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The Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure meted out 106 disciplinary actions between Jan. 1, 2015, and Oct. 17, 2017, according to the division’s records. That’s not a huge number, given the tens of thousands of agents and brokers working on what was likely hundreds of thousands of sales and rentals that took place during that time.
Three of these complaints were ultimately dismissed. Of the remaining 103 disciplinary actions, 52 were for “failure to adhere to standards of practice,” by far the most common infraction. This covers a wide range of actions from failing to meet continuing education requirements to stealing money from clients.
The next most common violation was continuing education violations. Twenty agents and brokers were disciplined and received punishments ranging from a reprimand to having their license to practice suspended for 20 days.
Seven agents and brokers were disciplined for working without a license or with an expired license during that time. The punishments included one reprimand, a 21-day suspension, a two-week suspension, a $1,000 fine, two $250 fines and a $100 fine with a reprimand.
Thirty-two agents and brokers had their licenses revoked altogether. One of those brokers was Terrence McDonough, broker/owner of Avant Realty Group in Needham.
Deposit Difficulties
According to state records, McDonough received his salesperson’s license in 1985 and his broker’s license in 1994. In 2014, he listed a property at 205 East Central St., Franklin.
He received an accepted offer on the property in May and on May 28, 2014, a purchase and sale agreement was executed by both buyer and seller. The prospective buyer gave McDonough a check for $75,000, which he deposited into an escrow account on June 2.
The buyer communicated to McDonough “the desire to withdraw from the purchase transaction and sought return of the deposit money,” according to state records, on Aug. 5.
McDonough did not return the deposit and the transaction, which had been scheduled for Sept. 3, did not happen. Through her attorney, the owner of the property sought the refund of the $75,000 deposit on Sept. 5. Through his attorney, McDonough said he would refund the money after receiving written instructions from both the seller and the would-be buyer to do so.
McDonough was instructed to return $50,000 to the seller and $25,000 to the buyer. He didn’t. The seller filed a complaint with the State Board of Professional Licensure on July 6, 2016.
McDonough sent the seller a check for $25,000 in early September. The state investigation revealed McDonough cut checks for a variety of expenses not related to the East Central Street purchase, including office supplies and a check for $1,500 to a hotel, during this time.
The seller’s attorney received another check for $25,000 from McDonough on Oct. 6, 2016.
McDonough will be eligible to reapply for his salesperson’s license one year after he repays the buyer the $25,000 he still owed them as of Feb. 13, 2017. He is not eligible to reapply for his broker’s license unless otherwise decided by the board.
McDonough’s Avant Realty Group website is still advertising his services and his LinkedIn profile describes him as the current “principal broker” of that firm. He did not respond to emails or voicemails requesting comment.
Honesty Really Is The Best Policy
Gregory Scott pleaded guilty to one count of robbery in 1988 and four counts of violating an abuse prevention order in 2010, according to a consent agreement signed by Scott and the DPL; however, when asked if he’d ever been convicted of a crime on his June 2015 real estate salesperson’s license application, he responded “No.”
After a complaint was filed with the Department of Professional Licensure, Scott was fined $300, which he paid and his license was suspended for six months beginning Feb. 3, 2017. His license is now active.
Gone Baby Gone
Anthony E. Ryan received his real estate salesperson’s license on Dec. 1, 2004. He never received a broker’s license. His salesperson’s license expired in 2012 and, according to the state, he was still practicing real estate until at least January 2016.
In the complaint, he is accused of taking $6,800 from prospective tenants and not giving anything to the homeowner/landlord. He did not show up for his hearing or attempt to reschedule it.
All of Ryan’s licenses to practice real estate have been revoked, as was his right to ever renew them. Emails to his advertised address and two different phone numbers associated with Ryan were no longer in service.
He Did His Client No Favors
Pride Favors received his real estate salesperson’s license on Jan. 8, 2009. It expired in 2014. He has never been issued a broker’s license. He operated as a broker under the d/b/a “Top Notch Realty,” but was never authorized by the Board of Professional Licensure to do so.
An apartment owner hired Favors to obtain a renter for his property in 2015. Favors took the first and last month’s rent deposit, kept the money, and didn’t tell the owner he’d filled the vacancy.
Included in the complaint are copies of a Small Claims Court judgement against Favors and signed by him.
He did not respond to the state’s complaints against him and lost his right to practice real estate and to renew his license effective Dec. 14, 2016. Calls to the phone number listed on the complaint went unanswered.
Inconsistencies Added Up
Wilma Quinn, d/b/a New England Asset Realty, was a licensed salesperson from 1986 to 2001. She received her broker’s license in 2001 and it remains active.
According to the complaint against her, she held an open house at a property she listed in Wareham in August 2015. The complainant visited the open house without an agent, but didn’t make an offer because the $269,900 list price was out of her price range.
After leaving, the complainant contacted a local agent to discuss the property and possibly represent her in the transaction. The agent reached out to Quinn, who told the agent she was also the seller and builder of the property. Quinn allegedly didn’t want to split the commission, so the complainant left without representation.
The complainant ultimately met with Quinn and made an offer of $238,000 for the house without a buyer’s agent representing her. She signed a P&S, got a home inspection, and closed on the house Dec. 15, 2015.
The complainant contacted Quinn in January 2016 about cracking floor tiles, nails popping through the kitchen laminate and loose floorboards in the bedroom. The new homeowner’s contractors told her it was likely that there were no completed permits for the work. The town building inspector confirmed Quinn pulled permits, but did not get them signed off.
The complainant said she felt that Quinn discouraged her from getting representation.
The DPL investigator also found discrepancies in her CEU claims and potential violations of commingling monies in her escrow accounts.
Quinn agreed that some of her actions constituted violations of the law and agreed to a seven-day suspension of her broker’s license, to complete continuing education in escrow, ethics and dual agency within six months and to pay a $500 fine.
Quinn did not respond to an email request for comment.
Violations Of The Public Trust
The Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) does not track the state’s disciplinary actions, according to General Counsel Michael McDonagh, but he said the organization does want to know when licenses are revoked, since being licensed is a requirement of membership.
MAR also occasionally receives complaints against its members, typically filed by members of the public and investigated by the local board.
“Depending on the severity of the infraction they could get a letter of warning, a fine of up to $15,000 or expulsion from the Realtor organization,” McDonagh said. “There are some instances where a violation is found to be a violation of the public trust and local boards are required to report that to the licensing board.
Violations of the public trust include breaking laws pertaining to fair housing, escrow funds or if a member is found to have “conducted themselves fraudulently in a way that resulted in substantial economic harm,” McDonagh said.
