NAR clarifies details on buyer broker agreements(
HousingWire by Brooklee Han). According to the trade group, agents need to have a written agreement in place before taking a client on a home tour.
As the July deadline for the implementation of the business practice changes outlined in the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement agreement approaches, the trade organization is looking to iron out some details about buyer broker agreements.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, agents will have to have a written agreement with a client in order to work with them as a buyer's agent.
NAR recently published an FAQ page related to the settlement agreement where it clarifies that the phrase "working with" is meant to "distinguish MLS participants who provide brokerage services to a buyer from MLS participants who simply market their services or just talk to a buyer."
Examples of broker-provided services include identifying potential properties, arranging for the buyer to tour a property, performing or facilitating negotiations on behalf of the buyer, or presenting offers by the buyer. Conversely, a broker who is "providing an unrepresented buyer access to a house they have listed" is an example of someone who is not "working with" a buyer.
Additionally, the FAQ states that an agent is not working with a buyer if they are working only as an agent or subagent of the seller, or if the MLS participant is only performing ministerial acts without the expectation of being paid for these acts.
Under these circumstances, the agent or MLS participant would not need a written agreement with the buyer. But if the agent is representing both the buyer and the seller in the transaction - also known as dual agency - a written buyer broker agreement is needed.
NAR also noted in the FAQ that a written agreement between an agent and a buyer would be necessary prior to that agent taking the buyer on any home tours, unless state law requires that the agreement be signed earlier in the process.
The FAQs noted, however, that if an MLS participant hosts an open house on behalf of their seller and an unrepresented buyer comes to look at the house, the listing agent hosting the open house would not need to have a written agreement with that buyer since the agent is not working with them.
Direct's Comment:
Part of this makes me smile for the following reason... What was always a
"best practice" for Realtor Buyer Agents (to have a written agreement in place before showing homes) is now a requirement. What makes me smile is that a loan officer is nearly forbidden from approaching their business clients (borrowers) the same way. The mortgage industry is much more difficult to navigate than most any other business, including Realtors. But I am hoping that Realtors can have a soft landing when these settlement terms go into effect in about another month (in July).
Fasting In Joy.(
Doctrine and Covenants 59:13). And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.
Comment:A step towards self-mastery comes when you... observe the law of the fast. As funds are contributed from meals missed, the needs of the poor may be met. But meanwhile, through your spirit, you develop personal power over your body's drives of hunger and thirst. Fasting gives you confidence to know that your spirit can master appetite. ... Fasting fortifies discipline over appetite and helps to protect against later uncontrolled cravings and gnawing habits.
(Daily Joy, Russell M. Nelson, p. 134).
