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Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | ||
Looking out for the publicState real estate commission includes local residentBy MONROE ROARK A Fayette County resident who has been a familiar face on the political scene and in the local business arena for two decades is now serving the public on one of the states most important governing bodies. Bill Bonner was appointed to the Georgia Real Estate Commission by Gov. Sonny Perdue in December of 2003, and his fellow board members elected him chairman for 2005. The commission oversees an industry that includes more than 69,000 active licensed real estate professionals in Georgia. A Fayette County commissioner from 1987 to 1995, Bonner made two unsuccessful runs for the Georgia State Senate. The first time, in 1998, was also when Perdue crossed over to the Republican Party to run for his own Senate seat, and the two met during the campaign season. Perdue later asked Bonner to serve as his district campaign chairman during his run for governor in 2002, which cemented their relationship and contributed to his appointment. Few people in the area have more experience in the real estate industry than Bonner, particularly on the commercial side. He has been licensed for 34 years, and he started his career by helping several restaurant chains secure locations on Old National Highway. He later worked at different times for two national chains, Dunkin Donuts and Krystal, as a real estate director in this region, and during his years as an independent broker he continued to find real estate for various companies all over the Southside. He and his partner, Woody Johnson, formed Southeast Properties in the early 1990s. The two friends, who both attend New Hope Baptist Church, initially decided to just share some office space, then realized that they could do a lot more if they teamed up. They now develop their own commercial property as well as continuing to market sites for others. The mission of the GREC is to protect the public interest, Bonner said. The commission meets once a month as scheduled and on other occasions as necessary. The six-member board must, by law, include one member who is not a licensed real estate professional. A full-time real estate commissioner heads an office that includes 11 investigators and a number of other staff members, although Bonner says the growing needs of the state suggest that the office should be expanded. As chairman, he attends a number of other meetings during a typical month and speaks to realtor associations and individual company groups about what is going on in the industry. Each regular monthly commission meetings includes discussions of ongoing investigations, which are usually initiated by complaints filed by citizens. When an investigation is completed, a recommendation is made to the real estate commissioner, who has the authority to revoke someones license if it is deemed necessary. If that happens, the real estate professional has an opportunity to appeal. Bonner and his fellow board members do not hear those appeals, which are referred to an administrative law judge. The board reviews that decision, however, and can uphold it or reverse it. In addition to overseeing existing licensees, the GREC reviews license application. Examples of moral turpitude or a poor general reputation can be cause to deny an application; having several DUIs on your record, for example. The biggest problem facing the real estate industry right now, Bonner said, is mortgage fraud. Georgia leads the nation in mortgage fraud, with DeKalb County having more cases in 2004 than the state of New York. Such cases usually require that at least one party to the transaction be a professional, such as an appraiser, mortgage broker, Realtor or other relevant party. The commission is working with state legislators to address this growing problem, Bonner said.
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Copyright 2004-Fayette Publishing, Inc. |