Interview with the Director of the Colorado Division of Real Estate!

Duane Duggan on RE/MAX of Boulder Radio continues to keep the Boulder community and home buyers and sellers updated with the latest information regarding the real estate market. This week Duane Duggan interviews the Director of the Colorado Division of Real Estate, Marcia Waters.

• Home-grown Boulder County Native

Home-grown Boulder County native and CU-Boulder grad, Marcia Waters, has been with the Division of Real Estate for over nine years and was named the new director of the Colorado Division of Real Estate in 2010. Prior to becoming the interim director of the real estate division, Waters served as a police officer in Lafayette, Colorado.

• Oversees all real estate brokers in the State of Colorado

As a member of DORA (Department of Regulatory Agencies), Waters has “quite the task” says Duggan, as her department currently oversees all real estate brokers in the state of Colorado, appraisers and appraisal management companies, mortgage lenders and some sub-division developers. The Division of Real Estate is a cash-funded agency, the funding for which comes from licensing fees and fines levied against licensees. In the state of Colorado, real estate brokers have been regulated since 1925, says Waters, and in order to become a real estate broker you must: complete up to 168 hours of prequalifying education; take and pass a two-part exam; and undergo a background check. Once the prerequisites have been met, you may be issued a license, however, you must have insurance in order to practice. Once licensed, brokers must comply with continuing education requirements that require 24 hours of education for each three-year license cycle.

• Are all agents REALTORS®?

Do agents need to become a REALTOR® in order to practice?  Waters response to this is no to both questions. REALTORS® (versus agents) are members of the trade association, National Association of REALTORS®, and there are currently about 37,000 real estate brokers in the state of Colorado, 20,000 of which are licensed REALTORS®. Similar to agents at RE/MAX of Boulder, DORA is committed to informing consumers about agency and disclosure issues. “We are really expecting that the brokers will disclose how they are going to represent a consumer,” says Waters, “and for consumers, I definitely recommend that they go on our website and really do their due-diligence to make sure that they’re working with someone who is very competent in the area they they’re practicing in.”

For more information about the topics covered in this radio show please visit: www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/