Real Estate Salesperson Delaware State

Delaware Real Estate Salesperson

Key Concepts

Purpose, powers, and composition

• Primary objective (§ 2900(a)): to protect the general public — specifically those who are direct recipients of regulated services — from unsafe practices and from occupational practices that tend to reduce competition or fix the price of services. All other objectives are secondary.
• Secondary objectives (§ 2900(b)): maintain minimum standards of licensee competency and certain standards in the delivery of services to the public.
• How the Commission meets its objectives (§ 2900(c)): develops competence standards, monitors complaints, adjudicates at formal hearings, promulgates rules and regulations, and imposes sanctions against licensees and nonlicensees providing real estate services.
• Rulemaking authority: 24 Del. C. § 2906(a)(1), under which the Commission adopts its Rules and Regulations (Admin. Code 2900, 1.1.1).
• Member disqualification (§ 2903(f)): a member subject to a disciplinary hearing is disqualified from Commission business until the charge is adjudicated or the matter otherwise concluded.
• Neglect of duty (§ 2903(g)): a member absent without adequate reason for 3 consecutive meetings, or who fails to attend at least 1/2 of all regular business meetings in a calendar year, is guilty of neglect of duty.
• Officers (§ 2904(a)): Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary each serve 1 year and may not succeed themselves in the same office.
• Continuing education audits (§ 2906(a)(7)): the Commission may perform random audits of CE credits submitted for renewal.
• Unlicensed practice (§ 2906(a)(13)): the Commission may issue cease-and-desist orders and impose fines for unlicensed practice, in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act. (See also § 2901(b): unlicensed practice subjects a person to 29 Del. C. § 10161.)

Investigations, hearings, and appeals

Exam: Real Estate Salesperson — Delaware State

Key Concepts

Activities requiring a license

• No person shall engage in the practice of providing real estate services, or hold himself or herself out to the public in this State as being qualified to practice the same, unless duly licensed under the chapter (24 Del.C. §2901(a)). Negotiating the lease of real estate for others for compensation falls within real estate services requiring licensure (§2901(a) and §2902(a)).
• A person practicing without proper licensure is in violation of the chapter and subject to §10161 of Title 29 (§2901(b)).
• No brokerage organization, corporation, partnership or other business entity shall be licensed under the chapter; the organization may provide real estate services if it has a broker responsible for those services (§2901(c)).

Exemptions (§2901(e))

• Persons acting as attorney in fact under a duly executed power of attorney from a person engaged in a real estate transaction, authorizing final consummation by performance of any agreement of sale, leasing or exchange of real estate (§2901(e)(2)).
• Owners/lessors/buyers/lessees acting on their own property, and their regular employees (§2901(e)(1)); attorneys-at-law, receivers, trustees in bankruptcy, administrators, executors, persons selling under court order (§2901(e)(3)); auctioneers as defined in §2301(a)(3) of Title 30 (§2901(e)(4), and Rule 1.4.1 — exemption "shall only apply to the day of the auction"); providers of property management services (§2901(e)(5)).

Types of licenses (§2902(a))

• Salesperson — holds a salesperson license from the Commission and is licensed under a broker to sell, buy, negotiate the purchase, sale, auction or exchange of real estate, or to lease, rent or negotiate leases for others (§2902(a)(23)).
• Associate broker — holds an associate broker license and is licensed under a broker to perform real estate services (§2902(a)(1)).
• Broker — responsible for providing real estate services and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management and supervision of a brokerage organization (§2902(a)(2)).
• Designated on-site supervisor — a licensee with at least 5 years of continuous real estate services experience appointed full-time supervisor of a branch office (§2902(a)(11); Rule 1.3.3).

Key Concepts

Handling of monies (escrow) - Every broker shall establish and maintain an escrow account in a federally insured banking institution which has offices within the State (24 Del.C. §2923(a)); the broker shall be a signatory on each escrow account (§2923(a)(2)). - Escrow deposits accepted by a licensee shall be accepted in the name of the brokerage organization unless the parties have agreed to a different third-party escrow agent (§2923(c)). - Deposit must occur within 72 hours of the signing of the written agreement by all parties, or by the dates defined therein, excluding weekends and federal holidays (§2923(d)). - Books, records, written agreements and other necessary documents must be accessible at the broker's approved place of business and open to inspection or audit by the Commission and its duly authorized agents during regular business hours (§2923(e)). - Records of moneys received or escrowed must be retained at least 3 years (Rule 6.3). Interest accruing on escrowed money belongs to the owner or owners of the funds unless otherwise stated in the agreement of sale or lease (Rule 6.6). - A licensee shall not accept a postdated check or draft, nor a photocopy, facsimile or other copy of a personal check, as a good faith or earnest money deposit, unless agreed to in writing by the parties (Rule 6.2).

Handling of documents - Every party must be furnished a copy when the party signs or initials it, and a fully executed copy after all parties have signed; the licensee must deliver the fully executed copy within a reasonable length of time (Rule 8.4.1).

Key Concepts

Unit Property Act (Title 25, Ch. 22) - Each unit plus its proportionate undivided interest in the common elements is real property for all purposes (§ 2204). - No declaration, declaration plan, or code of regulations — or amendment — is effective until duly recorded (§ 2225). - Declaration contents include the names of the first members of council (§ 2219(8)); the code of regulations must provide for the annual election by the council of a president, secretary and treasurer (§ 2208(5)). - The council makes, alters, amends and repeals the code of regulations, subject to the right of a majority of unit owners to change any such actions (§ 2207). Council members must be either residents of Delaware or unit owners, but need not be both (§ 2202(5)). - Council duties include maintaining a repair and replacement reserve (§ 2202(16)), fully funded (§ 2202(8)), subject to the phase-in in § 2245 (§ 2211(1)). - Voting: each owner gets votes equal to the percentage of ownership in the common elements assigned to the unit (§ 2217). Common profits are distributed and common expenses charged by that same percentage (§ 2216). - No owner may escape common-expense liability by waiver of use or abandonment (§ 2205). No owner may do work jeopardizing soundness or safety without unanimous consent of the unit owners affected (§ 2214). - Council has an easement to enter any unit to maintain/repair/replace common elements, and to repair units where reasonably necessary for public safety or to prevent damage (§ 2215). - Meetings are open to all unit owners, except portions reserved for consultations with legal counsel or personnel matters (§ 2241(b)). - Each unit and its interest is assessed and taxed as a separate parcel; the building, property and common elements are not separately taxed after recording (§ 2232). - Mechanics' liens from authorized common-element repairs are paid by the council as a common expense and, until paid, are liens against each unit in its proportionate percentage (§ 2235). - Voluntary sale: grantee is jointly and severally liable with grantor for unpaid assessments, but…