Your real estate license is among your most valuable possessions. It doesn't just provide you with permission to practice as a real estate agent. It validates your knowledge. It lets potential clients know you're a credentialed professional they can trust with their business. The importance of your license can't be measured. Any time it comes under threat, it's a big deal. Your reputation and your livelihood are at stake.
If that's the situation you find yourself in, you should know that defending your license can be a daunting prospect. Wisconsin law can be difficult to parse, and processes and procedures are difficult to navigate. Real Estate Board investigations and hearings are legal proceedings, but they are very particular legal proceedings, different from what you might expect in the civil and criminal justice system. You certainly don't want to go into an investigation trying to represent yourself. Just as importantly, though, you don't want a local or family attorney representing your interest. You need someone with a background and experience in professional license defense. You want someone from the Lento Law Firm.
Wisconsin state law gives you the right to legal representation when your real estate license is under threat. Make the very most of this right by hiring the Lento Law Firm to represent you. Our Professional License Defense Team was built to protect the rights of hard-working professionals just like you. We know the law, and we know how the Wisconsin licensing system works. We're always on your side and ready to bring every resource at our disposal to protect you.
Call the Lento Law Firm immediately, the moment your license is under threat. Dial 888-535-3686, or take time now and fill out our online form.
What Can Put Your Real Estate License at Risk?
There's a reason you had to take classes and pass an exam before you received your real estate license. As an agent, you have an enormous number of financial and ethical responsibilities. Rules and regulations can be complex and sometimes even conflicting, and it's not always easy to decide the right thing to do in a given situation.
As far as governance goes, you operate under the jurisdiction of the Wisconsin Real Estate Examining Board as established by Wisconsin law. As with all licensing boards in the state, the Real Estate Examining Board is housed within the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS).
Your most immediate duties as an agent are outlined in Chapter 452 of the Wisconsin statutes. However, you are also obliged to take into account a variety of other rules and laws, such as the federal government's Fair Housing Act and Wisconsin's property tax code. There's no way we could possibly describe all your responsibilities here, but we can provide a list of some of the most common complaints our real estate clients face.
- Breach of Confidentiality: You have a responsibility to keep all information about your clients confidential. This extends to documents you and your firm may possess relating to your clients. Beyond this basic ethical duty, you also need to safeguard some specific types of information. Revealing a buyer's background to a seller or vice versa can raise issues under the Fair Housing Act, for example.
- Due Diligence and Disclosure: You are required by law to disclose what you know about the property you handle, including any problems of which you're aware. It is not uncommon for buyers who discover a problem with a property to blame their agent, even if the agent had no knowledge of the specific problem.
- Honest Representation: You are expected to be honest in all your dealings with your client and, further, to place your client's welfare above that of yourself and your firm. As you might imagine, it isn't always easy to know what constitutes a client's best interests, and tricky situations can lead to formal complaints.
- Monies and Fees: You must be careful about how you deal with the financial elements of every transaction. You are barred, for instance, from receiving any fee related to the transaction from any person other than your client without express written permission from all parties to the transaction. Further, even simple mistakes like failing to deposit earnest money into an escrow account are usually treated as serious offenses.
- Restrictions on Your Property: If you own property yourself, you must be very careful about your involvement in any transaction related to that property.
- Simple Incompetence: Dissatisfied clients can always lodge a complaint alleging you are incompetent as a real estate agent.
None of us is perfect, and when you're dealing with a subject as complex as real estate, mistakes happen. A simple mistake, though, can lead to allegations of misconduct that put your license in jeopardy. For example,
- Complaints sometimes originate from misunderstandings.
- You can face charges of misconduct for simple clerical errors.
- You can never be certain when a disagreement with a client may turn into a complaint or even a false allegation.
- If you own a real estate firm, you can be charged with offenses relating to the conduct of your employees.
Keep in mind as well that even if you have made a mistake, it doesn't mean you deserve to lose your license. In our current social and political climate, licensing boards sometimes take harsh action so they seem "tough on offenders." You have a right to fair punishments, and even if you plan to admit fault in a misconduct case, you need an attorney on your side to ensure the Board respects your rights.
Wherever charges against you originate, you can be certain the Lento Law Firm will do everything in its power to defend both your license and your reputation.
The Disciplinary Process for Real Estate Agents in Wisconsin
Whatever charges you might be facing, it's important you recognize that you have a right to due process. The Board cannot punish you with substantiating evidence, and it must allow you the opportunity to challenge that evidence at a formal hearing.
The disciplinary process is defined by the DSPS and includes four distinct phases.
- First, someone lodges a complaint against you with the Board.
- The Board undertakes a full investigation of the complaint.
- The Board conducts a hearing into the complaint.
- Should the Board determine you are “responsible for” (guilty of) a complaint, it then issues a sanction.
