New Hampshire Real Estate License Defense

New Hampshire may be a small state, but it takes its regulation of real estate professionals seriously. Whether you're working in Manchester, Concord, Nashua, or any part of the state as an appraiser, agent, or broker, you can expect professional standards of conduct and disciplinary processes that you'd find in any other state.

If you ever have questions about your appraiser or real estate license or find out that you've been accused of professional misconduct, contact the Lento Law Firm as soon as possible. Our experienced Professional License Defense Team is ready to help. You can schedule a consultation using our online contact form or by calling 888-535-3686.

Who Regulates Real Estate Professionals in New Hampshire?

Most real estate professionals in New Hampshire are regulated by one of two government agencies. The NH Real Estate Commission regulates real estate brokers, agents, and other real estate sales professionals (including firms). The NH Real Estate Appraiser Board regulates appraisers (including apprentice, general, and residential appraisers) and appraisal management companies.

The NH Real Estate Commission's legal authority comes from the New Hampshire Real Estate Practice Act and related rules. The NH Real Estate Appraiser Board obtains its legal authority from its own statutes and rules.

Both of these organizations have largely similar tasks in that they both process and oversee the licensure process for their respective industries. They also both handle the disciplinary process should a licensee fail to comply with their professional, ethical, or legal obligations. However, these two regulating bodies exist for two different reasons.

The NH Real Estate Commission exists for the same reason most professional regulating bodies exist in most states. Specifically, to ensure that regulated professionals act in a safe, ethical, and professional manner and to confirm they possess sufficient skills and knowledge to maintain public confidence in this profession.

The NH Real Estate Appraiser Board exists for a slightly different reason. It was created in response to the passage of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989. This federal law exists to establish certain minimum standards for real estate appraisers used in federally related real estate transactions. Despite the original reason for the NH Real Estate Appraiser Board's formation, it regulates all certified and licensed appraisers who offer appraisal services in the state.

Why NH Real Estate Professionals May Face Disciplinary Action

If you're a real estate agent, broker, or salesperson, you could face disciplinary action for a plethora of reasons. The New Hampshire Real Estate Practice Act provides a complete list of prohibited conduct, but the following are most likely to lead to professional sanctions:

Obtaining or trying to obtain a professional license through fraud, concealment, or misrepresentation.
Being convicted in a state or federal court of forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, bribery, larceny, extortion, conspiracy to commit fraud, sex crimes, drug distribution, arson, physical violence, or a related offense.
Violating one or more applicable provisions of the New Hampshire Real Estate Practice Act or related rules.
Publishing or helping to publish false statements that would induce someone to act where the licensee knew or had reason to know their statements were false.
Being a part of a fraud, conspiracy, collusion, trick, misrepresentation, or scheme where someone relies on the word or conduct of the licensee.
Accepting the services of or representing any salesperson who doesn't have a required license.
Conversion of any money or financial instrument for the licensee's own use when such conversion would violate someone's trust or occur before the requisite condition has occurred.
Failing to promptly deliver funds to the proper trust account.
Failing to reconcile financial records at least monthly.
Refusing to provide information when lawfully requested by the NH Real Estate Commission.
Advertising without proper disclosure requirements.
Advertising the licensee's services or the availability of real estate falsely or deceptively.
Accepting earnest money in a form other than cash or its equivalent without proper disclosure of the fact.
Representing more than one party in a real estate transaction without first disclosing this fact and obtaining written consent from all the parties.
Issuing a comparative market analysis without disclosing the licensee's interest, if any, in the relevant property.
Misrepresenting a member of any real estate association.
Discriminating against anyone in hiring or sales activity in such a way that it would violate any applicable state or federal anti-discrimination laws.
Not keeping at least three years' worth of trust account, real estate transactions, and escrow records.
In the case of a principal broker or branch manager failing to properly supervise the activities of licensees and unlicensed staff.
Breaching any fiduciary duty owed to a principal in a real estate transaction.
Guaranteeing or authorizing someone else to guarantee future profits or income that may result from a real estate transaction.
Trying to sell real estate without the written consent of the owner.
Trying to sell real estate on terms other than those authorized by the owner.
Providing any indication of incompetency or untrustworthiness to act as a real estate broker or salesperson.
Attempting to convince any party to a real estate contract or lease to break the contract or lease to submit a new real estate contract or lease to a new principal.
Lying to a bank or other interested party by providing a sale price for real property that's more than its true sales price or the sales price agreed upon by the parties to the transaction.
Submitting a property owner's name into an electronic database (including a multiple listing service) without express written permission from the property owner, and that database can be accessed by anyone else other than the property owner's broker.
Not notifying the NH Real Estate Commission in writing within 30 days of being convicted of any state or federal crime relating to forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, bribery, larceny, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, sex crimes, drug distribution, arson, or physical violence.

