FREC Archives - Demetree School of Real Estate

Karen Climer Receives Proclamation From Secretary of DBPR

Melanie Griffin, Secretary of the DBPR, issued a congratulatory proclamation to Karen Climer honoring her 20 years of real estate licensure. The proclamation mentioned that Karen has taught thousands of students, many who have gone on to become leaders in the industry. It also mentioned that she now owns and operates Demetree School of Real Estate in Orlando.

Melanie Griffin, DBPR Secretary; Giuvanna Corona, FREC Executive Director; Chris Willenbring, Deputy Director, Division of Real Estate were involved in the presentation.

“I love teaching real estate and helping people begin their new career. I appreciate the recognition from the Department for my efforts,” said Karen Climer.

The proclamation was given to Karen at the Florida Realtors Convention. Other honorees include Dick Fryer, Guy Sanchez Jr, and Katherine Figueroa – all from Central Florida.

By Karen Climer|2022-12-12T17:06:54-05:00August 30th, 2022|

Myths and Facts about the Florida Real Estate Sales Associate Exam

Myth: Most people take the state exam several times.

Fact: The Florida Bureau of Education and Testing publishes the state exam statistics every month. Approximately half of the people pass the sales associate state exam the first time.

Myth: The State of Florida makes the real estate state exam difficult on purpose.

Fact: The past several governors, and particularly our current governor, are adamantly against unnecessary regulation. Our current governor, Ron DeSantis, had a Dereg-A-Thon to discuss ways we could make it easier to get professional licenses, not more difficult. The State has a duty to ensure “minimal competence” but that is their only goal. They want people to get licensed so they can earn money – that’s good for everyone.

Myth: The questions on the state exam are designed to be tricky.

Fact: The questions are written to test you at different levels of learning. On one of my YouTube videos, I talk about Bloom’s Taxonomy. The Rules of the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) require that at least 70% of the questions are at the application level and above. If you have been studying at the memorization level, or your teacher has only taught you at the memorization level, you will think the test is very, very tricky. If you study at the application level, you will not only pass the state exam the first time you take it, you will think it is fairly easy.

If you want to learn more about the specific learning levels of test questions on the Florida real estate exam, read this blog post or watch this video.

Myth: The Florida Real Estate Commission is trying to keep people out of the profession.

Fact: The State of Florida wants you to get licensed. This is good for business, which is good for Florida. Join me this Tuesday at the FREC meeting where applicants with criminal histories are trying to get a real estate license and you will see that the vast majority are approved to take the state exam. Most people pass the state exam the first time (very tiny majority). Florida grants about 2,500 new licenses every month. That wouldn’t happen that if they were trying to keep people out of the profession.

Please note that Karen Climer neither works for nor has any affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate. Her family sold the school in 2014.

By Karen Climer|2021-08-24T15:07:26-04:00July 14th, 2019|

It Happens Once A Month, And It’s The Most Interesting Thing On The Internet

Every month, the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) meets for two days at
400 West Robinson Street in Orlando, Florida (north building, top floor). The meeting starts at 8am. Parking is free. The next meeting is April 16-17 (next week).

I think every real estate licensee needs to attend at least one FREC meeting in their life. I was amazed at how much I learned the first time I attended. The first day (Tuesday) is where FREC considers applicants who have a criminal background. The criminal problems people have range from minor misdemeanors like petty theft to major felonies like murder or sexual assault. The members of the Commission consider each case individually. Most applicants are present to tell their side of the story, and some have an attorney with them. If you have to attend this as an applicant, check out my post with some tips on what to do.

The second day of the meeting (Wednesday) is where they handle current licensees who have gotten in trouble, recovery fund cases, escrow disbursement orders, and any rule changes or other issues. To me, this is the more interesting day of the two. This is also the day where you can get continuing education credit for attending.

When licensees get in trouble, I believe about half of them have good intent and just didn’t know the law or made an honest mistake. The other half are just plain scamsters. You can see what the mistake folks are doing wrong so you don’t make the same mistake. (I’m assuming if you are in the scamsters category you aren’t reading this blog.)

FREC also discusses potential rule and law changes. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about advertising for both teams and individuals, the requirements to become a broker, and continuing education for instructors. I’ve been there almost every month to see the process unfold. I’ve even participated in the process because citizens are allowed to make comments.

If you don’t live in Orlando, or don’t want to go downtown for the day, you can watch the meeting online! The Wednesday meeting is live streamed. This is something that they’ve only been doing for about a year, and I love it. Sometimes I can’t make it to the live meeting, but I can pop in and out throughout the day to see what is going on. Check out this website to find a link to the live stream and the agendas so you can see what they are discussing.

Too often, laws or rules are passed and people complain that the powers that be are pushing their will down on the people. Actually, you can go to the meeting and participate in the process. (This is true in all areas of government, not just real estate.) America does not have rule by the majority. We have rule by the people who participate in the process. At the FREC meeting, you can participate in the process.

If you attend a meeting in person, I’ll probably be there. Please come up and introduce yourself.

Please note that neither I, nor anyone in the Climer family, have any affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate. My father, Ron Climer, sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014. You can find me at Demetree School of Real Estate.

By Karen Climer|2021-08-25T14:17:11-04:00April 12th, 2019|

Live From the FREC Meeting – What Is An Escrow Disbursement Order?

I’m sitting in the FREC meeting listening to EDOs. What do all those acronyms mean? More importantly, what do we need to know for the Florida real estate exam?

