76-2,122 Real estate closing agents; requirements; exemptions; enforcement; violation; penalty. - Nebraska Statutes

76-2,122. Real estate closing agents; requirements; exemptions; enforcement; violation; penalty.(1) To act as a real estate closing agent, a person shall be (a) licensed or regulated by one or more regulating entities or (b) employed by a person or entity regulated by one or more regulating entities, unless employing such person to act as a real estate closing agent is otherwise prohibited by statute, rule, or regulation.(2) A person acting as a real estate closing agent shall:(a) Have received good funds which are available for disbursement at the time of closing a real estate transaction, except that up to five hundred dollars need not be available for disbursement from good funds;(b) Except as provided in section 81-885.21, deposit all funds received on behalf of another person in a trust account controlled by the real estate closing agent in a federally insured financial institution, except that up to five hundred dollars may be paid by one party directly to another party without first being deposited in a trust account controlled by the real estate closing agent; and(c) Except as provided in section 81-885.21, disburse closing funds only from the real estate closing agent's trust account in a federally insured financial institution in the form of good funds or in the form of a check drawn from the real estate closing agent's trust account.(3) The following real estate transactions are exempt from this section:(a) Transactions with a political subdivision which is exercising its power of condemnation or eminent domain;(b) Lease or rental transactions; and(c) Real estate transactions in which the closing occurs within one business day following another real estate closing and in which one party is a principal to both transactions, but only to the extent that the funds disbursed in the subsequent transaction are drawn upon funds properly received by a real estate closing agent in the prior transaction which were deposited in that real estate closing agent's trust account in a federally insured financial institution or as otherwise provided in section 81-885.21.(4) The Attorney General or any county attorney may act to enjoin the performance of real estate closings which violate this section.(5) A person acting as a real estate closing agent in violation of this section shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor. SourceLaws 1994, LB 1275, § 2; Laws 1995, LB 774, § 1. Cross ReferencesNebraska Real Estate License Act, see section 81-885.