AB 607, Dodd. Real estate trust fund accounts: bond requirement.
Existing law, the Real Estate Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of real estate brokers by the Real Estate Commissioner. Existing law requires a real estate broker who accepts funds belonging to others in connection with a transaction to deposit all those funds in either a neutral escrow depository, into the hands of the broker’s principal, or into a trust fund account, as specified.
This bill would authorize certain persons, including, among others, a real estate salesperson licensed to the broker to withdraw funds from a trust fund account of the broker if specifically authorized in writing. The bill would authorize an unlicensed employee of the broker to withdraw funds from the broker’s trust fund account if the broker has fidelity bond coverage equal to the maximum amount of the trust funds to which the unlicensed employee has access to at any time. The bill would authorize this bond to have a deductible of up to 5% of the coverage amount, if the employing broker has evidence of financial responsibility and require financial responsibility to be a separate fidelity bond coverage or a cash deposit adequate to cover the amount of the fidelity bond deductible, as specified, or any other evidence of financial responsibility approved by the commissioner. The bill would prohibit an arrangement from relieving the persons authorized by a broker or officer from responsibility or liability in handling trust funds in the broker’s custody, as specified.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 10145 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
(a) (1) A real estate broker who accepts funds belonging to others in connection with a transaction subject to this part shall deposit all those funds that are not immediately placed into a neutral escrow depository or into the hands of the broker’s principal, into a trust fund account maintained by the broker in a bank or recognized depository in this state. All funds deposited by the broker in a trust fund account shall be maintained there until disbursed by the broker in accordance with instructions from the person entitled to the funds.
(2) Withdrawals may be made from a trust fund account of an individual broker only upon the signature of that broker, or in the case of a corporate broker, only upon the signature of an officer through whom the corporation is licensed pursuant to Section 10158 or 10211, or one, or more, of the following persons if specifically authorized in writing by the individual broker or officer:
(A) A real estate salesperson licensed to the broker.
(B) Another broker acting pursuant to a written agreement with the individual broker that conforms to the requirements of this part and any regulations promulgated pursuant to this part.
(C) An unlicensed employee of the individual broker, if the broker has fidelity bond coverage equal to at least the maximum amount of the trust funds to which the unlicensed employee has access at any time. For purposes of this section, bonds providing coverage may be written with a deductible of up to 5 percent of the coverage amount. For bonds with a deductible, the employing broker shall have evidence of financial responsibility that is sufficient to protect members of the public against a loss subject to the deductible amount.
Evidence of financial responsibility shall include one or more of the following:
(i) Separate fidelity bond coverage adequate to cover the amount of the fidelity bond deductible.
(ii) A cash deposit held in a separate account, apart from other funds of the broker, the broker’s employees, or the broker’s principals, in a bank or recognized depository in this state adequate to cover the amount of the fidelity bond deductible and held exclusively and solely for the purpose of paying the fidelity bond deductible amount.
(iii) Any other evidence of financial responsibility approved by the commissioner.
(3) An arrangement under which a person enumerated in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (2) is authorized to make withdrawals from a trust fund account of a broker shall not relieve an individual broker, nor the broker-officer of a corporate broker licensee, from responsibility or liability as provided by law in handling trust funds in the broker’s custody.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), a real estate broker collecting payments or performing services for investors or note owners in connection with loans secured by a first lien on real property may deposit funds received in trust in an out-of-state depository institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, if the investor or note owner is any one of the following:
(A) The Federal National Mortgage Association, the Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal Housing Administration, or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
(B) A bank or subsidiary thereof, bank holding company or subsidiary thereof, trust company, savings bank or savings and loan association or subsidiary thereof, savings bank or savings association holding company or subsidiary thereof, credit union, industrial bank or industrial loan company, or insurance company doing business under the authority of, and in accordance with, the laws of this state, another state, or the United States relating to banks, trust companies, savings banks or savings associations, credit unions, industrial banks or industrial loan companies, or insurance companies, as evidenced by a license, certificate, or charter issued by the United States or a state, district, territory, or commonwealth of the United States.
