Safeguarding public interests in real estate

By: J. David Chapman/May 4, 2023

I am writing this week’s column while in Boston at the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials Mid-year Conference. ARELLO brings together real estate regulatory bodies from across North America to exchange information, trends and education in each jurisdiction. The last day of the annual conference is ARELLO’s annual Commissioner College. Commissioner College is an educational program designed to prepare new real estate commissioners for the unique role as regulatory decision-makers protecting the public interests in real estate matters.

I doubt many reading this column truly understand the role of the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission. The commission is composed of seven members appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to serve a term of four years. Five members are licensed real estate brokers who have at least five years of active experience as brokers prior to their appointment, one member is a lay person not in the real estate business, and one member is a representative of an approved real estate school located within Oklahoma.

The mission of the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission is to safeguard the public interest with respect to the real estate industry in Oklahoma and to provide quality resources to real estate professionals by encouraging and requiring high standards of knowledge and ethical practices; investigating and sanctioning licensed activities; and prosecution of any unlicensed person who violates the Oklahoma License Code and Rules.

I have had the honor of serving as the chairman of the OREC board and I am currently serving my second term representing District 5 on the commission. Rodger Erker is a broker-member from Tulsa and former chairman of OREC. He has had a distinguished career in real estate and is currently with McGraw Realtors. Susan Beach is also a broker-member from Tulsa, serving as vice-chairman. Beach is a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Advantage. Mary Terry is a broker member from Ada and is the founder of Mary Terry & Associates. The last broker-member is Zan Waldenville, founding partner of Meraki Real Estate and Boulevard Property Management in OKC. The two outside members are Mack Barnes, a second-generation commissioner with the Charles Barnes School of Real Estate, and Larry DeWitt, executive vice president of BancCentral NA located in Alva. Barnes is from Moore and DeWitt is from Cherokee. The executive director of OREC is Grant Cody and the deputy director is Bailey Crotty.

J. David Chapman is professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).