Warwick, R.I. – May 28, 2024 – (Updated June 13, 2024) --A controversial bill will be voted on by the R.I. House Corporations Committee on Wednesday which would create more costs to homebuyers and delay closings, adding to the state’s housing woes, cautioned the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
A real estate licensee represents a buyer and seller as a dual facilitator in the same real estate transaction. Before the closing, that licensee helps the buyer negotiate a contract to re-sell the property to another buyer. Immediately after the closing, the same buyer – now the new owner - re-sells the property for more than 50% more than he/she paid for the property with the assistance of the same licensee. Did the licensee act ethically and legally?
Warwick, R.I. – May 17, 2024 – Rhode Island’s spring housing market started off with increased activity last month. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported that year-over-year sales of single-family homes rose by 6.3% from the previous April, marking just the second time since the beginning of 2022 that monthly sales have outpaced those of 12 months earlier.
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.