Welcome to the Wild, Wild West

I'm not gonna lie, I left Tuesday morning's COMPASS meeting wondering if it wasn't time to retire and move to Italy. The amount of new regulations, addendums, modifications, and corrected forms set to take effect on August 17 regarding the recent class-action lawsuit and the subsequent settlement by the NAR (National Association of Realtors), feels like an avalanche of utter nonsense. Clearly, those pulling the strings have no understanding of how the industry actually operates and functions, OR how Realtors® work day-to-day, OR what we bring to the process . . . .

​Instead of a common-sense approach to clarifying and bifurcating the commissions, they have taken a system that wasn't broken and proceeded to break it. If clarity was the intended goal, the "fix" is anything but.

According to the new rules established by the NAR, Agents can no longer publish cooperating commissions in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) OR any documents connected to the MLS. Thus, property-specific websites, videos, and disclosure packages CANNOT speak to buy-side commissions (even when the Sellers have explicitly agreed to them). As such, industry standards that frankly, served the process for decades, will no longer exist. Welcome to the wild, wild west. In other words, if you thought things were murky before, they're now clear as mud.

Suffice it to say that the new rulings are nothing short of a major disruption, and while I'm certain we will eventually work through this showdown at the O.K. Corral (ONCE common sense comes into play), I can't say that I'm joyfully embracing mountains of increased paperwork - especially concerning prospective Buyers.

Buyers: plan on signing paperwork at EVERY home you visit qualifying whether you are currently represented by an Agent, wish to be represented by the showing Agent at the door, or do not wish to be represented at all . . . (Huh?) Similarly, if you just wanted to walk through the house, see the property at your leisure, and discuss the community at large . . . good luck. You're likely going to need to align with an Agent first before doing so. (What neighbors will need to do is still up for debate.)

At the risk of showing my age, Opens used to be a "no strings attached" opportunity for prospective Buyers to feel out the marketplace, view several homes over the course of an afternoon, casually gather information, meet many different Agents, obtain some local knowledge, and then ultimately make choices around their legwork. That's no longer the case.

Moreover, if Buyers aren't careful, they may find themselves committing to more than one Agent before realizing their mistake. Unfortunately, this seems like a recipe for dual agency at every turn - a condition that adversely affects the Buyers in most instances. Remember, the listing Agent's fiduciary responsibility is to the Seller - not the Buyer! Dual Agency CAN work for both parties in rare cases, but it should never be the norm, nor should policies promote it as a natural course of action.

What's more, discussions we used to have about the competing listing down the street, and the neighborhood in general are now seemingly verboten. Showing Agents will be limited to exclusively discussing the information provided at their listing (lest we slide into "implied Agency" without written consent). If you counted on your favorite, local Realtor to keep you apprised of the marketplace, you'll probably need to sign an agreement before he or she can speak to you. BTW, Broker involvement includes physically entering a property, virtually showing a property, submitting an offer on behalf of a Buyer, performing a market analysis, or reviewing specific property disclosures, just to name a few. (Perhaps I've said too much already?)

So, is it any wonder that the Instagram feeds showing me the perfect European get-away in Tuscany for $250,000 are looking more and more attractive at every turn? Maybe it's time to learn Italian; Realtor-speak has got me tongue-tied, not to mention thoroughly hog-tied. As of August 17, Real Estate is a whole new rodeo.

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