|
Interpretations of Requirements |
|
|
|
May 28, 2004 ARKANSAS REALTORS® ASSOCIATION
AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
INTERPRETATIONS OF REQUIREMENTS 2010
(Originally approved by the ARA Board of Directors 2/16/00)
Addendum approval given by the ARA Board of Directors 6/15/04)
QUESTION NO. 1: A sales agent changed offices during this calendar year. While at office No. 1, seven
listings closed for a volume of $750,000. At office No. 2, four listings closed for a volume of $275,000.
Can the agent qualify for the Award for Excellence Bronze Level using the Listing category?
ANSWER NO. 1: Yes. The agent must fill out two separate applications, one for each respective office. Every
effort should be made to obtain the respective broker’s signature. If Broker No. 1 refuses to sign, the
applicant should inform the committee charged to certify the production by writing on the broker signature
line, “Broker refused to sign” and attach any support documentation available to help verify the
transactions in question.
The final burden of proof lies with the applicant, and the committee must rely heavily on brokers to verify
a transaction that was closed under his/her supervision.
COMMENT NO. 1: The accepted real estate contract contains the name of the listing agent as well as the
signature of the selling agent.
QUESTION NO. 2: An applicant has reported a transaction category that was a property purchased from a
known for-sale-by-owner. Should we certify this transaction toward the Award for Excellence?
ANSWER NO. 2: Yes. It must be assumed that it was closed under the direct supervision of the principal
broker. Arkansas real estate license law prohibits a sales agent from self-dealing. Thus if the applicant’s
broker will certify the transaction by signing the application, the committee will accept the transaction as a
closed sale without regard to commission.
COMMENT NO. 2: It is not the intent of the ARA to interfere with a broker’s office policy in such
matters, but to provide guidelines and recommendations to insure that the certifying process is uniform.
The local board’s committee may elect not to certify one or more transactions and in that instance the
applicant is provided with a means to appeal to the State committee and receive due process. In both cases,
the applicant must be willing to fully cooperate.
QUESTION NO. 3: In the Award for Excellence Bronze Level we have received an application in the
Listing category for a shared listing between two agents in the same firm. The listing was sold by one of
the listing agents. Is it correct that one agent has applied for 30% of the $100,000 that the home sold for,
equal to $30,000 of the volume, and the other agent is receiving 70% and $70,000 in the listing category?
ANSWER NO. 3: Yes. The split should be decided upon at the same time a division of the commission is
agreed to and approved by the principal broker. One must not “share credit” when no credit is due
another. Likewise, one may not accept for award application purposes credit not entitled to. A
recommended guideline is for the broker to make the determination based on the percent of listing
commission paid to each as well as the same percentages allocated for the portion of commission retained
by the office.
COMMENT NO. 3: The sales agent would receive 100% of the volume credit in the sales category
without regard to the allocation of the listing volume credit.
QUESTION NO. 4: In the Award for Excellence Bronze Level, we have received applications from one
of our Board’s top producers submitted on four different forms with the proper category circled at the top
of the application form for each category that includes listings, sales, volume and income. What should we
do to certify this applicant.
ANSWER NO. 4: Select only one category and certify it. An applicant need only submit transactions for
one category to be certified and recognized.
COMMENT NO. 4: Categories are not disclosed in the Awards recognition programs.
QUESTION NO. 5: My Board, which is one of the larger Boards, has a recognition program for its top
producers that has different criteria than the ARA awards program. Can our top producers also participate
in the ARA awards program?
ANSWER NO. 5: Yes, if the criteria of the Arkansas REALTORS® Association’s Award for Excellence
is used. See Question 10.
QUESTION NO. 6: In the Award for Excellence Bronze Level, an applicant has included a lease-option
transaction in the sales category application form. My local Board committee utilizes a report from our
MLS system to help in our verifying production. The property status was shown as “pending” in MLS. We
called the application to verify and were told that the company received compensation for arranging the
lease-option and felt justified in claiming credit for award purposes. Shall we certify this transaction?
ANSWER NO. 6: No. Credit for the listing and credit for the sale is not earned until the closing of the
transaction by deed or contract of sale.
COMMENT NO. 6: The applicant may be entitled to credit utilizing the leasing category or the income
category. The committee should notify the applicant accordingly, and the applicant given an opportunity to
re-submit selecting a different category.
QUESTION NO. 7: Our committee completed certifying our members’ applications within the time frame
that was published in our Board’s newsletter and also announced at two of our regular Board meetings.
Our executive office received another application the day after the information was submitted to ARA. We
worked long and hard to do this job and do it right and do it on time. Now we have a member that never
attends our meetings and probably doesn’t even read our newsletter that wants to apply after the deadline.
What must we do?
ANSWER NO. 7: You have a right to be frustrated and you have the right to reject the application. It is
ARA’s recommendation that this be a committee decision supported by the local Board of Directors and
officers. If the local committee decides to make an exception, then ARA must be contacted so you can be
advised of the status and get an extension for adding this member’s certified transactions to your Board’s
list of award recipients.
COMMENT NO. 7: You might consider asking this applicant to volunteer to serve the local Board next
year to certify applications.
QUESTION NO. 8: A listing was sold and closed by the listing agent after it expired. Should we allow
this transaction for the agent that has made application for an award in the listing category of the Bronze
Level?
ANSWER NO. 8: Yes. A signed listing or permission to show agreement is required to receive listing
credit just as a signed-by-selling-agent executed contract is required to receive sales credit.