(C) Trustees of a pension, profit-sharing, or welfare fund, if the pension, profit-sharing, or welfare fund has a net worth of not less than fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000).
(D) A corporation with outstanding securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation.
(E) A syndication or other combination of any of the entities specified in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) that is organized to purchase the promissory note.
(F) The California Housing Finance Agency or a local housing finance agency organized under the Health and Safety Code.
(G) A licensed residential mortgage lender or servicer acting under the authority of that license.
(H) A licensed real estate broker selling all or part of the loan, note, or contract to a lender or purchaser specified in subparagraphs (A) to (G), inclusive.
(5) A real estate broker who deposits funds held in trust in an out-of-state depository institution in accordance with paragraph (3) shall make available, in this state, the books, records, and files pertaining to the trust accounts to the commissioner or the commissioner’s representatives or pay the reasonable expenses for travel and lodging incurred by the commissioner or the commissioner’s representatives in order to conduct an examination at an out-of-state location.
(b) A real estate broker acting as a principal pursuant to Section 10131.1 shall place all funds received from others for the purchase of real property sales contracts or promissory notes secured directly or collaterally by liens on real property in a neutral escrow depository unless delivery of the contract or note is made simultaneously with the receipt of the purchase funds.
(c) A real estate sales person who accepts trust funds from others on behalf of the broker under whom he or she is licensed shall immediately deliver the funds to the broker or, if so directed by the broker, shall deliver the funds into the custody of the broker’s principal or a neutral escrow depository or shall deposit the funds into the broker’s trust fund account.
(d) If not otherwise expressly prohibited by this part, a real estate broker may, at the request of the owner of trust funds or of the principals to a transaction or series of transactions from whom the broker has received trust funds, deposit the funds into an interest-bearing account in a bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or industrial loan company, the accounts of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, if all of the following requirements are met:
(1) The account is in the name of the broker as trustee for the designated beneficiary or principal of a transaction or series of transactions.
(2) All of the funds in the account are covered by insurance provided by an agency of the United States.
(3) The funds in the account are kept separate, distinct, and apart from funds belonging to the broker or to any other person for whom the broker holds funds in trust.
(4) The broker discloses to the person from whom the trust funds are received, and to a beneficiary whose identity is known to the broker at the time of establishing the account, the nature of the account, how interest will be calculated and paid under various circumstances, whether service charges will be paid to the depository and by whom, and possible notice requirements or penalties for withdrawal of funds from the account.
(5) Interest earned on funds in the account may not inure directly or indirectly to the benefit of the broker or a person licensed to the broker.
(6) In an executory sale, lease, or loan transaction in which the broker accepts funds in trust to be applied to the purchase, lease, or loan, the parties to the contract shall have specified in the contract or by collateral written agreement the person to whom interest earned on the funds is to be paid or credited.
(e) The broker shall have no obligation to place trust funds into an interest-bearing account unless requested to do so and unless all of the conditions in subdivision (d) are met, nor, in any event, if he or she advises the party making the request that the funds will not be placed in an interest-bearing account.
(f) Nothing in subdivision (d) shall preclude the commissioner from prescribing, by regulation, circumstances in which, and conditions under which, a real estate broker is authorized to deposit funds received in trust into an interest-bearing trust fund account.
(g) The broker shall maintain a separate record of the receipt and disposition of all funds described in subdivisions (a) and (b), including any interest earned on the funds.
(h) Upon request of the commissioner, a broker shall furnish to the commissioner an authorization for examination of financial records of those trust fund accounts maintained in a financial institution, in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 7473 of the Government Code.
(i) As used in this section, “neutral escrow” means an escrow business conducted by a person licensed under Division 6 (commencing with Section 17000) of the Financial Code or by a person described in paragraph (1) or (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 17006 of that code.
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