The following articles are from the Commercial Broker Quarterly. GWCAR members receive this publication quarterly.
The following articles are from the Commercial Broker Quarterly. GWCAR members receive this publication quarterly.
Changes in Continuing
Education Requirements for Brokers
There have been some recent changes in the continuing education requirements for brokers licensed in Maryland and DC.
District of Columbia
Effective September 1, 2001, practitioners holding DC real estate broker or property manager licenses that expire on February 28, 2003 or real estate salespersons licenses expiring on August 31, 2003, must complete six hours of general electives (reduced from nine hours).
Other requirements remain unchanged and include three hours of “Contracts, Settlement Procedures and Disclosures;” three hours of “DC Fair Housing;” and
three hours of “DC Legislative Update, Ethics, & Agency.” Only classes with these exact titles will fulfill the requirement.
Maryland Licensees Can Now Specify Commercial Only
Maryland real estate licensees can now specify if they practice commercial real estate exclusively. The specification is optional, but limits brokers from conducting residential transactions and changes their education requirements slightly.
Licensees who practice only commercial real estate are no longer required to take Fair Housing, but must take extra hours of the Maryland Legislative requirement. Brokers and agents will be able to specify commercial only when they renew their licenses. There will be a box to check indicating the licensee is only involved in commercial real estate.
Brokers and agents who select the commercial designation must state that they have not done a residential transaction in the past two years nor will they be involved with a residential transaction in the next two years and will be excluded by law from residential transactions.
The requirements for the commercial designation include:
Brokers and agents who have been licensed for less than ten years must complete 15 hours of continuing education credit per two-year licensing cycle. Of the 15 hours, three hours must be Maryland Legislative.
Brokers and agents who have been licensed for ten years or more must complete six hours of continuing education credit per two-year licensing cycle. All six hours must be Maryland Legislative.
Virginia
There are no changes in the requirements for Virginia licensees. All Virginia licensees must complete a total of eight hours per two-year licensing cycle.
Four of the eight hours must be in the areas of Federal and State Legislative Issues, Fair Housing, or Standards of Practice/Ethics. The remaining four hours are elective.
