Ethics countdown
All REALTORS® must fulfill Ethics requirements by end of 2012
Although the New Year is just a few days old, it's time to start thinking about a deadline all REALTORS® will face at the end of 2012.
According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), all members must complete a NAR-mandated ethics education requirement by the end of 2012.
If this is a fact you've missed, you're not alone. Aurora Association of REALTORS® records indicate that many of its members have not fulfilled this requirement. Doing so is easy at AAR – simply sign up for one of the Association's NAR Ethics Update classes Feb. 14 or May 8, each from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. If you don't make it, look for additional classes at AAR throughout the year.
A NAR mandate
The ethics requirement follows a ruling from 2000, when the NAR Board of Directors approved a mandate that REALTOR® members complete a minimum of 2.5 hours of an ethics update course once in every four year period. The first period was from January 2001 through December 2004; the second was from January 2005 through December 2008. The current period is January 2009 through December 2012.
Failure to complete the requirement can mean dire consequences, including the suspension of membership until training is complete.
NAR regulations state that "failure to meet the requirement for the second (2005 – 2008) cycle and subsequent four (4) year cycles will result in suspension of membership for the first two months (January and February) of the year following the end of any four (4) year cycle or until the requirement is met, whichever occurs sooner. On March 1 of that year, the membership of a member who is still suspended as of that date will be automatically terminated." (Adopted 1/01, revised 5/05)
Because the Colorado Real Estate Commission (CREC) requires licensees, not Associations, to maintain a record of their own coursework, AAR may not know about it if a member fulfills the ethics requirement at another location or online. Please fax your completion certificate for any ethics course meant to fill the requirement in this four-year cycle to AAR at (303) 369-5524. Certificates must be received by the end of 2012.
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