Real Estate Commission N E W S L E T T E R
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PENNSYLVANIA REAL ESTATE COMMISSION N E W S L E T T E R WINTER 2007-08 INSIDE: Chairman’s Message 2 COMMONWEALTH Application Recommendations 3 OF PENNSYLVANIA Profile of New Board Members Edward G. Rendell 4 Governor New Licensees 5 Pedro A. Cortés Renewal Responsibilities Secretary of the Commonwealth 6 Basil L. Merenda Broker Price Opinion Commissioner, 7 Bureau of Professional and Renewal Reminders Occupational Affairs 8 Charging Unit Celebrates Mark Vessella One-Year Anniversary Deputy Commissioner, 10 Bureau of Professional and State Emergency Registry Occupational Affairs of Volunteers in PA 11 For more information, visit us at Civil Penalty Schedule www.state.pa.us 12 or visit the Consumer Notice Changes Department of State directly at 15 www.dos.state.pa.us Legal Office Report 16 Board telephone: (717) 783-4866 Education Q&A E-mail: [email protected] 18 www.dos.state.pa.us/estate Disciplinary Actions 21 Governor’s Newsletter Sign up now at www.governor.state.pa.us to receive the weekly e-newsletter from Governor Rendell on important issues facing Pennsylvania. 2 Message from the Chairman by Joseph J. McGettigan, Sr. One of the most frequently asked questions misrepresentations. Table 5 on page 20 provides of a real estate commissioner concerns the a list of violations, based on the initial complaints, number of complaints the commission receives for which the commission imposed a disciplinary and how many disciplinary actions it orders. sanction. (Note that the number of violations in the The answer is a lot. TheLegal Office Report table exceeded the number of disciplinary sanctions beginning on page 16 reflects the complaint and actually taken because multiple complaints disciplinary action information that was provided contained multiple violations.) to the commission by the legal office at its June 2007 meeting. In addition to reviewing cases based on complaints, the commission also reviewed almost To summarize: between July 1, 2006, and 200 criminal convictions for real estate applicants. May 31, 2007, the Bureau of Professional These convictions ranged from driving under and Occupational Affairs received 1,218 the influence, criminal mischief and harassment complaints associated with real estate licensees, to aggravated assault, vehicular homicide and an increase of more than 200 complaints from involuntary manslaughter. As in the disciplinary the prior fiscal year. During that same time, the matters, the commission provided an opportunity commission imposed 231 disciplinary sanctions, for applicants to explain their criminal convictions including revocations, suspensions, Act 48 to the commission, in these cases, through the citations, reprimands and civil penalties. This enforcement committee. In 63 instances, the also represented an increase from the prior fiscal commission held informal conferences. year. On a different topic, the commission would The complaints that the commission like to welcome new commissioners Alexis received ran the gamut of statutory and Barbieri, Esquire, Jeffrey Johnson, John McGarry regulatory violations, from incompetence and and Jack Sommer, new commission administrator unlicensed or lapsed licensed practice, to escrow Patricia Ridley and new commission education violations, sexual misconduct and substantial administrator Katie Douglas. 2007 Real Estate Commission Seated, left to right: Michael Weiss, Joseph McGettigan, Anne Hanna Cestra and Mark Vessella Standing, left to right: Beverly Brookes, Jeffrey Johnson, Alexis Barbieri, John McGarry, Judith Pachter Schulder, Joseph Tarantino, Patricia Ridley, Jack Sommer and Katie Douglas 3 Application Recommendations by Patricia A. Ridley, Commission Administrator Within the last 11 months, commission brokerage (RB or SB) number and ALWAYS staff received almost 50,000 telephone calls and use the broker’s full name, not its trade or “d/b/ processed more than 10,000 applications, including a” name. initial applications and changes to name, address, • On initial licensure applications, copies and broker. A great number of the calls relate to of transcripts must accompany the application. application questions: What form do I use? How PSI, the examination vendor, does not forward much money do I send? What is the status of my that documentation to the commission. application? • The criminal background check from the The following are some recommendations that Pennsylvania State Police (or the State Police should assist with completing the application and where the licensee resides) must be dated within should reduce discrepancies. three months of the application date. • Certifications of licensure for reciprocal General information applicants/licensees must also be dated within • Before beginning any application, check the three months of the application date. commission’s Web site at www.dos.state.pa.us/estate • A license may only be kept in escrow to make sure that you are using the most up-to-date for five years (from the expiration date or the form. escrow date – whichever comes first). Beyond • Read the instructions carefully and complete the five years, licensees