The 75-Hour Problem and the Office That Wants to Skip It
Devon passed the NY salesperson exam in January and wants to be sponsored by Beacon Realty. Beacon's principal broker, Ms. Cho, tells Devon she can start "shadowing" and doing open houses right away while her license application is pending, because "the exam is the hard part." Devon has not completed the 75-hour qualifying course; she studied with an online prep program and passed the state exam. Separately, Beacon's office manager, Ray (unlicensed), has been running the office's new-agent orientation, collecting completed license applications, and telling new hires which sponsoring broker to name. Ray also keeps the office's advertising files and signs off on new-agent social profiles. Ms. Cho asks whether she can sponsor Devon now and fix the coursework later, and whether Ray's activities are a problem.
1. Can Beacon sponsor Devon and let her begin licensed activity now? Address the 75-hour course requirement, the exam, and sponsorship.
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No. Passing the state exam is not the same as being qualified or licensed. New York requires completion of the qualifying course (75 hours for the salesperson course) before licensure, and the course completion must be documented as part of the application. A prep program that is not the approved qualifying course does not satisfy the requirement.
Devon also cannot perform licensed activity - open houses, showing, soliciting, discussing listings - before her license is issued and she is sponsored. "Shadowing" that involves consumer contact about property is licensed activity. She may, at most, perform clerical tasks for the brokerage as an unlicensed assistant, and only within the unlicensed-assistant boundaries.
Ms. Cho cannot "fix the coursework later." The application must be accurate at filing; submitting or sponsoring on an incomplete application is a licensing violation.
2. Evaluate Ray's activities. Which are permissible for an unlicensed office manager, and which are not?
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Permissible (clerical/administrative): maintaining advertising files, organizing paperwork, scheduling, transmitting completed applications to the broker or Department of State, and running an orientation that covers office logistics - provided the content is approved by a licensee and Ray does not give substantive instruction on brokerage practice or law.
Not permissible: telling new hires which sponsoring broker to name (that is a licensed/broker decision and affects the employment relationship and license records); collecting and "processing" license applications in a way that involves advising on their content or determining eligibility; and signing off on new-agent social profiles (advertising approval is a licensed supervisory function). Ray may collect documents, but Ms. Cho must review and approve applications, sponsorship, and advertising.
The pattern here is an unlicensed person exercising supervisory and compliance authority. That is a discipline risk for Ms. Cho personally and for the brokerage.
3. Ms. Cho wants to keep Ray in place because he is efficient. What written controls should she put in place, and what should she do about Devon right now?
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Devon: do not sponsor or permit licensed activity. Tell her to complete the approved 75-hour qualifying course and provide documentation, then file a complete and accurate application. Until the license issues, she may be engaged only in clerical work under a written unlicensed-assistant job description, with no consumer contact about property, price, terms, or commission.
Ray: retain him in a strictly clerical role with a written job description that lists permitted and prohibited tasks. Specifically: (1) he may collect and transmit applications but may not advise on sponsorship or eligibility; (2) sponsorship decisions are made and documented by Ms. Cho; (3) advertising and social-profile approvals require a licensee's signature; (4) orientation content must be approved by Ms. Cho and may not include substantive brokerage instruction; (5) require a written acknowledgment from Ray and from all agents that they will not accept substantive direction from unlicensed staff; and (6) Ms. Cho should audit files periodically to confirm the controls are working. Document the training and retain the records.