As the industry grapples with best practices on how to deliver and execute new settlement-required buyer agency forms, one independent has already made it part of its in-house software features.
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Chicago’s Dream Town Real Estate, a 450-agent, six-office independent, has answered the call of industry change by integrating new required buyer representation forms into its automated content distribution solution, a part of its in-house CRM called Client Connect, Inman has learned.
The intent is to make the new agreement process less burdensome on the agent to execute and easier for buyers to understand, as any digital workflow tends to do. Real estate documentation is often associated with being clinical and easily refused by prospective clients, whereas a web-based, auto-populated document helps the relationship coalesce in less time.
“This tool allows their brokers to more easily adapt to the industry changes required to administer buyer-broker agreements to all buyers who seek representation, as required by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) legal settlement,” an Aug. 15 press release said.
Client Connect is the company’s customer relationship management software, and its mobile iteration furthers the pace of the agreement’s delivery and electronic signature, according to the company. Brokers then approve the document and allow the agents to move forward in accordance with NAR’s agreement.
Efficient methods to execute formal buyer agency — the new national standard for buyer representation brought on by a legal settlement between the National Association of Realtors and a class of consumers regarding how commissions are paid — are moving quickly into the market to help agents, brokers and consumers move forward in business. Buyer agency agreements were already standard practice in many markets, though not required in some, but the new rules remain vague to much of the industry.
Inman reported that on Aug. 6, NAR updated its FAQ to specify that an MLS participant working with a buyer can enter into the written agreement with the buyer “at any point but must do so by no later than prior to the buyer ‘touring a home,’ unless state law requires a written buyer agreement earlier in time.”
Under the settlement terms, just marketing services to a buyer or just talking to a buyer on the seller’s behalf — for instance, at an open house or showing a client’s listing to an unrepresented buyer — does not mean you are “working with” a buyer, according to NAR’s FAQ.
However, providing actual brokerage services to a buyer, i.e. identifying potential homes, arranging a showing with the listing agent, negotiating for the buyer, presenting the buyer’s offers or performing other services for the buyer, are “working with” a buyer, the trade group said.
“Buyers agency is very dynamic, and with this new settlement requirement, we needed to create a tool that would enable our brokers to generate buyer-broker agreements on the fly,” said Yuval Degani, founder and CEO of Dream Town, in the press release. “The simplicity of just texting a link makes the conversation simple. It helps to administer the required contract with a multitude of buyers easily.”
Degani has also launched a training series for agents to better understand how to move forward with leads and clients in light of the changes.
Dream Town opened in 1998.