News

Can a closing attorney, who does not represent a seller, charge that seller fees, including, but not limited to, disbursement fees, discharge tracking fees, wire fees, and courier fees, as part of a real estate closing?

No, according to an April 11, 2024, decision of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel, which determined that these violated the Rules of Professional Conduct.  Rule 1.5 requires fees to be either “a reasonable amount to which the client has agreed in advance” or “the cost incurred by the lawyer.” 

The Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® Forms Committee has been working to update and create forms to help members comply with changes to compensation to cooperating brokers, including the recent changes to the Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement.   Now that the settlement agreement was preliminarily approved by the court in late April, 2024, it is critical that RIAR forms, MLS forms and any other compensation-related forms that your brokerage chooses to use meet all of the terms of the settlement by the time that the compensation changes take effect in mid-August. 

Learn about some of the forms that the Forms Committee is reviewing.

Warwick, R.I. - April 18, 2024 - Though February brought a brief year-over-year hike in single-family home sales in Rhode Island, March resumed the trend of declining activity which has become the norm since 2021. The available supply of homes on the market remains critically low going into the spring selling season.  

The Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® has approved changes to the RIAR Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement to make it consistent with legal changes to working as a designated client representative for a buyer.  The revised agreement will be sent to forms vendors during the week of April 2, 2024.  Please keep in mind that some vendors take longer than others to update. Here is a summary of key changes...

When a transaction falls apart, what is the deadline for releasing the buyer’s deposit from a brokerage’s escrow account? 

Rhode Island law requires a real estate brokerage that is holding the deposit in an escrow account to release it within 10 days after the brokerage receives a mutual release that has been signed by all parties to the transaction.

Warwick, R.I. – March 19, 2024 – The Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported that February sales of single-family homes experienced the first year-over-year increase in over two years. Despite the 13% uptick in sales from February of last year, which followed a drop in mortgage rates, closing activity remained well below normal.

The National Association of REALTORS® and the real estate profession are facing major challenges in a time of transition. Would you like to affect the policies on issues that affect you and your profession at the national level? Apply to serve on a National Association of REALTORS® Committee in 2025.

In February 2024, several REALTORS® have reported a new twist to real estate scams.  Different lead generation services have sent the contact information for a seller who wants to list his or her property for sale.  How do you know if this seller is the true owner of the property or a scammer who wants to defraud a buyer of hundreds of thousands of dollars?

In 2023, the Rhode Island General Assembly approved a new law that would require owners of rental property to register with a new Department of Health registry that was intended to be created by September 1, 2024 subject to funding with a filing deadline of October 1, 2024. Governor McKee has filed legislation as part of his budget to postpone and change the filing requirements.

Do you or your clients manage or have an ownership interest in a corporation, limited liability company or other business entity or plan to form one?  If so, you’ll need to comply with new federal reporting requirements.