Bureau of Real Estate (BRE) Broker is a licensed professional that can engage in the business of real estate and mortgage brokering. You may engage in the activities of sale, exchange, negotiation, or solicitation of real estate, mortgage loans, leases, or real estate sales contracts for compensation. With this license you can work independently, work with other brokers, or act as the supervising broker for a corporation. You can employ Salespersons to expand the business.
Apart from real estate brokering, this license allows both commercial and residential mortgage activities.
If you engage in sale, exchange, negotiation, or solicitation of real estate, mortgage loans, leases, or real estate sales contracts for compensation will require a license in California. Visit BRE Licenses page to learn more on activities that require a license.
Certain restrictions or circumstances that can cause an application to be denied are:
Members of CA State Bar are exempt from college level course requirements. To document the exemption, you will have to provide evidence of membership of the State Bar such as photocopy of both sides of a California State Bar membership card.
From Jan 1, 2013 a J.D. degree in itself will not allow you to be exempt from any educational or experience requirements. To qualify for the education and experience exemptions, you need to be a member of the member of the State Bar of California.
Applicants who desire to enter the mortgage industry and conduct residential (1 to 4 units) Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) activities are required to obtain a MLO license endorsement after obtaining BRE Salesperson/Broker License. BRE defines MLO as "An individual who takes a residential mortgage loan application or offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan for compensation or gain."
Therefore, to conduct mortgage activities, the applicant should consider the additional MLO related requirements:
You have two choices when applying for license:
Broker license is renewed every four year upon completion of the required continuing education requirements and other renewal requirements. Learn more here for renewal requirements.
10131 of CA Business and Professions Code define a real estate broker as follows:
A real estate broker within the meaning of this part is a person who, for a compensation or in expectation of a compensation, regardless of the form or time of payment, does or negotiates to do one or more of the following acts for another or others:
(a) Sells or offers to sell, buys or offers to buy, solicits prospective sellers or purchasers of, solicits or obtains listings of, or negotiates the purchase, sale or exchange of real property or a business opportunity.
(b) Leases or rents or offers to lease or rent, or places for rent, or solicits listings of places for rent, or solicits for prospective tenants, or negotiates the sale, purchase or exchanges of leases on real property, or on a business opportunity, or collects rents from real property, or improvements thereon, or from business opportunities.
(c) Assists or offers to assist in filing an application for the purchase or lease of, or in locating or entering upon, lands owned by the state or federal government.
(d) Solicits borrowers or lenders for or negotiates loans or collects payments or performs services for borrowers or lenders or note owners in connection with loans secured directly or collaterally by liens on real property or on a business opportunity.
(e) Sells or offers to sell, buys or offers to buy, or exchanges or offers to exchange a real property sales contract, or a promissory note secured directly or collaterally by a lien on real property or on a business opportunity, and performs services for the holders thereof.
According to BRE publication, Instructions To License Applicants (RE4):
For individuals licensed by BRE, a mortgage loan originator (MLO) an individual who takes a residential mortgage loan application or offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan for compensation or gain. An individual real estate licensee acting within the meaning of Section 10131(d) or Section 10131.1(b)(1)(c) of the Business and Professions Code (B&P) is a mortgage loan originator with respect to activities involving residential mortgage loans.
10131(d) of CA Business and Professions Code
Solicits borrowers or lenders for or negotiates loans or collects payments or performs services for borrowers or lenders or note owners in connection with loans secured directly or collaterally by liens on real property or on a business opportunity.
10131.1 (b) (1) (C) of CA Business and Professions Code
The making of eight or more loans in a calendar year from the person’s own funds to the public when those loans are held or resold and are secured directly or collaterally by a lien on residential real property consisting of a single dwelling unit in a condominium or cooperative or on any parcel containing only residential buildings if the total number of units on the parcel is four or less. However, no transaction negotiated through a real estate broker who meets the criteria of subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 10232 shall be considered in determining whether a person is a real estate broker within the meaning of this section.
Updated: Sep 14, 2013
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