New York · Department of State, RPL §440Do transaction coordinators need a license in New York? What the Department of State lets unlicensed assistants do

Real Property Law §440 defines a real estate broker as someone who, for another and for a fee, lists, sells, buys, exchanges or rents real estate, or negotiates or attempts to negotiate those transactions. The Department of State's guidance on unlicensed real estate assistants says they may do any office activities not specified in §440, and lists examples: answering phones and taking messages, arranging appointments by telephone for the licensee, following up on loan commitments after a contract has been negotiated and getting status reports on loan progress, assembling documents for closing, typing contract forms for the broker's approval, writing and placing approved ads, computing commission checks, placing or removing signs, ordering repairs as directed, scheduling showings for licensees, gathering information for a comparative market analysis or appraisal, and monitoring license and personnel files. The licensed broker must train, supervise and control the unlicensed assistants' services. Pay is best hourly, per activity or salaried; an assistant paid on a completed-transaction basis must be licensed as a salesperson and paid directly by the broker.