Submitted to the Insurance and Real Estate Committee

March 6, 2008

By
Eugene A. Marconi, General Counsel
Connecticut Association of REALTORS®, Inc.

Senator Crisco, Representative O'Connor and members of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, I am writing on behalf of the 18,000 members of the Connecticut Association of REALTORS® (CAR) concerning Raised Bill 490, An Act Concerning Time Share and Interstate Land Sales. The Association has no objection to this Bill provided certain changes are made to it. I am pleased to report that the Department of Consumer Protection and the Resort Association have agreed to these changes and we understand will submit revised language, and I thank both the Department and the Resort Association for their courtesy in inviting REALTORS® to comment on this Bill and their willingness to listen to CAR's concerns.

CAR had several issues with Raised Bill. First, it had permitted finders fees to be paid to unlicensed individuals who referred purchasers to the resort. Second, it would have resulted in additional registration fees on top of real estate license fees when a real estate licensee brokers 12 or more timeshares. Third, it would have deviated from Connecticut practice and statutes regarding how deposit monies are held in escrow on Connecticut transactions, lastly, it would have repealed a statute that authorized commercial real estate practitioners to enter into co-brokerage arrangements with out-of-state licensees.

It is CAR's understanding that each of these concerns will be addressed in revised language that is to be provided to the Committee shortly. These revisions are to (a) remove the authorization for finders fees in the Bill; (b) not impose additional registration fees on Connecticut real estate licensees who are brokering timeshare units; (c) require that Connecticut statute and practice be followed concerning deposit monies held in escrow when the timeshare property is located in Connecticut; and (d) remove the reference to 20-325l, which is the statute authorizing Connecticut commercial real estate practitioners to enter into co-brokerage arrangements with out-of-state licensees.

If these changes are made, and again, I understand that the Department and the Resort Association have agreed to make these changes, CAR has no objection to such a bill as revised.