Appraisers could also face disciplinary action if they deviate from the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) or if they're convicted in state or federal court of:

Forgery
Extortion
Embezzlement
Bribery
Larceny
Extortion
Conspiracy to defraud
Sex crimes
Drug distribution
Obtaining money under false pretenses
Arson
Physical violence
Any other similar offenses

The Disciplinary Process for Real Estate Agents, Brokers, and Appraisers in New Hampshire

Even though there are two separate agencies regulating the majority of real estate professionals in New Hampshire, the disciplinary processes are similar. It starts with someone filing a complaint with the New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC).

Anyone can file this complaint, and after receiving it, it gets forwarded to the OPLC Enforcement Unit. They will review the complaint and conduct an investigation. If there are sufficient facts to support the allegations in the complaint, the OPLC Enforcement Unit will send a Licensee Notification Letter to the accused informing them of the complaint and requesting a written response to the allegations. This response must be in writing and can be sent as an email attachment, by USPS, or another commercial delivery service.

After receiving a response from the licensee, the OPLC Enforcement Unit will continue its investigation, if necessary. Then its findings get sent to the NH Real Estate Commission or the NH Real Estate Appraiser Board who will conduct a further review.

This review occurs in a closed-door meeting where the NH Real Estate Commission or the NH Real Estate Appraiser Board will decide to either

Dismiss the complaint;
Dismiss the complaint with a letter of concern; or
Move forward with the disciplinary process.

A decision to move forward with disciplinary action could result in further investigation or an attempt to informally resolve the matter. In the latter situation, the licensee will usually agree to admit to wrongdoing regarding some or all of the allegations made against them. In return, they'll likely receive a less severe sanction.

If the informal attempts to settle are unsuccessful, the licensee may request a hearing on the merits. This hearing will usually have a presiding officer and at least three board members who will hear evidence from both sides and issue a written decision.

The written decision from the NH Real Estate Commission or Appraiser Board will have several sections. The first section contains background facts and procedural history. The next section provides a summary of the evidence presented at the hearing and the members of the Board or Commission present at the hearing.

Sections three and four will consist of Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. These represent the Commission or Board's findings from the hearing.

The next section lists any sanctions for the licensee, if applicable. The last section of the decision consists of an Order outlining the result of the hearing and the Board or Commission's decision.

If the licensee disagrees with this decision, they may file an appeal to the New Hampshire Superior Court. There are 11 of these courts throughout the state, and these are lower-trial level courts of general jurisdiction.

Potential Disciplinary Sanctions for NH Real Estate Professionals

If you're a real estate agent, broker, or appraiser and subject to disciplinary sanctions, you'll likely face one or more of the following sanctions:

License suspension
License revocation
Administrative fines
Continuing education

In disciplinary actions against real estate appraisers, license revocation is the most severe sanction and will last a minimum of three years. A real estate appraiser is only eligible for license revocation in the following three situations:

The licensee made at least two earlier false claims of inspecting a property;
The licensee committed at least two earlier major violations of the USPAP or
Another state revoked the licensee's appraisal license.

The NH Real Estate Appraiser Board is required to suspend an appraiser's license if at least one of the following conditions exists:

The appraiser has, on at least two other occasions, tried to mislead someone with an appraisal or influence the value of a property in their client's favor;
The appraiser has violated the competency requirement on two other occasions;
The appraiser has failed to disclose assistance provided by others on at least two prior occasions or
Another state has suspended the appraiser's license.

The sanctions imposed on real estate agents and brokers depend on both mitigating and aggravating factors. Mitigating circumstances include:

No prior disciplinary actions against the licensee.
The licensee's state of mind when committing unlawful conduct.
The licensee's willingness to cooperate with the NH Real Estate Commission throughout the disciplinary process.
An admission of wrongdoing.
The violation imposes a minimal amount of harm to the general public.
The underlying policy considerations of the statute or rule violated.
There was only a single violation of a rule or statute.

Aggravating circumstances include:

Having earlier instances of professional misconduct.
The state of mind of the licensee when the violation occurred.
The licensee's refusal to cooperate with the NH Real Estate Commission during the disciplinary process.
The underlying policy considerations of the rule or statute violated.
The violation's potential harm to the general public.
The licensee's conduct resulted in multiple violations.

In certain situations, the license of a real estate agent or broker may be subject to an emergency suspension. If this happens, the NH Real Estate Commission can suspend a license without a hearing if the allegations made against the licensee involve “imminent danger to public health, safety, or welfare…”

After issuing an emergency license suspension order, the Commission will schedule an emergency hearing and send a Notice of Emergency Hearing with a date and time of the hearing to the licensee.