In the Real Estate world, we use a lot of acronyms. You may have seen this one....DRE. It stands for the Department of Real Estate. They oversee California real estate transactions and are tasked with protecting the consumer from fraud, misconduct and financial abuse. This year marks their 100th anniversary and they continue to service and protect the public. Here are some of their duties:
Audits to ensure that trust funds are handled correctly during a real estate transaction
Legal enforcement of real estate law. Complaints are investigated and considered for administrative prosecution. Licenses can be denied and revoked and monetary penalties can be employed.
Subdivision oversight. Before a subdivision can be built, the DRE produces a public report to notify potential buyers about the subdivision.
Management of Consumer Recovery Fund. The fund helps victims recover losses when a licensee does not have the assets to reimburse.
Mortgage loan compliance which includes investigations, report compliance, voluntary loan advertising reviews and fielding consumer calls about mortgage compliance and complaints.
Administration and issuance of real estate licenses.
Education and research.
Source: Fall 2019 Real Estate Bulletin from Department of Real Estate