The Alabama Real Estate Commission (AREC) held its monthly meeting on July 22, its first meeting open to the public since February 2020. Typical of AREC meetings, the Commission discussed finances, operations, a few hot topics, and held hearings. Commissioners also approved three rule amendments to be certified, and three rule amendments and one new rule to be filed.

The Commission briefly discussed both wholesaling and virtual offices, as topics to continue considering. Virtual offices have been operating in the state for some time, but with the potential for continued expansion of these businesses, the Commission discussed some of the issues stemming from virtual offices, like where to send earnest money and broker supervision of agents. A general definition of wholesaling is a business model where a person enters into contracts to purchase properties, markets the properties and then assigns his or her rights under the contracts to another person for a fee or price. The Commission mentioned consumer and inventory concerns associated with wholesaling.

The Commission approved two new rules and one amendment to be certified to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA), the state body in charge of rules and amendments. The rules and amendment are:

• Amendment to 790-x-1-.06 – This amendment allows automatic approval of pre-license and post-license courses offered by the federal and state military.
• Rule 790-x-1-.22 – Prohibits the hiring of a contract lobbyist by the Commission.
• Rule 790-x-2-.26 – Allows for deferral of license renewals and continuing education requirements for actively deployed licensees.

The Commission also approved three rule amendments and one new rule to be filed with LSA. In order to be certified, rules and amendments must be filed and open for public comment for at least 45 days and a public hearing held. The amendments and rule are not yet available for viewing but, in general, they do the following:

• Amendment to Rule 790-x-1-.07. The amendment will provide a process for licensees with a license law violation to apply to be a course instructor, something currently not allowed by law.
• Amendment to Rule 790-x-1-.21. The amendment updates and reorganizes the rules on distance education courses.
• Amendment to Rule 790-x-2-.01. This amendment expands the definition of what documents meet the requirement for high school diplomas for license issuance.
• New Rule 790-x-1-.23. This rule is being re-filed from several months ago and deals with the misuse of AREC’s name, logo, and seal.

The Commission heard three complaints, one hardship request for a home operation, four applications for a temporary salesperson’s license, and one request for re-licensure after a felony conviction.

The Commission's next meetings are August 19 and September 23, both at 9 am in Montgomery.