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Update: Thanks for all the input, I decided to just ask my boss rather than pay for an attorney to tell me what he should. He understood my concerns and assured me that I could do the BPO's just as long as he looked them over first and that if I was worried about it I could just put his name on it as well. He also assured me that its ok to pay me commissions from his personal listings and the Fannie maes since I work on those for him and just not anything that he gets from the other agents as those arent his listings and I dont do any work on them that paying me commissions on those would be wrong and thats why he doesnt do that.
...assured me that I could do the BPO's just as long as he looked them over first and that if I was worried about it I could just put his name on it as well. ...
Why have your name on them at all? I did not see any special exception that would allow an unlicensed person to provide price opinions if reviewed by a broker.
"Why have your name on them at all? I did not see any special exception that would allow an unlicensed person to provide price opinions if reviewed by a broker."
what you say makes sense. I am beginning to think he wants to "review" them only to put his name on them. Any insight into if he can pay me commissions?
...what you say makes sense. I am beginning to think he wants to "review" them only to put his name on them. Any insight into if he can pay me commissions?
Commissions resulting from a real estate transaction can only be paid to a licensed person. It really depends on how your broker is classifying the payment. If it's treated as some sort of bonus for your work unrelated to sales, then it may be OK. If you are just handling the transaction paperwork, it may also be OK. If it's tied to your participation in a sale, then probably not.
Again, I'm not a lawyer, I'm just providing my view based on my understanding of what's acceptable.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rjrcm
Commissions resulting from a real estate transaction can only be paid to a licensed person. It really depends on how your broker is classifying the payment. If it's treated as some sort of bonus for your work unrelated to sales, then it may be OK. If you are just handling the transaction paperwork, it may also be OK. If it's tied to your participation in a sale, then probably not.
Again, I'm not a lawyer, I'm just providing my view based on my understanding of what's acceptable.
Agreed. When I had unlicensed folks working for me, I made their Christmas bonus based on the number of transactions we did during the year. They got paid their regular wages bi-monthly and their compensation for Christmas was W-2 wages.
I also think that your name shouldn't appear anywhere on your BPO's.
I looked through AZ's real estate law and couldn't find anything much about unlicensed assistants other than that it is a "class 5 felony" to perform any acts which require a license. But I couldn't find a list anywhere of what those activities are.
But I would be surprised if it is legal in any state to pay a commission to an unlicensed person. I agree with rjrcm that they might be getting around it by paying you a normal, taxed bonus whenever they close a transaction.
And I would be very surprised if it is legal for an unlicensed person to put their name on a BPO. But if done correctly, you could do the majority of the work for them. You could pull the comps, take the photos, and if there was a chart of adjustments, you could fill in the blanks. Then have the broker look it over and sign his name to it approving it, and you would probably be fine, but it would be his BPO that you just did the legwork for, and it would be his liability and his neck on the line if there was a mistake. So he better actually review each one, and not just blindly sign his name on them.
I've been an unlicensed office manager/assistant to the broker for 10 years in my office, and while I can help with research, I would never agree to list my name on a BPO, and receiving commission would be a big no-no as well. But that is for my state, not yours.
My suggestion...if you are concerned, but don't want to get your boss in unwarranted trouble, just call up your local real estate commission or association of Realtors and ask them if they have a list of tasks you can perform as an unlicensed assistant, or alternatively, a list of things you shouldn't do. That should answer all your questions. I get the impression from a prior post that you had tried something like this and not had good luck. What happened? It should be a simple request.
Normally when trying to decide what is unlicensed activity, one must carefully read all the statutes that govern that industry as to what they CAN do - you won't necessarily see a list of prohibited activities directly mentioned re: unlicensed persons. It's kinda hard really, to find out what is NOT okay, sometimes.
In Nevada, a person can do document prep for people filing their own court papers. In Hawaii, it falls under the "unlicensed activity" column, and the paralegal must be under the direct supervision, i.e. employ, of a licensed attorney.
These are not bonuses... I am paid like every other LICENSED assistant in our office, salary and 10% of their agents closings, with the exception that I get payroll taxes deducted from my commissions and my broker HAS to sign their commission checks as their agents that they assist cant as its law. As I am not licensed our payroll company can sign my commission checks. Their agents pay their salary from their own personal accounts.
Last edited by maefran291; 11-07-2011 at 06:22 PM..
Reason: To be more clear
These are not bonuses... I am paid like every other LICENSED assistant in our office, salary and 10% of their agents closings, ...
This is probably OK if the 10% is for your admin duties and doesn't involve direct participation in each sale. I take it you are not involved in transaction negotiations and writing contracts, or otherwise consulting with clients?
If your broker is directly paid the full sale commissions, then it's up to him to then allocate some of his income to you for your assistance behind the scenes. All of the office employees, licensed or not, are paid as the result of sales generating income. The only real difference between you and the licensed assistants is that they can be more actively involved in each sale, performing sales duties that require a license, for example, such as holding an open house or having access to the MLS to provide listing information to clients.
Update on commissions: ADRE has emphatically told me its illegal.
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