14B — October 25 - November 7, 2019 — Owners, Developers & Managers — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
www.marej.com
O wners , D evelopers & M anagers By Mahlon Fast, J.S.C., Ret., EPGP Obligations of Property Managers Are You Violating the Law?
A
n employee must be licensed if they list a unit for sale or lease
whereas the other categorized persons are employed by and operate under the supervision of a licensed real estate broker. (N.J.S.A. 45:15-3) A real es- tate broker , for the purposes of R.S.45:15-1 et seq., is defined to be a person, firm or corporation who, for a fee, commission or other valuable consideration, or by reason of a promise or reasonable expectation thereof, lists for sale, sells, exchanges, buys or rents , or offers or at- tempts to negotiate a sale, ex- change, purchase or rental of real estate or an interest therein , or collects or offers or attempts to collect rent for the use of real estate or solicits for prospective purchasers or assists or directs in the procuring of prospects or the negotiation or closing of any transaction which does or is contemplated to result in the sale, exchange, leasing, renting or auctioning of any real estate or negotiates, or offers or at- tempts or agrees to negotiate a loan secured or to be secured by mortgage or other encumbrance upon or transfer of any real estate for others … A real estate salesperson , for the purposes of R.S.45:15- 1 et seq., is defined to be any natural person who, for com- pensation, valuable consider- ation or commission, or other thing of value, or by reason of a promise or reasonable expecta- tion thereof, is employed by and operates under the supervision of a licensed real estate broker to sell or offer to sell, buy or of- fer to buy or negotiate the pur- chase, sale or exchange of real estate, or offers or attempts to negotiate a loan secured or to be secured by a mortgage or other encumbrance upon or transfer of real estate, or to lease or rent, or offer to lease or rent any real estate for others, or to collect rents for the use of real estate, or to solicit for pro- spective purchasers or lessees of real estate , or who is employed by a licensed real estate bro- ker to sell or offer to sell lots or other parcels of real estate, at a stated salary, or upon a commission, or upon a salary and commission, or otherwise to sell real estate, or any parts thereof, in lots or other parcels. [Italics added, to emphasize the activities commonly included in the services of a “property manager.”] A real estate broker-sales- person , for the purposes of R.S.45:15-1 et seq., is defined to be any natural person who is qualified to be licensed as a
real estate broker but who, for compensation , valuable consid- eration or commission, or other thing of value, or by reason of a promise or reasonable expecta- tion thereof, is employed by and operates under the supervision of a licensed real estate broker to perform the functions of a real estate salesperson as defined herein . A real estate referral agent , for the purposes of R.S.45:15- 1 et seq., is defined to be any natural person employed by and operating under the su- pervision of a licensed real estate broker whose real estate brokerage-related activities are limited to referring pros- pects for the sale , purchase, exchange, l easing or rental of real estate or an interest therein . Referral agent licensees shall only refer such prospects to the real estate broker through whom they are licensed as a referral agent and shall only accept compensation for their activity as a referral agent from that broker. A referral agent shall not be employed by or licensed with more than one real estate broker at any given time. No person may simulta- neously be licensed as a referral agent and a real estate broker, broker-salesperson or salesper- son and no person licensed as a referral agent may engage in the business of a real estate broker, broker-salesperson or salesperson to an extent beyond that authorized by their status as a licensed real estate agent. No person, firm, partnership, association or corporation shall bring or maintain any action in the courts of this State for the collection of compensation for the performance of any of the acts mentioned in R.S.45:15-1 et seq. without alleging and proving that he was a duly licensed real estate broker at the time the alleged cause of action arose. No person claiming to be entitled to compensation as a referral agent, salesperson or broker-salesperson for the performance of any of the acts mentioned in R.S.45:15-1 et seq. shall bring or maintain any action in the courts of this State for the collection of com- pensation against any person, firm, partnership or corpora- tion other than the licensed broker with whom the referral agent, salesperson or broker- salesperson was employed at the time the alleged cause of ac- tion arose and no action shall be brought or maintained without
