Three-year record retention
O.C.G.A. 43-40-25(b)(27) and Rule 520-1-.10(4) require a broker to keep for three years sales contracts, closing statements, any document that resulted in depositing trust funds, trust account records and other transaction documents, and to produce them on reasonable request by the Commission or its authorized agents.
Other retention numbers in the chapter are not the broker's duty. One year is the Commission's retention period for certain paper applications. Five years is the window for which the Commission certifies license history, though disciplinary sanctions are certified regardless of date. Forty years is how long the Commission keeps its own investigative files where discipline was imposed or a Recovery Fund payment was made.
License numbers on contracts
Rule 520-1-.10(2) requires a licensee preparing or signing a brokerage engagement or an offer to purchase, sell, lease or exchange to include the six-digit license number issued by the Commission for each firm and each licensee participating in the transaction.
That means both sides. Listing only the preparer's number leaves out the cooperating firm and its licensee, which is what the rule exists to capture; listing only the listing firm omits the individual licensees. Offers are not exempt. Failing to disclose licensure in a contract requiring it carries a citation fine of $600.00 per contract.
Closing statements to both parties
O.C.G.A. 43-40-25(b)(20) makes it an unfair trade practice for a broker to fail to deliver, at the time the transaction is consummated:
- To the seller, a complete and detailed closing statement of all receipts and disbursements handled for the seller.
- To the buyer, a statement of all money received from the buyer and how it was disbursed.
True copies are retained in the broker's files. The duty runs to both parties regardless of which one the broker represents, and it attaches at consummation, not thirty days afterward. The closing attorney's settlement statement does not discharge a duty the statute places on the broker.