Friday Video Update

Watch Washington REALTORS® Lobbyist Nick Streuli give testimony to the House – Housing Committee on House Bill 1022, Creating a Homes for Heroes program.

Watch Washington REALTORS® Commercial Government Affairs Director, Riley Benge give testimony to the House – Housing Committee on House Bill 1081, Establishing consumer protections for owners of solicited real estate.

Watch Washington REALTORS® Director of Public Policy, Bill Clarke give testimony to the Senate – Housing Committee on House Bill 5129, Concerning common interest communities.

Watch Washington REALTORS® Commercial Government Affairs Director, Riley Benge give testimony to the House – Housing Committee on House Bill 1217, Improving housing stability for tenants subject to the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act by limiting rent and fee increases, requiring notice of rent and fee increases, limiting fees and deposits, establishing a landlord resource center and associated services, authorizing tenant lease termination, creating parity between lease types, and providing for attorney general enforcement.

Watch Washington REALTORS® Government Affairs Director Mary Hull-Drury give testimony to the House – Housing Committee on House Bill 1108, Creating a task force on housing cost driver analysis.

Watch Washington REALTORS® Director of Public Policy, Bill Clarke give testimony to the House – Housing Committee on House Bill 1096, Increasing housing options through lot splitting.

It’s time for the 2024 Computation of Time Challenge! Join Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons she walks you through the fact patterns for this year’s challenge. You’ll be provided with all the facts to figure out when the buyer's inspection contingency (where the buyer must either terminate, reach agreement with the seller, or have their inspection contingency deemed waived by 9 p.m.) will end if the parties had reached mutual acceptance on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.

It’s Friday, Folks! And you know what that means... Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons is back with our latest Friday Legal Hotline video! This week, Annie takes a look at variable offers of buyer broker compensation. Keep your sellers from owing more in buyer broker compensation than they are expecting and learn how, as a Listing Broker, you can help keep these offers of compensation in place when your sellers enter into Purchase and Sale Agreements (Form 21) with buyers.

Today, Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons discusses how listing brokers should handle a Buyer’s request for more broker compensation than their seller originally offered. Tune in and learn what you can do to ensure your clients aren’t paying more compensation to the buyer’s side than they are expecting.

Following up on last week’s video, Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons discusses what happens when a Buyer Broker is unavailable to show their clients property within a certain timeframe and the broker they choose to step in works at a different firm. Annie explains why a Buyer Brokerage Service Agreement (BBSA) is needed for each broker in this situation and how this situation can affect broker compensation.

In this week's video, Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons talks about what happens when a Buyer Broker goes on vacation or is just plain unavailable to show their clients property in a certain timeframe. She answers questions about having another broker show your client properties and how having another broker show listings to your clients can affect your Buyer Brokerage Service Agreement (BBSA) with that client.

Tune in today as Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons discusses the disclosures that Brokers need to provide their clients in different scenarios where a Broker is sharing a portion of their compensation with the broker or firm on the other side of the transaction. Tune in to learn what you need to let your clients know in the event your team leader is on the other side or a Finder’s fee is being paid to a Listing Broker when they refer a previously unrepresented buyer to a Buyer Broker and other situations involving cross-transaction disclosures.

Today, Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons discusses questions that have come up on the Legal Hotline: What does it mean if the seller in a transaction offers compensation to a buyer broker? Does that mean that the seller is locked into that offer of compensation? Suppose the buyer in the transaction submits a request for inspection concessions. Can the seller counter the buyer's request for concessions by modifying the prior agreement to pay compensation to the buyer’s broker? Tune in and get these questions answered.

Tune in today as Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons talks about a question she's encountered on the Legal Hotline since the new agency laws have gone into effect in Washington State; “As a Listing Broker, does my liability increase if the buyer in a transaction is unrepresented?”

Tune in today as Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons discusses a question that has come up on the Legal Hotline since the new rules regarding Buyer Brokerage Service Agreements (BBSA) have gone into effect; “Do Listing Brokers need a BBSA in place before showing property to unrepresented buyers?” and how to avoid becoming an accidental Dual Agent.

Tune in today as Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons and our 2024 President Jeff Smart discuss how to navigate a scenario where a buyer is asking their broker to share a portion of the broker's compensation with them to cover the buyer's closing costs. Learn how this situation affects your Buyer Brokerage Service Agreements (BBSA) and how to make sure that you, as a broker, don't leave a shared compensation transaction empty-handed.

In this episode of DBrief, Washington REALTORS® replays our informational webinar that was recorded live on November 21, 2024, a discussion on the increasing challenges in the residential insurance market.

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, communities across six states face massive devastation. Washington REALTORS® recently donated $25,000 to the REALTOR® Relief Foundation (RRF)—and more help is needed. State and local REALTOR® associations, like Florida, Georgia, and NC REALTORS®, are stepping up with disaster relief funds and local efforts. Northeast Tennessee REALTORS® have opened their office to collect supplies for flood victims. We urge you to make a personal donation to the RRF. Washington homeowners have benefited from RRF aid before—now is our chance to pay it forward. 100% of donations go to relief, and you can designate funds for Hurricane Helene through October 11. To donate, visit https://payment.apps.realtor/RRF/, text HeleneRelief24 to 71777

And... We're back! Join us this week for the start of a brand-new batch of legal hotline videos! Tune in today as Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer Annie Fitzsimmons and our 2024 President Jeff Smart discuss the pitfalls that arise when the updated Form 21: Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) isn’t properly completed and the monetary repercussions when Form 41: Buyer Brokerage Service Agreement (BBSA) is missing, that cause brokers not to get paid in a real estate transaction.

Welcome to another installment of our Designated Broker Video Series: DBrief! This series is dedicated to keeping our Designated Broker/ Owners and industry leaders well-informed and providing you with ongoing support from the association. Tune in today as WR's Government Affairs Director, Mary Hull-Drury, and our 2024 Washington REALTORS® president, Jeff Smart, provide our legislative preview for the 2025 session. Learn about our association’s legislative goals, challenges, and opportunities in the upcoming session and get the inside scoop on our legislative agenda for 2025.