are required by law the entire application. Many applicants submit the to retake the examination before obtaining a wrong fees, or fail to include the required documents. license and resuming practice. Licensees are Others omit portions of the application. responsible for monitoring when the license • Make sure your birth date and Social Security expires. number are listed on the criminal background check • To check the status of an application that you receive from the Pennsylvania State Police. for individuals who are applying for an initial • Copies of all criminal documents, as well as license, go to www.mylicense.state.pa.us. any other documents specified on the application, Individuals who are currently licensed can check must be included with the application if you have the status of their license at been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere www.licensepa.state.pa.us. to a crime other than a summary offense. Once all of the required documentation is received, it Brokers can be reviewed by the commission’s enforcement • Obtain approval from the Corporation committee. Because the committee only meets Bureau before submitting an application for monthly and a conference may be needed after an licensure as a corporation or sole proprietorship initial paper review, this process could take several using a fictitious name. A copy of that approval months. must be attached to the licensure application. • Use your legal name on all applications, even • Sole proprietorships may not use a group if you are commonly known by a nickname and have name (such as Inc. or Associates). registered that nickname (for your first name only) • Form SPOA 2108A must be submitted with the commission. whenever an office address or entity name is • Unless an application specifically asks for the being changed. Before the change goes into broker’s multi-license number, ALWAYS use the effect, the entity must pass inspection. 4 Profile of New Board Members Alexis L. Barbieri John A. ( Jack) Sommer Alexis L. Barbieri is an executive deputy attorney John A. (Jack) Sommer first became involved general with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney in the cemetery industry in the early 1970’s in the General (OAG) and the director of the Public Protection Pittsburgh area as a memorial counselor at Forest Division, which includes the Bureau of Consumer Lawn Gardens in Peters Twp. In 1975, he was Protection and the Health Care, Charitable Trusts hired by Matthews Bronze as a territory manager and Organizations, serving more than one hundred cemeteries in Antitrust, Civil Rights eastern Pennsylvania and central New York. In Enforcement and 1978, he purchased Mount Rose Cemetery in Tobacco Enforcement York and operated the cemetery until 1997, when Sections. In addition, it was sold to SCI of Houston, Texas. In 2004, he she is the director of became the general manager of Prospect Hill and the elder abuse unit Greenmount Cemeteries. Trinity United Church and the designated of Christ of York owns both cemeteries. Jack has representative of been licensed as a cemetery broker since 1978. He the OAG on the served for more than 20 years on the board of what Pennsylvania Real is now The Pennsylvania Cemetery, Cremation Estate Commission. and Funeral Association and was president of the Barbieri started predecessor organization, the Cemetery Association of her legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Vincent Pennsylvania, for two years in the early 1990’s. A. Cirillo, a judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. In his community, Sommer has a long history She has held positions in the Torts Litigation Section of civic involvement serving on numerous boards of the OAG; staff counsel for Continental Insurance including the Children’s Home of York, Rehabilitation Company; office of chief counsel for the Pennsylvania and Industrial Training Center (sheltered workshop), Department of Transportation; and has represented the South-Central Regional board and York chapter plaintiffs and defendants in Pennsylvania and New Jersey board of The Second Mile, York County Chamber in private practice. of Commerce and he was elected a director of the Barbieri received her Juris Doctor degree from the Dallastown Area School District, among others. Widener University School of Law, where she was a Sommer and his wife of 32 years, Linda, live in York member of the Moot Court Honor Society, the Student Township. Bar Association, Phi Alpha Delta and was a contributor to the Law Forum. She was the recipient of the AmJur Award for the highest grade in torts. She received her Jeffrey Johnson A.B. in French from the University of Pennsylvania and was a member of the National French Honor Society. Jeffrey Johnson Barbieri is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, was appointed New Jersey, California and Missouri. She is a member by Governor Ed of the Philadelphia Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Rendell to the Association, the Justinian Society of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Real Dauphin County Bar Association, and is a past Estate Commission president of the Lawyers’ Club of Philadelphia.