Positions in this job family are involved in professional level work involving investigations for compliance with Oklahoma regulations and standards, such as misuse of licenses, suspected fraud, and consumer complaints against licensed or unlicensed parties, or the eligibility and qualifications of applicant firms or individuals for licensure or regulation. Duties include inspecting and verifying compliance with state statutes by licensees and conducting special investigations as requested by the Commission or Executive Director. This includes auditing and inspecting records and escrow accounts of real estate firms; planning and conducting investigations, surveys, inspections, and/or examinations; preparing reports on findings and recommendations; reviewing completed investigations and forwarding for further legal review; and conducting investigations of complaints pertaining to other real estate transactions throughout the state.
TYPICAL FUNCTIONS
The functions within this job family will vary by level, but may include the following:
Responds to inquiries and provides technical assistance to the public and licensees regarding real estate transactions and questions concerning Oklahoma Real Estate law and rules.
Performs audits of real estate escrow accounts, management trust funds, and security deposits to insure compliance with the Oklahoma Real Estate License Code and Rules; prepares compliance reports to the Commission.
Conducts background and personal history investigations to determine good moral character of real estate license applicants.
Identifies, contacts, and interviews potential witnesses and/or complainants; evaluates, summarizes, and documents investigative findings and submits to the Board of Commissioners.
Assists in preparing cases for presentation at hearings or in court; testifies as a witness; serves orders of subpoena; presents testimony and evidence in courts or formal hearings and before the Board of Commissioners.
Initiates investigations of unlicensed activities in real estate transactions.
Prepares statistical analyses to determine the trends of violations of state and federal statutes.
Conducts educational seminars on the investigative process to licensees.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES
Level I: Knowledge of fundamental real estate principles, report writing of a legal nature, and basic accounting and auditing principles. Ability is required to analyze situations and exercise sound judgment in making decisions; to organize and present facts and opinions clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing; to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others; and to make fair, independent decisions in the course of the investigation.
Level II: Those identified at Level I, plus knowledge of real estate records, reports and forms; of real estate principles and practices; of accounting and auditing principles as they apply to the real estate industry; of the Oklahoma Real Estate License Code and Rules and federal guidelines; and of real estate office operations. Level III:
Those identified at Level II, plus knowledge of real estate office operations, procedures and methods; and of supervisory principles and practices. Ability is required to supervise, direct, and evaluate the work of others.
LEVEL DESCRIPTORS
The Real Estate Investigator job family consists of three levels, which are distinguished by the complexity of assignments, the level of expertise required to perform the duties assigned, and the responsibility assigned for providing leadership to others.
Level I: This is the entry level where employees perform basic investigative tasks. Employees are expected to gain in-depth knowledge of state statutes and rules regulating the state real estate industry. Applicants will be required to complete a basic real estate principles course and any investigative training required. Level II: This is the career level of this job family where incumbents are assigned duties and responsibilities at the full-performance level and perform a variety of tasks involving investigating complaints filed against licensed sales associates, brokers, and other entities; inspecting records and auditing escrow accounts of real estate firms for compliance with state statutes, conducting special investigations; and performing background investigations on applicants obtaining a real estate license. Level III: This is the leadership level of this job family where employees are assigned responsibility for planning, coordinating and directing activities involving the inspection and regulation of the real estate practices of licensed sales associates, brokers and real estate entities under the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission, to include inspecting proposed real estate schools, investigating applicants for real estate licenses and inspecting broker offices including audit of trust accounts, advertising policy and general operating procedures to ensure state and federal compliance. This includes responsibility for supervising and reviewing the work of other investigative staff and investigators who are responsible for conducting required inspections and investigations in an assigned area on a regular and consistent basis, in addition to managing a working caseload of real estate investigations. This includes responsibility for planning, organizing, reviewing, training and evaluating the work of an assigned professional level staff as well as performing related administrative functions.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Level I: Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of a bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting, police science, criminal justice, criminology, or a closely related field; or a bachelor’s degree in a behavioral science and one year of experience in auditing, accounting, real estate acquisition, commercial or residential property management or sales, conducting investigations for a state or federal governmental entity, or real estate licensing; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Level II: Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of those identified at Level I plus one additional year of real estate investigations: or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Level III: Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of those identified at Level II, plus two years of real estate investigation; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENT
Applicants must be willing and able to fulfill statewide job-related travel normally associated with this position. In addition, a basic real estate principles course and certified investigative training must be completed as soon as eligible.
CLASS: J20A; EST: 9/5/2007; REV: 7/2/2012 7:45:00 AM;
CLASS: J20B; EST: 9/5/2007; REV: 7/2/2012 7:45:00 AM;
CLASS: J20C; EST: 9/5/2007; REV: 7/2/2012 7:45:00 AM;
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