How New Regulations Impact Your Real Estate Deal

By Travis Anderson

In 2011, Travis started his career over and began building his own team; a team that has a different look and feel than most teams in the industry; one built SOLELY for the betterment of the client.

The National Association of Realtors has been scrutinized over compensation agreements, and recently, changes have been made. Did anything good come out of it? We are now a couple of months after the class lawsuit against the NAR, and it’s safe to say that three significant changes are here to stay, or at least for a long time. Let me talk about what changed for buyers, sellers, and negotiations in the Twin Cities that you should know.

What changed for buyers? Buyers are now required to sign an agreement before they can even view a property. Our local area has two state forms: the Buyer Agency Agreement and the Agency Disclosure Form. These two forms are designed to ensure that buyers fully understand their options and the compensation agreements between their agents and clients.

If you choose not to sign any of those, there’s another document you can choose to complete: the Facilitator Agreement, which states that you were made aware of your options and that you must choose between those before you view a house.

What changed for sellers? Compensation for buyer’s agents can no longer be disclosed in the Multiple Listing Service or the MLS. Before, compensation for buyer’s agents was disclosed in the MLS, informing buyers that a seller is offering to help bring a buyer in. However, while the MLS no longer allows commission disclosure, we provide this information on our website.

We believe that this change may limit the industry’s ability to remain transparent. If the goal is transparency, it would be better to have conversations with the buyers and sellers upfront and then disclose things in the MLS. As of now, sellers are having more conversations about commission and choosing how much compensation they want to offer.

The right to negotiate. Buyers can now negotiate commissions directly with the seller in the purchase agreement. Prior to this year, agents handled the negotiations between buyers and sellers.

The silver lining to these is that these major changes led to more transparency and control over consumer transactions. We are talking more about commissions, and consumers are more open with their Realtors about how we get paid. I also consider signing agreements before looking at real estate a good thing. The only caveat is that the compensation disclosure will eventually find its way back to the MLS, promoting cooperation between agents while providing consumers with the information they need.

If you have any questions about this new real estate landscape, whether it’s about commissions, contracts, or investment opportunities, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at (651) 485-6383 or travis.travisandersonteam@gmail.com. I’m here to guide you through these changes.