0001| HOUSE BILL 474
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0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
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0003| INTRODUCED BY
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0004| EARLENE ROBERTS
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0005|
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0006|
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0007|
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0008|
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0009|
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0010| AN ACT
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0011| RELATING TO REAL ESTATE BROKERS; AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF
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0012| THE NMSA 1978 TO PROVIDE FOR QUALIFYING BROKER'S LICENSES AND
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0013| ASSOCIATE BROKER'S LICENSES.
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0014|
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0015| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0016| Section 1. Section 61-29-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1959,
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0017| Chapter 226, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
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0018| "61-29-2. DEFINITIONS AND EXCEPTIONS.--
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0019| A. A real estate "broker", within the meaning of
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0020| Chapter 61, Article 29 NMSA 1978, [is] means a person
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0021| [business association or corporation] who for a salary, fee,
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0022| commission or valuable consideration lists, sells or offers
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0023| for sale, buys or offers to buy or negotiates the purchase or
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0024| sale or exchange of real estate or who leases or offers to
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0025| lease or rents or offers for rent or auctions or offers or
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0001| attempts or agrees to auction real estate or who buys or
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0002| offers to buy, [sell] sells or offers to sell or otherwise
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0003| deals in options on real estate or advertises or holds himself
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0004| out as being engaged in the business of buying, selling,
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0005| exchanging, renting, leasing, auctioning or dealing with
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0006| options on any real estate or the improvement thereon for
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0007| others, as a whole or partial vocation. [The term] "Broker"
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0008| also includes any person employed by or on behalf of the owner
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0009| of real estate to conduct the sale, leasing or other
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0010| disposition thereof at a salary or fee, commission or any
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0011| other consideration. [It] "Broker" also includes any
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0012| person who engages in the business of charging an advance fee
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0013| or contracting for collection of a fee in connection with any
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0014| contract whereby he undertakes primarily to promote the sale
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0015| of real estate through its listing in a publication issued
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0016| primarily for such purpose or for referral of information
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0017| concerning [such] the real estate to brokers, or both.
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0018| [The term] "Real estate", as used in Chapter 61, Article 29
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0019| NMSA 1978, [shall include] includes leaseholds and other
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0020| [interest] interests less than leaseholds, including
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0021| rights to use property. Resident managers of apartment
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0022| buildings are not required to be licensed, provided they do
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0023| not carry on any other real estate activity and do not serve
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0024| as a resident manager for more than one employer. "Broker",
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0025| without further qualification, means a qualifying broker.
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0001| B. A real estate "salesperson", within the meaning
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0002| of Chapter 61, Article 29 NMSA 1978, [is any person who for a
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compensation or valuable consideration is associated with or
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engaged under contract either directly or indirectly by or on
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behalf of a licensed broker to participate in any activity
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included in Subsection A of this section or in the pursuance
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of such broker's business, as a whole or partial vocation]
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0008| means an associate broker.
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0009| C. Any one act of a person [business association
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or corporation] in performing or attempting to perform an
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0011| activity set forth in this section shall constitute the person
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0012| [business association or corporation] as a real estate
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0013| broker or real estate salesperson.
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0014| D. As used in Chapter 61, Article 29 NMSA 1978:
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0015| (1) "qualifying broker" means a broker who
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0016| has been licensed as a qualifying broker and, therefore, may:
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0017| (a) maintain trust accounts and trust
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0018| account records;
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0019| (b) develop office policy manuals and
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0020| ensure compliance;
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0021| (c) provide a high level of supervision
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0022| over licensees in the business less than two years;
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0023| (d) provide a limited level of
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0024| supervision over licensees in the business over two years; and
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0025| (e) make sure that all statutes and
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0001| rules pertaining to actions and advertising of the office are
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0002| complied with; and
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0003| (2) "associate broker" means a person who has
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0004| been licensed as an associate broker and who for a
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0005| compensation or valuable consideration is associated with or
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0006| engaged under contract either directly or indirectly by or on
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0007| behalf of a qualifying broker to participate in any activity
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0008| included in Subsection A of this section or in pursuance of
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0009| the qualifying broker's business, as a whole or partial
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0010| vocation.
