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mark tschetter | tschetter hamrick sulzer, p.c.
Real Estate Commission Compliance
Back on the Radar
R
eal Estate Commission compliance is
again a hot topic; partly because of the
flood of new owners and property management companies coming to Colorado and partly driven by the Colorado Real Estate
Commission’s step-up of enforcement efforts. Due
to budget cuts and political considerations, the Real
Estate Commission (the “Commission”) had
stopped random audits for a number of years. Since
property management is one of the leading sources of complaints received by the Commission, the
Commission has recently reinstated random audits
as part of its proactive and stepped up enforcement
efforts. Commission compliance is a complex area;
this article is to address only the higher-level general issues. The article should not be relied upon in
determining if your company either needs a license
or is in compliance with current law.
Do we need a Colorado Real Estate Broker’s
License? If you third-party fee manage, you need
a license. The question is not complicated for fee
managers. Fee managers must be licensed.
If you own the property you manage, you do
not need a broker’s license, under an “owners’ exemption”. The key to the owners’ exemption is
whether the management and ownership have
common control. Whether an ownership and management relationship meets the owners’ exemption
can be extremely complicated. Apartment communities are owned by legal entities. In some
cases, the ownership entity of an apartment community is owned and controlled by a complex web
of other legal entities. Given the complexity of
ownership entities, management company structures, and the rela ѥ