What Does It All Mean? Part 2

Last week we discussed several topics including transparency in real estate, the National Association of REALTORS®, Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Associations, Code of Ethics for REALTORS®, and the old saying, “You have to list to last.” Let’s discuss further…

The Washington Association of REALTORS® is the association that upholds the real estate laws and guidelines for that state. It also educates and advocates. The mission statement from their website says, “The Washington REALTORS® advocates for REALTORS® and their clients and provides services to help members prosper.” One of the things that the Washington Association of REALTORS® also does is evaluate the paperwork that a licensed REALTOR® in Washington State uses to broker the transfer of property between a seller and a buyer. These forms are updated frequently to more accurately reflect any changes in real estate.

The Washington Department of Licensing regulates the REALTORS® in Washington State and real estate licensing laws. The Washington Real Estate Commission has a mission statement. “To uphold, protect, and promote the public interest, which embraces both the interests of regulated licensees and entities and the interests of consumers, by the fair and impartial development and administration of the licensing laws and regulations.”

The CCAR (Clark County Association of REALTORS®) further governs the Realtors in the SW Washington membership area. If a consumer, or another Realtor, has a complaint, this complaint would be filed with the Association. This is our local Association where we are ‘dedicated to protecting homeownership, ethics, and professionalism’. Our local association also offers education and training.

So now that you know all of the associations that a REALTOR® in our area is under obligation to, let’s go back to the history of real estate and that “you have to list to last” saying that used to be so popular.

In the early days of real estate, a real estate agent would put ads in the local paper about the homes they were selling, hire a kid to sit on the corner to let people in the house to view it, or they might even just leave the door open for people to walk in. Times have changed. This is the way things were done then though. It was still the wild, wild west out there, and you didn’t even have to be licensed to be a real estate agent. There was no buyer’s agent, just the seller’s agent, and this is the way it was for many, many years. Towards the end of the 1900s many people felt that this was lopsided and unfair as it left one-half of the parties in a real estate transaction without fair representation. These folks filed formal complaints that changed the way that real estate transactions were handled. Anyone who has purchased a home understands that there are many costs and fees involved in the process. For many buyers, especially first-time home buyers, coming up with these costs often seems about as likely as going for a 10-mile run tomorrow morning. It was agreed, however, that if a seller had their representation in a real estate transaction, it was only fair and right that a buyer had the same representation. I think we can all agree that this is a fair balance. Now, the question was, who was going to pay for these folks? And this, my friends, is still the million-dollar question as evidenced by recent events in the real estate world.

Next, I want to take you further into the world of real estate and REALTORS®…

(To be continued next week)