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Real Estate Commission Meeting September 2021
The September Real Estate Commission meeting was held via Zoom and was well attended with approximately 35 stakeholders (Designated Brokers, Branch Managers, brokers, schools and REALTOR Associations) in attendees not including staff and commissioners. While the live Commission meetings have some advantages the Zoom meetings allow folks from all over the state to participate.
New Commissioner: Welcome to the new RE Commissioner, Ruth Macias, from East Wenatchee. And we should have one more Commissioner by the December meeting bringing the commission to its full quota of 6 members.
Exam results: Passing exam scores for Managing Brokers have plummeted. Agents seem to be challenged with the new format. DoL will be contacting the exam provider to find out where the applicants are having most problems.
Renewals and fingerprints: For new licensees who must get fingerprinted DoL suggests they get their fingerprints done as soon as they schedule their exam. That way DoL should have the exam results and fingerprint/background checks about the same time.
Why do you need to do fingerprints every six years? It’s not just the fingerprint check. It is also a background check done by the Washington State Patrol. The only way DoL can find out if a licensee has committed a crime is by having the fingerprints and background check done on a regular basis. And under federal law DoL cannot keep fingerprints.
New fees: The new fees went into effect the first of September.
New items: The issue of the Managing Broker title came up again including when it is needed and the abuse of the title. Also, the Assumed Name requirement. A work group will be addressing these issues
Looking forward to the December meeting!