There is always a lot of talk around the real estate industry regarding the public reputation of real estate agents. In case you didn’t know, we typically aren’t held in very high esteem when people are asked how much trust they have in various professions. With what I just read in latest issue of the Virginia Real Estate Board newsletter, I can’t say that I blame the public.
The newsletter is delivered to real estate licensees every quarter. One section of the newsletter that I always find interesting is the report on disciplinary actions of the Real Estate Board (REB). This time, I found one particular disciplinary action unsettling.
The action was against a real estate licensee for a violation that was termed “Unworthiness & Incompetence.” The licensee was fined $1000, forced to pay $150 in costs to the Board, and put on 3 years probation. This, in and of itself, is not what I found unsettling.
What bothered me are the details of the case. The public has access to all of the disciplinary actions by the REB against Virginia licensees of any profession through the website of the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. I looked up the facts of the above-mentioned case and discovered that the licensee in question has been convicted of various misdemeanors for improper filing of taxes and check fraud, and a felony conviction for embezzlement. All of this was prior to this person’s application for a Virginia real estate license. The section of the Code of Virginia that covers real estate licensing states, in part:
The applicant shall not have been convicted or found guilty, regardless of the manner of adjudication, in any jurisdiction of the United States of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, sexual offense, drug distribution or physical injury, or any felony, there being no appeal pending therefrom or the time for appeal having elapsed. Review of prior criminal convictions shall be subject to the requirements of §54.1-204 of the Code of Virginia. Neither shall the applicant have been found to have violated the fair housing laws of any jurisdiction. Any plea of nolo contendere shall be considered a conviction for purposes of this subdivision. The record of a conviction authenticated in such form as to be admissible in evidence under the laws of the jurisdiction where convicted shall be admissible as prima facie evidence of such conviction or guilt. [emphasis added]
On the license application, there is a question that asks if the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony. This licensee answered “no” as was subsequently issued a real estate license. When a complaint was filed, the REB’s investigation lead to the penalty of the fine and the probation.
WHAT A JOKE!
The law clearly states that a real estate licensee shall not have been convicted of a felony. Apparently, what it should say is, “an applicant, if having been convicted of a felony, should lie about the conviction in order to obtain a real estate license and then pay a fine later in order to keep the license.”
I am personally appalled that the REB would allow this person to keep a license. Not only does the licensee have a felony record for embezzlement, but the person also lied in order to obtain a license. Is this really the type of person that we want representing our profession? Apparently the Virginia REB thinks so. I guess they are hiding behind the criminal conviction review statute. I, for one, don’t buy it.
If we, as a profession, are not going to adequately police ourselves, how can we expect the public to hold us in high esteem?
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