislative and court case update.
The broker/salesperson relationship section of the first course will emphasize state statutes which say that only a broker can enter into a real estate transaction for a client, that salespeople work on behalf of brokers and that salespeople cannot engage in the real estate business independent of the broker for whom they work. It also will teach licensees that a compensation rebate can be given to a licensed broker or salesperson, but not to an unlicensed buyer or seller, among other information.
The section on agency representation will teach that agency agreements must be in writing with a broker and that a written agency agreement creates a client-principal agency relationship. It also will emphasize that salespeople working for a broker represent the clients of the broker.
The section on misrepresentation and nondisclosure will teach that an agent must disclose a material fact that is sufficiently significant to influence an individual into acting in a certain way, such as entering into a real estate contract, and that an agent can be liable for fraudulent or intentional misrepresentation, including negligent or innocent misrepresentation. The course also emphasizes that facts related to whether a death or felony occurred on property, or whether a property occupant ever had a disease listed by the public health commissioner, are not considered to be material and not required to be disclosed unless specifically asked for in writing.
The advertising section will define advertising as all communication meant to solicit the real estate business of the public, including online communication, and emphasize that all advertisements must include the name of the broker. Salespeople cannot advertise listed property only in their name. It also will teach licensees that a broker must obtain permission to advertise property listed with another broker. Advertising of real estate listed with another broker must state that the real estate is not listed with the advertised broker.
The section on broker lien rights will talk about statutes that say a real estate broker can file a lien on property for compensation owed in connection with a real estate transaction and that a broker’s authorized agent can sign and file the lien on behalf of the broker. Salespersons cannot claim a lien without broker authorization.
The fair housing section of the second course will include a review of fair housing in laws, and in particular protected classes in Connecticut and a review of discriminatory housing practices.
The section on offers and contracts will include information on presenting multiple offers, will emphasize that buyer agents have the right to be present when their offer is presented to a seller and that contract addendums must be executed to be enforceable.
The section on deposits will emphasize that a broker must keep deposit money in a separate escrow account, that the deposit money must be placed in the account within three business days of the signing of the purchase-and-sale contract and that the escrow account must be an interest-bearing account, with interest being paid to the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (unless a separate interest-bearing account is set up for a client).
The section covering electronic signatures will cover the Electronic Records and Signature in Commerce Act and the Connecticut Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.
The commercial real estate section will cover that the real estate licensing laws, in general, apply to both residential and commercial real estate transactions. There are a handful of differences between brokerage practices, when commercial real estate is involved, which needs to be discussed. It also will address working with out-of-state brokers, broker liens and timing of agency disclosure.
The section on legislative and court cases will cover recent legislation and court cases affecting the practice of real estate in Connecticut. Over the two-year cycle, that course material must be kept up to date.
Members of the education advisory committee that recommended the changes were Cagenello; Pancak; Lana Ogrodnik, a Connecticut real estate commissioner; Eugene Marconi of the Connecticut Association of Realtors; John Sable of Prudential Connecticut Realty; Barbara Fairfield of Dynamic Directions; Laureen Rubino of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection; Bunny Kyle of the Professional Valuation and Real Estate School; and Christopher Ashe of Coach Unlimited.
