the production of any material which is relevant to the investigation, including any and all records of a licensee pertaining to his activities as a real estate broker, broker-salesperson, salesperson or referral agent. The commission may also require the provision of any information concerning the existence, description, nature, custody, condition and location of any books, documents, or other tangible material and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of relevant facts of any other matter reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of material evidence. Upon failure to obey a subpoena or to answer questions posed by an investigator or legal representative of the commission and upon reasonable notice to all affected persons, the commission may commence an administrative action as provided below or apply to the Superior Court for an order compelling compliance.
The commission may place on probation, suspend for a period less than the unexpired portion of the license period, or may revoke any license issued under the provisions of R.S.45:15-1 et seq., or the right of licensure when such person is no longer the holder of a license at the time of hearing, or may impose, in addition or as an alternative to such probation, revocation or suspension, a penalty of not more than $ 5,000 for the first violation, and a penalty of not more than $ 10,000 for any subsequent violation, which penalty shall be sued for and recovered by and in the name of the commission and shall be collected and enforced by summary proceedings pursuant to the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.), where the licensee or any person, in performing or attempting to perform any of the acts mentioned herein, is deemed to be guilty of:
a.Making any false promises or any substantial misrepresentation; or
b.Acting for more than one party in a transaction without the knowledge of all parties thereto; or
c.Pursuing a flagrant and continued course of misrepresentation or making of false promises through agents, brokersalespersons, salespersons or referral agents, advertisements or otherwise; or
d.Failure to account for or to pay over any moneys belonging to others, coming into the possession of the licensee; or
e.Any conduct which demonstrates unworthiness, incompetency, bad faith or dishonesty. The failure of any person to cooperate with the commission in the performance of its duties or to comply with a subpoena issued by the commission compelling the production of materials in the course of an investigation, or the failure to give a verbal or written statement concerning a matter under investigation may be construed as conduct demonstrating unworthiness; or
f.Failure to provide his client with a fully executed copy of any sale or exclusive sales or rental listing contract at the time of execution thereof, or failure to specify therein a definite terminal date which terminal date shall not be subject to any qualifying terms or conditions; or
g.Using any plan, scheme or method for the sale or promotion of the sale of real estate which involves a lottery, a contest, a game, a prize, a drawing, or the offering of a lot or parcel or lots or parcels for advertising purposes, provided, however, that a promotion or offer of free, discounted or other services or products which does not require that the recipient of any free, discounted or other services or products enter into a sale, listing or other real estate contract as a condition of the promotion or offer shall not constitute a violation of this subsection if that promotion or offering does not involve a lottery, a contest, a game, a drawing or the offering of a lot or parcel or lots or parcels for advertising purposes. A broker shall disclose in writing any compensation received for such promotion or offer in the form and substance as required by the federal “Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974,” 12 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq., except that, notwithstanding the provisions of that federal act, written disclosure shall be provided no later than when the promotion or offer is extended by the broker to the consumer; or
h.Being convicted of a crime, knowledge of which the commission did not have at the time of last issuing a real estate license to the licensee; or
i.Collecting a commission as a real estate broker in a transaction, when at the same time representing either party in a transaction in a different capacity for a consideration; or
j.Using any trade name or insignia of membership in any real estate organization of which the licensee is not a member; or
k.Paying any rebate, profit, compensation or commission to anyone not possessed of a real estate license, except that: (1) free, discounted or other services or products provided for in subsection g. of this section shall not constitute a violation of this subsection; and (2) a real estate broker may provide a purchaser of residential real property, but no other third party a rebate of a portion of the commission paid to the broker in a transaction, so long as: the broker and the purchaser contract for such a rebate at the onset of the broker relationship in a written document, electronic document or a buyer agency agreement; the broker complies with any State or federal requirements with respect to the disclosure of the payment of the rebate; and the broker recommends to the purchaser that the purchaser contact a tax professional concerning the tax implications of receiving that rebate. The rebate paid to the purchaser shall be in the form of a credit, reducing the amount of the commission payable to the broker, or a check paid by the closing agent and shall be made at the time of closing; or
1. Any other conduct, whether of the same or a different character than specified in this section, which constitutes fraud or dishonest dealing; or
m. Accepting a commission or valuable consideration as a real estate broker-salesperson, salesperson or referral agent for the performance of any of the acts specified in this act, from any person, except his employing broker, who must be a licensed broker; or