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I am not familiar with the RE laws of Carolina, but most states there are two "tiers" or licensees. A Sales, or Associate Agent, and a Broker. Each office would have a Broker responsible for the deeds and actions of all of the licensees in that office. Sales people , and Brokers for that matter, require a certain amount of training to have the knowledge needed for the type of transactions they routinely deal with. If they are out of their depth in a particular situation, they need to find a Mentor or other experienced person to guide them. Certainly as someone responsible for Client funds, the daughter should have received some very specific training, and just as certainly should have known exactly what her responsibilities would be in the new position before accepting.
The consultation won't be 10k. It's still good advice to get a legal opinion before making decisions. Also, I did respond privately, bu as someone pointed out there are 3 issues. The first 2 are RE issues: is the approval of repairs not being done per the PMA, the second is the accounting, and the 3rd is the employer/employee relationship.
We can't have any guesses for the RE issues because we don't know what she was taught and what she is responsible for, and we won't because we weren't there to witness it. Also, I don't have access to contracts to know what she knew or should have known. If she was a manager, part of her responsibility could have been oversight of the Trust accounts. Yes, the book keeper made the mistake but that doesn't necessarily resolve the PMIC from responsibility.
The second part is the employer/employee relationship. We don't even know if she is an employee or an independant contractor. Should she be and can she be responsible for the 10k in unapproved repairs? I don't know. We don't have access to the PW and contracts.
That's why she should consult an attorney and go from there. I just know I wouldn't fork over 10k w/o figuring out some of those answers first.
The consultation won't be 10k. It's still good advice to get a legal opinion before making decisions. Also, I did respond privately, bu as someone pointed out there are 3 issues. The first 2 are RE issues: is the approval of repairs not being done per the PMA, the second is the accounting, and the 3rd is the employer/employee relationship.
We can't have any guesses for the RE issues because we don't know what she was taught and what she is responsible for, and we won't because we weren't there to witness it. Also, I don't have access to contracts to know what she knew or should have known. If she was a manager, part of her responsibility could have been oversight of the Trust accounts. Yes, the book keeper made the mistake but that doesn't necessarily resolve the PMIC from responsibility.
The second part is the employer/employee relationship. We don't even know if she is an employee or an independant contractor. Should she be and can she be responsible for the 10k in unapproved repairs? I don't know. We don't have access to the PW and contracts.
That's why she should consult an attorney and go from there. I just know I wouldn't fork over 10k w/o figuring out some of those answers first.
No way will she be forced to pay the 10K, that's someone fishing for free money!
The HOA needed the repairs/received the work so its not like she threw a 10K party for herself and the HOA didn't get any benefits.
I sold a commercial unit years ago and the new owner/ POA both inspected the unit prior to sale. It was a bare bones warehouse. New owner was trying to make it a fancy showroom and wanted the ceilings painted black to cover some surface rust on steel beams. So I get a certified letter from the POA asking me to pay for it. I showed it to my lawyer and the lawyer laughed saying they were "fishing for free money!" He said a demand letter wasn't going to be enough.
Response was: Unit was inspected by both parties and found to be acceptable prior to the purchase so any alterations post sale are solely responsibility of the current owner and/or the POA.
I guess I should add that the REC views not representing the client properly and mismanaging a trust account as major infractions that could result in fines and/or the license being revoked, if any of the rental owners file a complaint and the REC investigates. While I defer to the attorney still, resolving this trust account issues and making sure the property owners are happy will be in the best interest of the PM company and the young lady.
It could be if she is determined to be at fault for both and she wants to continue working the RE field, the 10k lesson may be the better long term alternative than dealing with the REC. This is obviously a very serious situation and should be treated as such, and not just because of the dollar amount involved. Unfortunately, most lessons in RE tend to be expensive. If it can be mediated to a peaceful resolution b/n the company and the employee it's going to be the better outcome, IMO.
FWIW, from the info provided, I think the company owner and bookkeeper, or whoever is responsible for the oversight, shares at least some of the blame here and should probably cover some or all of the losses, but since I only one sided info and more questions than answers, I am not comfortable making a recommandation other than speak to an attorney.
I guess I should add that the REC views not representing the client properly and mismanaging a trust account as major infractions that could result in fines and/or the license being revoked, if any of the rental owners file a complaint and the REC investigates. While I defer to the attorney still, resolving this trust account issues and making sure the property owners are happy will be in the best interest of the PM company and the young lady.
It could be if she is determined to be at fault for both and she wants to continue working the RE field, the 10k lesson may be the better long term alternative than dealing with the REC. This is obviously a very serious situation and should be treated as such, and not just because of the dollar amount involved. Unfortunately, most lessons in RE tend to be expensive. If it can be mediated to a peaceful resolution b/n the company and the employee it's going to be the better outcome, IMO.
FWIW, from the info provided, I think the company owner and bookkeeper, or whoever is responsible for the oversight, shares at least some of the blame here and should probably cover some or all of the losses, but since I only one sided info and more questions than answers, I am not comfortable making a recommandation other than speak to an attorney.
Make these mistakes in NC, and the best route is to engage an attorney who has a record of representing licensees with infractions in disciplinary inquiries and is on good terms with the Commission.
NOT a cowboy who will stumble around, saber rattle, and generally ignorantly rile things up needlessly.
And, the licensee does better when they lay their cards on the table humbly and openly and provides all requested information.
The ones who do the worst in these circumstances ignore letters, get cranky with Commission members, or deny all charges as if they are being persecuted.
I want to thank you all for your responses. We’ve read them all. I will definitely let you all know the outcome and fill you in on other details that you are inquiring about. Hopefully we’ll know more by end of week.
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