The DRE becomes the BRE
On July 1st, the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) will officially be rechristened the Bureau of Real Estate (BRE).
The BRE operation will be absorbed and answerable to the new Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). This merger is a part of Governor Brown’s Second Government Reorganization Plan (GRP-2), first proposed in his 2012 budget and later adopted by the state legislature.
The move is intended to improve the bureaucratic efficiency of the entity, and somehow trim the state budget too (the BRE is self-financed, relying totally on licensing fees to cover all its operating expenses).This restructuring seems to have encouraged more vigilant oversight of real estate education providers, meaning better-educated brokers and agents.
The BRE’s nesting within the DCA also means it will have new resources for dispute mediation and regulation enforcement.
Related Article:
Rumors of DRE enlightenment by consolidation
No agent left behind: Improving real estate education standards
Add to this reorganization the appointment of a veteran fraud prevention attorney picked from inside the BRE staff as a brand-new Commissioner, Wayne Bell. All indications are it’s truly a new day for the administration of the real estate industry in California.
Whether this fresh start leads to any substantive change in licensee qualification, consumer protection, fraud prevention or the enforcement of ethical conduct remains to be seen.
We will find out with time, as we slowly work our way out of this muddled wreck of the biggest real estate disaster in California in 80 years. The direction of the starfish puzzle recovery is yet to be influenced by the BRE.
Related Article:
What’s in a name?
What’s the immediate effect of this transition on your practice?
Very little, and nothing anticipated.
Licensing and renewal licensing procedures remain unchanged. Rest assured, you’ll hear about significant procedural or regulatory changes coming out of the renamed agency from first tuesday first.
What about all your business cards, letterheads, promotional materials and stationary referencing your “DRE” license number? Do you need to pull out an industrial-sized trashcan and reprint everything?
first tuesday has contacted the BRE directly, and representatives confirm the agency will not be enforcing any compliance with the new naming convention on an agent’s printed materials. Thus, your inventory is not obsolete.
However, they did advise – as do we – that you begin making the switch the next time you have business cards, letterhead, or flyers printed, even if that’s before the official change-over.
In fact, you need to start practicing calling it the BRE now. No, it is not just a soft French cheese anymore, it’s the agency tasked with policing the competency of California’s real estate licensees for the purpose of protecting the public. Come June, the new name will roll right off your tongue. The public expects to be pleased.
Robert: At this time we are not aware of any forthcoming changes to the BRE’s continuing education requirements. If you are enrolled in a first tuesday course and BRE requirements change during the enrollment period, we provide any materials necessary to meet the new requirements, free of charge.
For licensees who are exempt from continuing education requirements under the 70/30 rule, keeping up with first tuesday’s online journal is a great way to stay up to speed on changes in the regulatory or market environment. You may also purchase our entire Realtipedia of real estate educational materials for your professional and personal edification.
first tuesday agrees that Continuing Education is critical for the health of the real estate industry. Agents who stay knowledgeable about their practice better serve the public and protect themselves from incurring liability in their practice. .
Joe: The history of complicity between the former DRE and the California Association of Realtors has long been a hot topic on the first tuesday Journal. We hope that the new Commissioner and the BRE’s realignment within the Department of Consumer Affairs can break this cycle of opaque political influence.
Dwight: Mortgage loan and real estate licensing and renewal are controlled by separate entities (the NMLS and BRE, respectively). first tuesday hopes to be able to offer courses which satisfy both requirements in the near future.
Thank you,
first tuesday Editorial Staff
Hopefully the BRE will be able to change the ridiculous NMLS annual renewal. The NMLS endorsement should match the state license term. I’m tired of wasting time and money on this revenue generator.
Hummmmm, does this mean that the BRE is going to Release the hold CAR has on it?
Or are we going to see some competion?….Some States do not let a Privite Co. rule thier
office….with thier stuff.
FT,
May I suggest that you champion a cause wherein there are no exemptions to CE
I have been an active CA broker over 40 years. By active I mean involved with all types of sales, property management, exchanges, in-house escrows, and hard money loan brokerage (I have been a threshold broker for many years), and have taught all the real estate courses for our local community college.
I have been licensed over 30 years and am over 70 years old. I enjoyed my first exemption 8 years ago, then got my wrist slapped during an audit and found I was no longer exempt and have since undergone two CE batteries for two more renewals (FT both times).
I state unequivocally that once again I discovered how much I didn’t know. Our field and the continuing addition and change of regulations and laws is such that it’s my belief that no one, be they a 40 year old with a PHD in real estate or a 43 year veteran with a wide range of experience, can possibly do the industry justice wIthout a periodic refresher such as the C&E provided me.
Bob Thacher
003648
Thacher Realty & Loans
58923 N Business Center Drive
Yucca Valley, CA 92284
760/365-1100
thacherrealty@gmail.com
Firsttuesday needs to nail down one matter right away with the BRE. If I get my continuing education credits, but the BRE adds or changes course requirements, will they guarantee my renewal if I met the requirements at the time of course enrollment? This might sound a bit overly suspicious. But I got caught in this squeeze back when Jim Ant became the acting commissioner. I had all my credits, but a new required course was added before my allowed renewal date. I was required to purchase and complete the added course. I then had more hours than were necessary and paid for more courses than I should have. I wrote to Jim Ant and complained. Mr. Ant’s solution was that agents should wait until the 11th hour to choose courses. Our license fees paid his salary. Don’t you just love bureaucratic remedies?