News

tarting on January 30, 2025, a new law went into effect to prohibit anyone but a licensed electrician from opening electrical panels and performing certain tests. 

Although the interpretation of the law was relaxed somewhat in a February 19, 2025 memo from the Board of Examiners for Electricians, the Board still interprets the law to prohibit home inspectors from opening and inspecting electrical panels.

Since the electricians’ law allows the owners of a single-family or two-family dwellings, to install their own wiring if the owner lives in, or is “about to live on” the property, some REALTORS® are encouraging sellers to open the electrical panel themselves to make it possible for the buyer’s home inspector to inspect the panel without touching it. 

Could you be sued or criminally prosecuted for fraudulently listing a property without the authorization of the actual owner?

Failure to take basic steps to confirm a seller’s identity can result in losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars for buyers who close on these fraudulent listings;  a title nightmare for the true owners; and the risk of costly lawsuits and even criminal prosecution for listing brokers who fail to perform due diligence before taking a listing.

WARWICK, R.I. – May 22, 2025 – Rhode Island’s housing shortage is showing some signs of improvement according to data released today by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. The number of single-family homes listed for sale in April grew 28.6% year-over-year, the largest increase in the past six months.

Warwick, R.I. – May 6, 2025 –In the first quarter of the year, the number of single-family home sales in Rhode Island fell 3.2% year over year, despite a four-month upward trend that began in October 2024 and ran through January of this year. According to statistics from the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, the median sales price climbed to $465,000 from $440,000, a 5.7% increase.