Own your present. Empower your future.

CHICAGO (September 19, 2024) – The National Association of Realtors® today announced a new series of consumer resources designed to help agents who are Realtors® empower home buyers and sellers following recent practice changes. To date, NAR has published six installments in the series and will continue to release new resources in the weeks ahead. “At the heart of what we do as Realtors® – who abide by a strict code of ethics – is protect and promote the interests of our clients,” said Kevin Sears, President of the National Association of Realtors®. “We are committed to making the process of buying or selling a home as transparent and seamless as possible for clients, and this new series of guides provides an exceptionally clear roadmap for the process of working with an agent who is a Realtor®.” The following guides…

Q: The Listing Broker is offering compensation to the Buyer Broker, does the Buyer memorialize that compensation offer in their Contract to Purchase, paragraph 2?   A: Memorialization of this type of cooperative compensation offer belongs on MAR Form 311: Cooperating Compensation Agreement (or its equivalent). If the Listing Broker will be paying the Buyer’s Broker less than what is on the underlying fee agreement between the Buyer and the Buyer’s Broker, the Buyer may elect to ask the Seller to pay the difference utilizing paragraph 2 of MAR’s Contract to Purchase. Conversely, if there is no offer of cooperative compensation from the Listing Broker and instead Buyer Broker compensation is offered directly from Seller as a negotiable term, the Buyer can formally request that the Seller pay their Buyer Broker as a term of the offer in paragraph 2…

Q: The Listing Broker is asking for a copy of my Buyer Agreement with my client, am I required to share it? A: No. Buyer agreements contain private information and business practices, similar to listing agreements. They are not meant to be enforced by other members in the field.  The existence of a buyer agreement does not change the terms of compensation offered in the listing agreement or the purchase contracts between the buyer and seller. If there is a discrepancy between what was agreed to on an underlying fee agreement and what services were provided or compensation paid, that would be resolved by the parties to that contract.  Compensation details for all brokers involved will be documented in the Purchase and Sale Agreement and the settlement statement. Q: How do you determine if a tenant has a child under…

Q: How and when will MAR be updating forms to comply with the practice changes proposed in the National Association of REALTORS® Settlement? 35599

Q: I have heard that the NAR settlement received preliminary approval and the opt-in period has begun. What does it mean to be covered by the settlement and do I need to do anything as a member of MAR? 35456