Over the past several months, applications to transfer a salesperson's affiliation to a new brokerage have experienced significant delays — often taking four to six weeks to process. During this period, it was unclear whether a licensed salesperson could continue to practice, creating unnecessary uncertainty and potential financial hardship.
The New Hampshire Association of Realtors raised these concerns with both the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) and the Real Estate Commission. NHAR argued that a licensed professional’s ability to earn a living should not be curtailed due to administrative delays and immediate action was required.
On April 6, NHAR formally requested that OPLC revise its processing procedures for affiliation transfers. You can read the full letter here.
On April 14, OPLC issued guidance clarifying that, in compliance with Rea 404.02, a license transfer is effective upon notification to OPLC — provided the Real Estate Commission Transfer/Activation Form is submitted within five days of the change in Principal Broker and the applicable fee is paid.
Importantly, this clarification applies only to transfers of affiliation and does not extend to initial licensing. You can watch a synopsis of the change from NHAR Legal Counsel Matt Johnson by clicking here.
NHAR continues to engage with OPLC and the Real Estate Commission to address ongoing delays in processing initial license applications. Our additional concerns include the lack of readily accessible public information regarding a salesperson’s brokerage affiliation and ensuring that licensees are not penalized for renewal delays caused by the implementation of OPLC’s new licensing portal.
Fortifying homes to lower homeowner insurance
Senate Bill 562 establishes a Granite State home mitigation and resiliency program to provide financial grants to homeowners to mitigate residential real property against loss from severe weather events. While creating the program, the bill provides no state funding.
The intent is to mitigate risks to homes from severe weather events, thereby reducing claim severity, frequency of claims, and insurance premiums for New Hampshire homeowners. To qualify, the home must be a primary home, and the owner must have a gross household income of no greater than 60 percent of the New Hampshire state median income.
The NH Dept. of Insurance hopes that charitable or other non-governmental funds might become available for use in the program. About a dozen states have created a similar program using general revenue funds or fees on insurance companies to fund their programs.
The House has passed the bill and the Senate is expected to take action this month.
New fees for cyanobacteria mitigation and dam repair
This past week, the Senate Ways and Means reviewed three bills which would have created or increased a fee with the intent of generating revenue to either combat cyanobacteria outbreaks on our lakes or to repair dams on our waterways.
House Bill 1477?would have established a $50 registration fee for anchored floats, rafts and inflatables on public waters, with revenues from the fee earmarked for the cyanobacteria mitigation grant fund and the navigation safety fund. The NH Marine Patrol was charged with collecting and enforcing the new fee.
Cyanobacteria blooms have proliferated across the state, forcing beaches to close as they pose health issues.
The bill passed the House of Representatives. However, the Senate Ways and Means Committee voted 3-1 to kill the bill and instead give the legislature the opportunity to study a more comprehensive approach to the cyanobacteria outbreaks.
House Bill 1301 would have increased the annual boat mooring fees by $25 with the funds going to state’s cyanobacteria mitigation loan and grant fund. The Department of Environmental Services indicated that cyanobacteria mitigation projects typically cost between $250,000 and $500,000 per project. The new fee would have brought in approximately $115,000 each year.
The bill passed the House of Representatives, but the Senate Ways and Means Committee voted unanimously to kill the bill, suggesting a long-term solution is needed not a band-aid approach.
Finally, House Bill 629 would increase the existing boat decal fee by $5 per year, which was estimated to bring in $500,000 and $600,000 for the state’s dam maintenance fund.
New Hampshire owns a large number of small dams, something relatively unique to our state. Many of these dams are falling into disrepair and need maintenance or to be removed.
Again, the Senate Ways and Means Committee felt a more comprehensive approach is needed and are suggesting the bill be killed.
Quote of the Week
“Without housing for the people driving this mission forward, our ability to grow the regional economy and deliver life-saving therapies simply cannot be realized.”
—Jennifer MacDonald, chief operating officer, ARMI, BioFabUSA, announcing a regional housing summit focused on the needs of New Hampshire’s tech community.
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For more information, contact New Hampshire Realtors CEO Bob Quinn: bob@nhar.com.