the claimant alleging and prov- ing that he was a duly licensed real estate referral agent, sales- person or broker-salesperson at the time the alleged cause of action arose. It is irrelevant who (whether an owner or a tenant) pro- vides the compensation to a person performing any of the services listed above: Per (N.J.S.A. 45:15-17) m. Accept- ing a commission or valuable consideration as a real estate broker-salesperson, salesper- son or referral agent for the performance of any of the acts specified in this act, from any person, except his employing broker, who must be a licensed broker; or r. Charging or ac- cepting any fee , commission or compensation in exchange for Physical Layers Most physical assets will have one to four layers; 1 – the property boundary, 2 – an enclave perimeter, 3 – the fa- çade or “envelope” and 4 – any internally controlled spaces that have restricted access. Not all will have a layer two or four, and sometimes layers one and three are the same (a building in Manhattan where the door is the property line). In any case, and regardless of which layer is present the four D’s must be used at each layer. Each one gives us another op- portunity. continued from page 3B investors, project managers or outside accountants. An ERP platform will grow with you. 9. You can’t get straight answers in the support documentation. Industry expertise is a key driver to success and not likely to be achieved with a generic FAQ. When you subscribe to a robust cloud- based ERP, you will likely work with a highly trained and experienced value-added reseller (VAR) that knows how you need to use the sys- tem and what outcomes you expect. Further, your VAR can provide training for your employees and quickly get them up to speed. 10. Potential investors might not take you seri- ously. Looking for investors and limited partners for your business? Congratulations! But you should know about a
providing information on pur- portedly available rental hous- ing , including lists of such units supplied verbally or in written form, before a lease has been executed or, where no lease is drawn, before the tenant has taken possession of the prem- ises without complying with all applicable rules promulgated by the commission regulating these practices. This article was prepared by Mahlon Fast, J.S.C. Ret. currently counsel with Ehrlich, Petriello, Gudin & Plaza, P.C. headquartered in Newark, NJ . It is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney or other qualified professional to discuss your particular matter. There are two things to re- member; 1) all security mea- sures can be defeated because there’s an inherent vulnerabil- ity somewhere, and 2) the goal is to “sauté” your strategies so that mitigation resembles a mixture of caramelized onions that aren’t crunchy but are full of flavor and melt in your mouth. By combining all three of these concepts, you will have “onion breath” and everyone will thank you for it. Doug Haines is owner/ CEO of Haines Security Solutions, LLC in Ventura, CA. potential pitfall with a basic accounting system: there’s a very limited audit trail behind your accounting data. Many experienced investors will tell a smaller business to mi- grate to a “real” system before coming back to reapply for funding. This ties back to this article’s original point: when you’re ready to take that next step in terms of capital, mul- tiple properties and multiple revenue streams, you will be expected to show that you’re keeping professional financial records, too. Your business is growing. Don’t let your accounting soft- ware slow you down. Upgrad- ing your operations to a true cloud ERP system will allow your company to establish a firm foundation for long-term, profitable growth. Michael Mullin is presi- dent of Integrated Busi- ness Systems (IBS) in Totowa, NJ.
(this would include pre- p a r i n g o r placing ad- vertisements – offering or attempting to offer real es- tate or an in- terest therein
Mahlon Fast
or soliciting/assisting or direct- ing in the procuring of pros- pects) negotiating or signing a lease, collecting or attempting to collect rent, and negotiating a loan secured or to be secured by mortgage or other encum- brance upon or transfer of any real estate for others. Some employees need not be licensed, including secretar- ies, bookkeepers, construction or maintenance personnel, or independent contractors who service the utilities, but do not have contact with tenants or prospective tenants. Titles are sometimes mis- leading and cannot be relied upon; it is the actual function that makes the difference. For example, a “superintendent” who makes repairs and man- ages utilities would not be considered involved in a real estate transaction, but if that “superintendent” negotiated leases or collects rent, then that person would be considered as engaging in a real estate transaction, and would have to be licensed by the appropriate State Agency. According to New Jersey stat- ute (N.J.S.A. 45:15-1) no person shall engage either directly or indirectly in the business of a real estate broker, broker- salesperson, salesperson or referral agent, temporarily or otherwise, and no person shall advertise or represent himself as being authorized to act as a real estate broker, broker- salesperson, salesperson or referral agent, or to engage in any of the activities described in R.S.45:15-3, without being licensed so to do as hereinafter provided. As defined by N.J.S.A. 45:15- 2 "Engaging in business" is any single act, transaction or sale shall constitute engaging in business within the meaning of this article. The difference between a “broker” “salesperson” “broker- salesperson” or “referral agent” is spelled out in the legisla- tion. That is to say, a broker is essentially self-employed,
Do You Have Onion Breath? . . . continued from page 2B
10 signs the time has come for a . . .
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