About the Director: Marcia Waters

Marcia Waters has been with the Colorado Division of Real Estate since August 2005.
Ms. Waters started with the Division as a Criminal
Investigator for the Real Estate Commission and was promoted to Chief Investigator in 2006. In 2007, she was promoted to the position of Investigations and Compliance Director. In that capacity, she managed the investigatory and settlement programs for the Division. On October 15, 2010, she was promoted to the position of Division Director. The Division of Real Estate licenses and regulates approximately 50,000 real estate professionals. Ms. Waters serves as the administrator for the Real Estate Commission, the Board of Real Estate Appraisers, the Board of Mortgage Loan Originators, and the HOA Information and Resource Center.

Coming Soon: 2025 Legislative Summaries

Each year, the Colorado General Assembly convenes to introduce and pass new laws.  While laws passed in 2025 relate all the different aspects of running state government, many laws directly affect Division of Real Estate licensees, like brokers, appraisers, and MLOs, and registrants, like Common Interest Communities (HOAs). 

In the next few weeks, licensees and members of the public can expect to receive a notice about the Division's legislative summaries being published on the Division’s website. Stay tuned to future Division communications for more information. 

Colorado Real Estate Commission Forms Non-Rulemaking Hearing

Real Estate Brokers likely already know that each year, the Colorado Real Estate Commission reviews and updates the Commission-approved contracts and forms, but these changes are less well known to other licensees and the public. 

There is a process to review the Commission’s forms periodically, and occasionally, forms need to be updated due to practice changes or new legislation passed by the Colorado General Assembly. Division staff have worked with a variety of real estate professionals, attorneys, and the public to update certain contracts and forms this year.  This process culminates with a non-rulemaking hearing with the Colorado Real Estate Commission where the Commissioners will review and vote on the proposed changes. 

If approved, these forms will be shared on the Division’s Contracts and Forms page for review, and ultimately, effective for use in real estate transactions.  For all those interested in attending the hearing, it will take place via online webinar on August 5, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.  To attend the hearing, you can register for the webinar here:

Appraisal Licensee Advisory: Alternative Experience for Real Estate Appraisers

The Colorado Board of Real Estate Appraisers (“BOREA”) has continued to observe that aspiring appraisers encounter difficulties when searching for a supervisor with whom they can obtain the necessary experience to apply for a real estate license. In addition to other requirements, appraiser applicants must obtain the following experience: 

• For a Licensed Appraiser (a “LA” credential), at least one thousand (1,000) hours of appraisal experience in not less than six (6) months. 
• For a Certified Residential Appraiser (a “CR” credential), at least one thousand five hundred (1,500) hours of appraisal experience in not less than twelve (12) months.
• For a Certified General Appraiser (a “CG” credential), at least three thousand (3,000) hours of appraisal experience, of which one thousand five hundred (1,500) hours must be non-residential, in not less than eighteen (18) months. 

Obtaining this experience is imperative to the application process and appraisal qualifications but obtaining this experience in rural and historically underserved areas can be challenging.  Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (“PAREA”) was developed to confront this difficulty in lieu of the more traditional Supervisor/Trainee model.  PAREA offers an alternative path to satisfy the experience requirements for a license. 

PAREA was adopted by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) on October 16, 2020, and became effective on January 1, 2021. The Colorado Board of Real Estate Appraisers adopted PAREA into the BOREA Rules on March 4, 2021, and those rules took effect April 30, 2021. (Read More)

Appraisal Licensee Advisory: Valuation Bias

As an appraiser, you are required to follow the Colorado Appraiser Practice Act (§§ 12-10-601 through 12-10-623, C.R.S.) and the Rules Governing the Practice of Real Estate Appraisers of the Board of Real Estate Appraisers (4 C.C.R. 725-2). On November 2, 2023, the Board of Real Estate Appraisers (“BOREA”) reviewed and updated its rules for implementation on January 1, 2024.  Among other changes, the rules include requirements that licensees must take education courses in (1) valuation bias and (2) fair housing laws training requirements.

Many practitioners have heard about valuation bias or read articles pertaining to the importance of compliance with fair housing laws. In recent years, these concepts have received increased attention. This advisory is to provide information on the Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations course. After careful consideration and consultation with practitioners, fair housing attorneys, and other stakeholders, the Appraisal Qualifications Board (“AQB”) developed a Valuation Bias and Fair Housing laws and Regulations course. In Colorado, the course will be mandatory after January 1, 2026 and may take three forms:

• a seven (7) hour course,
• an eight (8) hour course which is the seven (7) hour course plus a one (1) hour examination, and
• a four (4) hour course for practitioners in subsequent license cycles after having taken either (A) or (B) above in a previous license cycle.

