Yesterday we heard from Gov Hutchinson, the assistant general counsel for the California Association of Realtors.  He travels around the state to inform realtors of the basic changes to forms, and helps define other aspects of the business – here’s a summary of what we heard:

  1. Transfer Disclosure Statement – The buyer has a five-day rescission period after receiving the completed TDS from the seller (the form where the sellers disclose pertinent facts about the property).  If the form is delivered to the buyer’s agent late, incomplete, or unsigned, the buyer can still cancel the transaction even if they have already released their other contingencies.
  2. The CA Department of Real Estate is unhappy with compliance to the rule that realtors need to have their license number on every flyer, business card, sign, social-media account, etc. They have hired additional personnel to chase us around.
  3. It’s acceptable for landlords to say ‘no pets’, but they must accept tenants with service animal (seeing-eye dog) or emotional-support animal with a note from a licensed caregiver – as long as it is reasonable. If the animal affects the landlord’s insurance, or is a threat, the landlord can say no.  The law supersedes HOA, C,C,&Rs, and city codes, and the landlord cannot require a pet deposit or higher rent for these animals.
  4. A landlord cannot require tenant insurance.
  5. A landlord cannot be compelled to take a Section 8 tenant.
  6. Low-flow plumbing is required in all homes throughout the state.  Sellers don’t have to fix/update if the buyers will accept as-is.
  7. If a house for sale has hidden cameras, there should be a sign near the front door to alert buyers and agents who are showing the property that the house is under surveillance.
  8. No laws, rules, or guidance on Coming Soons – it is a local MLS issue.

I think we can say that the Coming Soon dilemma has been decided – nobody wants to address it globally, so it will be left up to the agents.

Realtors love the Coming Soons, and are now pitching them as a vital part of the marketing program.  But with no rules or guidelines, what happens when a buyer wants to see the home?  Do you show it during the Coming Soon period?  Do you field offers?  If you do get an offer, do you throw the listing on the MLS to give everyone a chance too?  Or do you just make the deal and hurry off to the next one?  How do you know if you got full value? (you don’t know)

Virtually every listing will go this route in 2019, and then most will be uploaded to the MLS with diminished urgency because the motivated buyers already saw the sign two weeks ago, and forgot about it.

Instead of relying on instant market data from the internet, we’ll need drivers to patrol for new Coming-Soon signs, and rely on word-of-mouth between agents to make these off-market deals we now crave for some reason.

This business is going backwards!

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