COMMENT NO. 8: All agreements should be in writing based on real estate license law. If a listing
expired but a sale closed within a reasonable period of time, credit for award purposes would be allowed in
four of the five categories.
QUESTION NO. 9: In the Award for Excellence Bronze Level, one of our applicants serving as a Buyer’s
agent sold and closed a for-sale-by-owner property. Should we allow credit in the listing category for this
transaction?
ANSWER NO. 9: Yes. Credit would be allowed in the Listings, Sales, Volume or Income categories.
COMMENT NO. 9: The certifying committee must rely on MLS data, principal brokers and other
documentation as may be requested to certify the applications. The local certifying committee may request
to see a copy of the permission-to-show agreement.
QUESTION NO. 10: I am a member of a local Board that chooses not to participate in ARA’s Award for
Excellence program. I am a dues-paying member and feel I should have the opportunity to participate in
the ARA program, even though my Board does not. What should I do?
ANSWER NO. 10: Your application would need to be certified to the Arkansas REALTORS®
Association, using documentation supplied by you and your broker, using the guidelines and requirements
of the Arkansas REALTORS Association criteria. Your written request to have your application certified
and your statement that your local Board does not participate (naming your Board) must be included.
COMMENT NO. 10: Applications would be handled and processed in the same manner as those of
REALTOR® members outside the jurisdiction of a local Board. The ARA would be the local Board so the
full participation fee would be sent to ARA.
QUESTION NO. 11: In the Award for Excellence Bronze Level, a local Board rejected my application
to certify production based on the minimum number of transactions. I reported ten properties that closed
and attached a copy of the HUD settlement statement as evidence that I sold more than one lot to the same
buyer that closed at the same time. Why was my application rejected?
ANSWER NO. 11: The decision was based on the fact that a qualified transaction, for ARA award
purposes, is a closing and is not subjected to scrutiny of legal descriptions by the local Board’s certifying
committee.
COMMENT NO. 11: It is true that combining lot sales with one seller and one buyer on one real estate
contract to close at the same time saves all parties time and money. However, an accepted offer is
considered a transaction and when it closes, qualifies for one listing credit, one sales credit, or combined as
volume credit.
QUESTION NO. 12: I have a licensed assistant who works only for me and I pay her a salary. She does
not write contracts, list houses, or hold open houses. I do not pay her a percentage of any transaction
closed. Why then do I need to consider her and myself as a team?
ANSWER NO. 12: First of all, I have a question for you. Why is this person actively licensed? You could
place them on an inactive basis and they could reactivate should they decide to do real estate business.
However, if you are keeping her actively licensed so that she can quote prices or discuss financial details of
a particular property, thus allowing you more time to get back to a customer to keep from possibly losing
them, then she is enhancing your business and she would definitely be considered a part of your team.
QUESTION NO. 13: My office has a person that is actively licensed and answers the phone for all ten
agents in our office. She does quote prices, set appointments for individual agents, and take messages. She
does not list, sell, or hold open houses. She is an employee of the company, not the individual agents. Do
we have to consider all the agents in our office a team because of this licensed assistant?
ANSWER NO. 13: Since the person is an employee of the company and not an individual agent, this is not
a team concept. So the answer to the question is NO, she is not a team member.
QUESTION NO. 14: My entire office operates as a team, with separate specialty functions assigned to
each licensee. A percentage of each closing goes to everyone. Who is the team leader to get the
recognition?
ANSWER NO. 14: This is a company policy issue to be decided within the company.
QUESTION NO. 15: Jane Doe contracted with ABC Realty as an independent contractor. Jane then
hired Billy Blue as a licensed personal assistant to help with her workload. Under the agreement
between Jane and Billy, Billy’s pay comes from an agreed-upon percentage of Jane’s commission
income. From AREC regulations, this means Billy’s pay goes through the principal broker’s account.
Since the assistant is paid from the principal broker’s accounts and not Jane Doe, is the assistant still
part of Jane Doe’s team?
ANSWER NO. 15: Yes. The employment agreement is between Jane Doe and Billy Blue, not between
Billy Blue and ABC Realty.
QUESTION NO. 16: The biggest part of the year I worked my own listings on my own. But the workload
became too much, and in September I hired a licensed assistant to help me out so that I could maintain
the same quality of service to my clients and customers. The assistant is a “jack-of-all-trades” doing
everything from answering the phone to holding open houses, as needed. Three-fourths of my
income was prior to September when I was working alone. I don’t expect the real financial benefits
from having an assistant to kick in until next year. Do I apply for the Award for Excellence as an
Individual Applicant or a Team Applicant?
ANSWER NO. 16: This is your decision. If you use January to September only, you would apply as
“Individual.” If you add September through December, you would apply as “Team.”
QUESTION NO. 17: Under what circumstances would a “licensed assistant” NOT be a team member?
ANSWER NO. 17: Is employed by and paid by the company and not an individual agent, and assists all
agents equally.
QUESTION NO. 18: In case of questions or challenges, how does the local Board’s Award for Excellence
certification committee determine who is a “Team Applicant” and who is an “Individual Applicant”?
ANSWER NO. 18: In case of questions or challenges, the members of the Board’s certification committee
should be in a position to have been professionally associated with the applicant well enough o
determine whether the applicant is “Individual” or “Team”. The local committee should use its
collective experience and judgment.
(End of Interpretations of Requirements)
|
|
|
