Realtor’s license suspended

A Charlotte Realtor expects to have his license returned April 1 after agreeing to a suspension after a complaint was filed with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.

Thomas Derham, principal with TD Property Group LLC, signed a consent order with the commission agreeing to a one-year suspension that would be stayed after one month provided he complete the commission’s Issues and Answers in NC Real Estate Practice Course. A probationary period would then extend to March 2, 2017.

Derham said a “multitude of errors on my part” led to the action.

“This is very embarrassing for me,” he said. “I’m just going to take my punishment and never, ever repeat this again.”

The consent order is not an admission of guilt, but instead is an agreement to abide by the order’s conditions in lieu of further hearings and findings on the subject of the complaint.

According to the complaint, Derham was hired as a leasing agent for a commercial property in Charlotte, and allowed a tenant to move into the property in August 2014, but did not procure a written lease until October. He also failed to follow rules requiring checks from the tenant to the landlord to either be delivered within a proscribed time period or deposited in a trust account.

The commission’s order also said his company was administratively dissolved by the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office for failure to file required paperwork in December 2010, but that Derham failed to notify the commission and continued to operate the firm. According to the commission, he lost his broker-in-charge eligibility in July 2011, and failed to affiliate with a new broker-in-charge.

The consent order also prohibits him from qualifying or acting as a broker-in-charge for three years.

Derham said that he had been unaware of the rules regarding delivery of the checks, which he said were unexpectedly sent to him instead of the landlord. He also said that a former assistant had handled the paperwork required by the Secretary of State, and that after she left and he had changed addresses, he failed to receive the notices regarding pending dissolution and was unaware that it had occurred.

“I had notified the Secretary of State that I had moved, but the statements went to the old address,” he said.

“It’s my fault for not making sure that was done. Clearly.”

Derham develops small retail projects from Raleigh to Shelby. He declined to identify the property that was the subject of the complaint.

He said he has completed the required course and is now aligning himself with someone who will act as the company’s broker-in-charge.

“I broke the rules and I’m suffering the consequences,” he said. “On April 1, I can come back on the saddle and pick up where I left off.”