As set forth by the AQB in the course outline, the principal course topics are:

• Understanding Real Estate Bias,
• Federal Fair Housing and Antidiscrimination Laws and Regulations,
• Valuation Bias, and
• Case Studies

The course is heavily weighted towards a historical perspective on these topics and is designed to provide students with information on the role that industry and government decisions made long ago still affect the current real estate market today. (Read More) 

New legislation Notice:
House Bill 25-1053 Becomes Law

This article is to discuss one of the many bills introduced during the 2025 legislative session which has been signed into law by the Governor of Colorado. 

Many would agree that emergency personnel, such as fire, police, and emergency medical providers, require adequate resources and access to land to provide emergency services in a variety of situations. In doing so, certain landowners have expressed concerns about potential liability for granting access to land in furtherance of emergency personnel providing these services. 

HB25-1053, signed into law on March 20, 2025, directly addresses these concerns. The new law states that a landowner, who is acting in good faith and without compensation, grants access to the landowner’s property in connection with an emergency, shall be immune from civil liability for damage to persons or property. 

The protection is not without limitation as the law does not protect a landowner from acts or omissions that are grossly negligent, nor does the law protect from willful and wanton behavior.

But there is an important question: What is an emergency? The law defines an Emergency as:

1. A fire, rescue call, or hazardous materials incident;
2. A natural or human-caused disaster such as an earthquake, wildfire, flood, or severe weather event; or
3. An incident reasonably determined to be an emergency by a first responder.

       See section 13-21-108.9(1)(a), C.R.S.

Because this law will take effect later this summer (90 days following the adjournment of the general assembly), landowners, property managers, and common interest communities should be aware of this new law and the protections granted to them by the law.  With the threat of wildfires, extreme weather, and other emergencies on the rise, understanding the law and the rights and protections conveyed by HB25-1053 is important.

HOA Advisory: 2024 Annual Report from the HOA Information & Resource Center is Released

The HOA Information & Resource Center released its 2024 Annual Report on April 11, 2025. This report is released every year to provide homeowners, board members, Community Association Managers, the public, and most importantly, the Colorado General Assembly with (1) important trends in Common Interest Communities, (2) helpful summaries of the data and information compiled by the HOA Information and Resource Center, and (3) legislative summaries from the 2023 session which affect HOA-life. 

You can review the report (and prior years’ reports) on the HOA Information and Resource Center’s website, by scrolling down to "Annual Reports"

HOA Forum: 2025 Legislative Session Updates

The Colorado General Assembly has adjourned for 2025. Do you know if there are any new laws that affect your Common Interest Community? Have there been any changes to the HOA Information and Resource Center? What about information that you need to register your association with the Division of Real Estate?

Several laws affecting these topics were passed this session. Join the HOA Information & Resource Center on Friday, July 25, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. (MT), for an online webinar to discuss the legislative changes implemented by the Colorado General Assembly during the 2025 legislative session. All are welcome to attend.

Presentation Details: 

• Date: Friday July 25, 2025
• Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (MT)
• Location: Online Webinar Only
  

You may register for the event here:

Share your HOA Success Story

Do you have an HOA success story you would like to share or a fellow HOA community member you admire?  For example, perhaps your board was faced with making a difficult decision to increase dues to address a highly needed repair and was able to work together to obtain approval at the last minute.  Perhaps you respect a long-standing board member who always exhibits high moral standards in the way they conduct business and interact with others.  If so, the HOA Information & Resource Center would like to hear from you!

Please send an email to dora_dre_hoainquiries@state.co.us using the Subject Line: “HOA Success Story” and let us know what inspires you about your community for a chance to be featured in one of our monthly newsletters.  Note all information will be treated confidentially unless notified otherwise. 

Quarterly Discipline

This serves to inform the public of the current and/or most recent disciplinary action taken against the individuals listed. It does not, nor should it be intended to, serve as a complete listing of any and all discipline taken against the individual licensees. 

2025 Disciplinary Actions and License Relinquishments Spreadsheet

Find the program you want to view by toggling through the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

To obtain a complete public disciplinary history for a specific licensee visit the Division's Records Management System and search a licensees personal record by name or license number.