Complaints
Anyone can lodge a complaint against you as a real estate agent. In practice, complaints most often originate with
- Customers
- Other agents
- Supervisors
- Colleagues
- Employees you supervise
- Other agency staff
The Board can also initiate an investigation on its own authority if a member suspects you may have committed some form of misconduct or a routine evaluation indicates you may have violated your legal or ethical responsibilities.
The fact that someone has complained about you does not mean you'll wind up losing your license. However, it is an important first step in the process, and even if you are eventually cleared, a complaint can cause issues if it should become public knowledge. You need to contact the Lento Law Firm any time you think someone might have lodged a complaint. We can sometimes work out a solution before the Board issues a formal charge, and we can help to ensure that the Board handles your case discreetly.
Investigation
If the Board decides to investigate you, it must provide you with notice of the charges. That notice must include the name of your accuser, a description of the allegations, and a complete list of your due process rights.
You should be allowed to give the Board your side of the story, either in person or through a written statement.
Here again, cases are sometimes dismissed at the investigative stage for simple lack of evidence. We can ensure that investigators do their jobs, that they treat you ethically and fairly, and that they don't misunderstand or misuse the evidence they uncover. In addition, we'll conduct our own investigation into events, so you'll have evidence to counter any claims against you.
Hearing
There are some similarities between Board hearings and the kinds of criminal court cases you may have seen on television. For example, the Board has subpoena power, which means it can compel witnesses to testify. Both sides make opening and closing statements, offer up physical evidence, and examine and cross-examine witnesses. As in criminal cases, you have the right to legal representation, so your Lento Law Firm attorney can conduct all aspects of your defense. We are seasoned defense attorneys with courtroom experience, and we can be fierce when it comes to protecting our clients.
A Board hearing is not a criminal trial, however. Rules of evidence are more relaxed, for instance. Roles are not differentiated as they are at trial. The Board essentially serves as prosecutor, judge, and jury. And the Board's decision isn't based on the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard applied at criminal trials. Instead, the Board employs a lesser standard known as "preponderance of the evidence." In simple terms, the Board must find you guilty if it believes you "more likely than not" committed an offense.
What this means is that, while you certainly need an attorney to represent your interests, an ordinary attorney won't do. The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm are experienced in dealing with these kinds of extra-judicial proceedings. We know what to expect from DSPS investigations and hearings and how to use processes and procedures to your best benefit.
Hearing Outcomes
Should the Board find you responsible for (guilty of) an offense, it can impose a number of different sanctions, including
- Official warnings
- Fines
- License suspension
- License revocation
Finally, you can challenge the Board's decisions through a process of judicial review. However, you need grounds to file such a petition. Your Lento Law Firm attorney can help you with any post-hearing issues you may face, from advising you on appeals to negotiating the terms of your sanction.
Why You Need a Professional License Defense Team
By this point, you should have some sense of why it's so important to have an attorney when you go into a Wisconsin license defense.
- The stakes are incredibly high. Simply put, your career is on the line. If the Board decides to revoke your license, you're going to be forced to find a new occupation. Even if all you receive is a warning, that too can have a serious impact on your livelihood. You may have trouble getting hired at agencies, and you may have trouble attracting customers. In simple terms, everything is at risk.
- A professional license defense is no simple matter. Beyond establishing the facts of the case, you need to know how to use processes and procedures effectively. You may need to make subtle interpretations of the law. Introducing evidence, examining and cross-examining witnesses, and raising objections any time your rights are in question are complicated, delicate procedures, and one mistake can devastate a defense.
- The Board of Real Estate Examiners is not on your side. Under ordinary circumstances, the Board can be an advocate for real estate agents in the state. The Board is responsible, for instance, for conducting licensing examinations and issuing licenses. It keeps you updated on new rules and regulations. It represents your interests before the Wisconsin legislature. In this instance, though, it's under pressure from the public to conduct a thorough investigation and impose harsh penalties. You need someone who is in your corner. You need someone from the Lento Law Firm.
Remember: a local or family attorney isn't going to have the experience necessary to conduct a successful defense. They won't have the same familiarity with Wisconsin licensing laws, and they won't have the experience of having mounted numerous licensing defenses. Only a Lento Law Firm attorney has the knowledge and background necessary to protect your career.
What Can the Lento Law Firm Do For You?
Your real estate license means everything to you. It gives you the right to practice your profession. It certifies that you are qualified and experienced. It lets customers know that you can be trusted. If that license is being threatened in any way, you can't afford to take chances. You absolutely must do everything you can to defend yourself, and that starts with hiring the best legal representation you can.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team understands your situation. They understand what kinds of pressures you face every day and just how important what you do is. They believe in you, and they're ready to fight to ensure you get the justice you deserve.
To find out more about exactly what the Lento Law Firm can do for you, contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.