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0011| [D.] E. The provisions of Chapter 61, Article
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0012| 29 NMSA 1978 shall not [apply to, be construed to include,
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held to include or] apply to:
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0014| (1) any person [business association or
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corporation] who as owner or lessor performs any of the
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0016| activities included in this section with reference to property
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0017| owned or leased by him, the employees of the owner or lessor
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0018| or the employees of a real estate broker acting on behalf of
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0019| the owner or lessor, with respect to the property owned or
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0020| leased, where the acts are performed in the regular course of
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0021| or incident to the management of the property and the
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0022| investments, except where the sale or offering for sale or the
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0023| lease or offering for lease of the property constitutes a
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0024| subdivision containing one hundred or more parcels;
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0025| (2) isolated or sporadic transactions not
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0001| exceeding two transactions annually where a person acts as
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0002| attorney-in-fact under a duly executed power of attorney
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0003| delivered by an owner authorizing the person to finally
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0004| consummate and to perform under any contract the sale, leasing
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0005| or exchange of real estate on behalf of the owner; and the
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0006| owner or attorney-in-fact have not used a power of attorney
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0007| for the purpose of evading the provisions of Chapter 61,
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0008| Article 29 NMSA 1978;
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0009| (3) transactions where a person acts as
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0010| attorney-in-fact under a duly executed power of attorney
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0011| delivered by an owner related to the attorney-in-fact, by up
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0012| to the fourth degree of consanguinity, authorizing the person
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0013| to finally consummate and to perform under any contract for
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0014| the sale, leasing or exchange of real estate on behalf of the
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0015| owner;
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0016| (4) the services rendered by an attorney at
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0017| law in the performance of his duties as an attorney at law;
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0018| (5) a person acting in the capacity of a
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0019| receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, administrator or executor, a
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0020| person selling real estate pursuant to an order of any court
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0021| or a trustee acting under a trust agreement, deed of trust or
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0022| will or the regular salaried employee of a trustee;
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0023| (6) the activities of a salaried employee of
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0024| a governmental agency acting within the scope of his
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0025| employment; or
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0001| (7) persons who deal exclusively in mineral
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0002| leases or the sale or purchase of mineral rights or royalties
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0003| in any case in which the fee to the land or the surface rights
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0004| are in no way involved in the transaction."
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0005| Section 2. Section 61-29-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1959,
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0006| Chapter 226, Section 8, as amended) is amended to read:
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0007| "61-29-9. QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSE.--
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0008| A. Licenses shall be granted only to persons who
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0009| are deemed by the commission to be of good repute and
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0010| competent to transact the business of a [real estate]
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0011| qualifying broker or [salesperson] associate broker in
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0012| such a manner as to safeguard the interests of the public.
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0013| B. Each applicant for a qualifying broker's
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0014| license shall be a legal resident of the United States, have
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0015| reached the age of majority and have been an actual bona fide
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0016| resident of New Mexico for six months next preceding the
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0017| filing of application. Each applicant for a [real estate]
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0018| qualifying broker's license shall:
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0019| (1) have performed actively as [a real
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estate salesperson] an associate broker in New Mexico for
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0021| at least twenty-four months out of the preceding thirty-six
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0022| months immediately prior to filing of the application and
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0023| furnish the commission a certificate that [he] the
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0024| applicant has completed successfully ninety classroom hours
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0025| of instruction in basic real estate courses approved by the
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0001| commission;
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0002| (2) furnish the commission a certificate that
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0003| [he] the applicant has completed successfully one hundred
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0004| eighty classroom hours of instruction in basic real estate
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0005| courses approved by the commission;
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0006| (3) furnish the commission a certificate that
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0007| [he] the applicant is a duly licensed real estate broker
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0008| in good standing in another state, providing [he] the
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0009| applicant has completed successfully ninety classroom hours
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0010| of instruction in basic real estate courses approved by the
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0011| commission; or
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0012| (4) furnish the commission satisfactory proof
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0013| of [his] the applicant's equivalent experience in an
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0014| activity closely related to or associated with real estate and
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0015| furnish the commission a certificate that [he] the
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0016| applicant has completed successfully ninety classroom hours
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0017| of instruction in basic real estate courses approved by the
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0018| commission.
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0019| C. Each applicant for [a salesperson's] an
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0020| associate broker's license shall be a legal resident of the
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0021| United States, have reached the age of majority and be a
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0022| resident of New Mexico preceding the filing of application and
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0023| shall furnish the commission a certificate that [he] the
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0024| applicant has completed successfully [sixty] one hundred
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0025| twenty classroom hours of instruction in basic real estate
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0001| courses approved by the commission.
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0002| D. The commission shall require such information
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0003| as it may deem necessary from every applicant to determine
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0004| [his] the applicant's honesty, trustworthiness and
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0005| competency. Corporations, partnerships or associations shall
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0006| be entitled to hold a qualifying broker's license issued in
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0007| the name of the corporation, partnership or association,
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0008| provided at least one member of the partnership or association
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0009| or one officer or employee of a corporation who actively
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0010| engages in the real estate business first secures a
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0011| qualifying broker's license. Such license shall be issued
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0012| in the name of the corporation, partnership or association,
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0013| naming the partner, associate, officer or employee as
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0014| qualifying broker for the corporation, partnership or
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0015| association.
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0016| E. The commission may, by rule, establish
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0017| subclassifications and criteria for associate brokers."
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0018| Section 3. TEMPORARY PROVISION.--
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0019| A. A person licensed as a real estate salesperson
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0020| in good standing on the effective date of this act shall
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0021| receive an associate broker's license without complying with
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0022| the requirements of this act if, within six months of the
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0023| effective date, the person:
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0024| (1) takes and passes a transition class
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0025| approved by the New Mexico real estate commission; and
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0001| (2) passes such portion of the associate
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0002| broker's examination as may be required by rule of the
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0003| commission.
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0004| B. A person licensed as a real estate broker in
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0005| good standing on the effective date of this act shall receive
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0006| a qualifying broker's license without complying with the
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0007| requirements of this act.
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0008|
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