Members of the Florida Real Estate Commission are meeting for their monthly meeting. Every month, they issue escrow disbursement orders on several cases.

So let’s say that Buyer Black gives a $5,000 deposit to Real Estate Agent Ron. Ron gives it to his broker by the end of the next business day. The broker deposits it in the bank by the end of the third business day. So far, so good.

Seller Sam accepts the offer. They are closing in two weeks.

Well, something happens between now and closing and the deal goes south. Buyer Black says, “Give me my deposit back.”

Seller Sam says, “You don’t get the deposit. I get the deposit.”

Real Estate Agent Ron is stuck in the middle with the $5,000. He has to give it to somebody but he’s not sure who. This is call conflicting demands. In this case, the first thing you should do is notify FREC within 15 days that we have a conflicting demand problem.

After that, you have to implement one of the four escape procedures or settlement procedures within 30 days. The four procedures are mediate, escrow disbursement order, arbitrate, litigate. I call this No Meal because if you have a conflicting demand problem, you are not getting your commission, which means you are getting No Meal.

NOtify FREC
Mediate
Escrow Disbursement Order
Arbitrate
Litigate

So let’s talk about each of the four escape procedures…

Mediate – This is where we hire a professional mediator. The mediator says, “Give the money to the buyer.” But this is non-binding so if the seller is not happy, he can sue.

Escrow Disbursement Order – This is where the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) decides. That’s what’s happening right now at the meeting. The members of the Commission heard from the buyers and sellers in each case, and they decide who gets the money.

Arbitrate – This is where we hire a professional arbitrator and the arbitrator decides. If the arbitrator says, “Give the money to the seller,” the buyer can’t sue. Why not? Because this is binding. We agreed beforehand that no one would sue anyone.

Litigate – This is where we go to court and let the judge decide.

The two parties can choose any of the four things. There is no hierarchy, so one is not better than the other. Whatever method the buyer and seller agree to is fine. Let’s say that they decide to go the EDO route. The broker requests an escrow disbursement order. The two parties realize that this is going to take a while, so one of them sues the other. At that point, the broker has 10 days to notify FREC, “Never mind. We don’t need your EDO anymore. We’ve got it covered.”

In summary, notify FREC within 15 days. Implement one of the for escape procedures within 30 days. If you request an EDO, then decide to go another route, notify FREC within 10 days that you don’t need the EDO.

If you want to see this in action, come on down to the FREC meeting. If you missed this one, they meet every month. This is almost as much fun as real estate school was.

Please note that neither I, nor anyone in the Climer family, have any affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate. My father, Ron Climer, sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014. You can find me at Demetree School of Real Estate.

By Karen Climer|2021-08-25T14:39:00-04:00January 17th, 2018|

I’m On The FREC Agenda. Now What?

Today is the first day of the monthly Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) meeting. The Commission is listening to applicants tell their stories and deciding who should get a license. These are people who have some sort of criminal history. If you have a criminal history, this is what will happen to your real estate application…

If you have a minor misdemeanor from a while ago and included the appropriate documentation, they will probably approve your application immediately. You will never be on the FREC agenda.

If you have a felony, or several misdemeanors, or a recent incident, you might get a letter from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) that says you will be on the FREC agenda. What does that mean?

At first, you will be on the consent agenda. If you are on the consent agenda, you don’t need to go to the meeting. If you go to the meeting, you will learn about the process, which is not a bad thing. But you will not be given a chance to present your case at this meeting.

Many people are approved from the Consent Agenda. Others are pushed on to the next meeting. This is what they call the Summary of Applicants (SOA). The Summary of Applicants section of the meeting is where the FREC members discuss your case and vote on each case individually. There are usually from 50 -75 people each month on this agenda.

If you are on the Summary of Applicants, here’s are a few recommendations. Keep in mind that I am not an attorney, so this is not legal advice. This is just some common sense type of information that I’ve gathered from watching the proceedings.

Show up to the meeting. You will receive a letter telling you the date of meeting. This is not a subpoena. You are not required to attend. However, it is in your best interest to attend. If you show up, you can present your case. If you are not there, the commissioners only have your paperwork to make a determination.
Dress like you would dress for court. Yes, there are people who show up in jeans, but I’d recommend you wear a suit. If you don’t own a suit, wear the nicest business clothes you have.
Send a few recommendation letters or have a character witness come with you. The commissioners consider that in their determination. If you have a broker who is going to hire you once you get your license, that’s a great person to write a recommendation letter. If you have another professional contact, even outside of real estate, that’s another good choice. If not, maybe you have a spouse or parent who is willing to say something nice about you.
Consider hiring an attorney. Yes, you can represent yourself and many people do, but you are much better off with an attorney. There are a few local attorneys who are there every month representing people. These people know the system. They know how to give you the best chance for getting approved. If you can afford it, consider hiring an attorney.

I don’t know the exact statistics, but it seems like most people get approved. The ones who are not approved usually have a more recent incident or a very serious crime of dishonesty. A crime of dishonesty is something like robbing a bank, writing bad checks, theft, or some sort of fraud.

FREC’s goal is not to punish you again if you’ve already served your punishment. Their only goal is to protect the general public. If they believe you are no longer a threat to the public, they will give you the opportunity to get a license.

Please note that neither I, nor anyone in the Climer family, have any affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate. My father, Ron Climer, sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014. You can find me at Demetree School of Real Estate.

By Karen Climer|2021-08-25T14:43:14-04:00December 12th, 2017|