Marriott Hotel, Lone Tree, Colorado 

In a long anticipated visit, Erin Toll the new Director of the Colorado Division of Real Estate addressed a standing-room only group of WCR members and guests.

Erin who reminded us she is only on the job 10 weeks, is digging in and sorting out the mess she inherited.  According to Erin, when she set foot into her new office the Real Estate Commission had a back log of 260 complaints.  We Colorado Brokers know they stopped answering the telephones awhile back.  The problems have been compounding at the Real Estate Commission may soon see some action.  Erin got to "clean house" and hand pick and entire new staff.  She has borrowed terms from the TV show MASH and implemented triage to start off with the worst problems first.

Considering she was appointed to the position by the out going Republican Governor Bill Owens, and as of this month the incoming Governor is Bill Ritter a Democrat, there was some concern Erin Toll's job would be short lived.  But today Erin confirmed she loves Bill Ritter (an attorney, like herself) and she has no plans to leave her position, unless of course the Governor asks her to leave.

Based on what I heard from  her today, I think she is perfect for the job.  She was the one who has been bringing justice to the "re-insurance" scams, causing certain  Title Companies to pay back millions of dollars to consumers who were cheated. She did say the only ones who were punished were the Title Companies, not the Brokers and home builders.  This statement makes me wonder if there is something in store for them too? 

Erin spoke of "getting the bad actors off the playing field".  A little mixing of metaphors, but totally understandable...we do have some bad actors here in Colorado.  RESPA violations and the kickbacks to unauthorized people i.e. real estate agents taking loan apps and getting a kickback for doing so will be a strong focus. 

Affiliated business arrangements where the real estate agent and a company promise a certain amount of business to be delivered for a fee that is kicked back is illegal.

Mortgage fraud is a big issue occurring here in Colorado.  Erin didn't speak long on this issue, but as my hubby stated, that's probably because the strong arm of enforcement is getting ready to take a stab at some "bad actors."

Material misrepresentation was a big issue this year.  Something about an endangered preble mouse and a house. An agent knowingly sold a property to a New Jersey couple, where she knew nothing could be built because of the endangered preble mouse.  Another bad actor is off the street.

Gross Incompetency, there was not much illustrated here, but we full timers deal with this everyday.  Lack of supervision along with the proliferation of huge brokerages that merely hang licenses for a  cheap fee and don't' teach and train their agents.  We'll be seeing more and more of this, for sure.

 Come this January we will be seeing some new laws come into effect.  Licensees will have to prove they are here in the U.S. legally.  Stronger laws for the disclosure and sale of homes that were meth labs will take effect.  Sellers who fail to disclose can be held liable for remediation plus the health costs of the buyer and legal fees too.

The Colorado Division of Real Estate is also responsible for administering to the Mortgage industry.  As of Jan 1, 07, all mortgage lenders must be registered with the state to do business here.  Part of that process includes getting fingerprinted and having a background check done by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.  This process is lengthy and backed up.  Erin mentioned that if a person is in this industry and does not have an official license to work on Jan. 1, they will not legally be allowed to originate loans. At this rate it looks like many people will be standing on the side lines, or breaking the law!

Erin asked to hear from us in the industry what is happening and what is important.  Funny how up there in the ivory tower sometimes they are the last to know about the dirt on the street.  Guess with that said, we should take it upon ourselves to get involved, when we see a "bad actor" or a "rotten plot" we should be making the ivory tower aware of it.  Let's not let the consumer be harmed.  Let's police our industry.

Colorado Real Estate Trivia

Number of licensees = 37,413

Number of appraisers = 3500

Number of mortgage brokers = 2963