The Alabama Real Estate Commission met in Montgomery last week for its September meeting. All commissioners were present for what was Commissioner Joyce Harris’ last meeting. Ms. Deborah Robinson, the incoming at large member, will be sworn in next month for a five-year term. Including the typical reports and hearings, Commissioners also heard from the Alabama Attorney General’s Office on the appropriate time to recuse. Continue reading for some of the meeting highlights.

AREC has issued over 41,000 licenses, including almost 12,900 inactive licenses. In August, just over 500 licenses were issued, including temporary licenses, and permanent salesperson and broker licenses. Although these numbers reflect a continued slowdown in licensee growth, the current growth appears to be outpacing those who give up their license, albeit in a non-renewal year. 

At times, commissioners have to recuse themselves from certain hearings, typically due to personal knowledge or a relationship with the licensee before the commission. A representative from the Alabama Attorney General’s Office spoke with commissioners about when it was appropriate to recuse. The representative indicated that the best practice is to recuse whenever a commissioner knows the party, and when the commissioner has a recent or ongoing business relationship or close friendship with an attorney representing a party before the commission. 

A light sleight, Commissioners heard one petition, one hardship request for a home operation, three applications for a salespersons temporary license, and one application for approval to hold a license after a prior revocation, as well as considering four consent decree submissions. The Commission denied the petition and the hardship request. All other requests, other than consent decrees which were not decided or discussed in open hearing, were granted, including the application to hold a license after a prior revocation. 

The Commission’s meeting next month will be on the road as commissioners and staff travel to Tuscaloosa on October 26^th. The last meeting of the year will be on November 30^th in Montgomery. Both meetings can be viewed live from AREC’s website.