Legal Corner

<p> With the recent announcment of this long running lawsuit (and various posturing prior to this summer&#39;s pending litigation) how do you think the &quot;typical&quot; Realtor firm (not just the online group) fared? I am still amazed that this Administration&#39;s DOJ kept after this, given their political bent. </p>

<p> Anyone out there think you will ever be sued by your sellers for posting the DOM- Days on Market? Does it interfer with your Fiduciary duties to your sellers, in regards to your local state laws? </p>

<p> New regulations take effect in fall 2008 that will affect NAR members that have affiliated businesses and those that deal with credit reports. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/factact_affiliate">http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/factact_affiliate</a><br /> <a href="http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/factact">http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/factact</a> </p> <p> The mandatory compliance date for the Affiliate Marketing Rules is October 1, 2008. The rule generally prohibits a person from using information received from an affiliate to make a solicitation for marketing purposes to a consumer, unless the consumer is given notice and a reasonable opportunity and a reasonable and simple method to opt out of the making of such solicitations. </p> <p> FACT Act: Affiliate Marketing Regulations </p> <p> FACT is the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act<br /> The Affiliate Marketing Regulations, issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal banking agencies, generally require a company to provide a notice to consumers and an opportunity to opt out before an affiliated company can use certain information for marketing purposes. The affiliate marketing notice is in addition to the privacy notices already mandated, and would be a second required notice and opt out opportunity. </p>

<p> I have searched many Ohio websites for a basic power of attorney form that my clients can fill out so that the one spouse can sign the closing paperwork for both. Many states have them on their websites, but I can&#39;t find one for Ohio. Has any one or their client used one for Ohio? </p>

<p> I have a buyer who closed on several units over 60 days ago and the work that was supposed to be done on the punch list has still not been taken care of. In the contract, it says the developer has 60 days. What is the next course of action? </p>

<p>An excellent resource for legal issues is the Article area of RealTown.com&nbsp;&nbsp; Click on the Articles tab and then click on the Real Estate Law Category under Article Content</p>

<p> The San Diego Ummels lost their lawsuit against their Realtor for breach of fiduciary duty and non-disclosure of lesser priced homes.<br /> <a href="http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20080411-9999-1b11trial.html">http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20080411-9999-1b11trial.html</a> </p>

<p>Group member Fred Salzer posted two cases of interest to publishers of real estate advertising and information.</p> <p>&quot;In a legal victory for online free speech, Magistrate Judge James R. Muirhead of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire ruled yesterday that real estate advertising company ZeroBrokerFees.com may do business online without having to first secure a real estate broker&rsquo;s license.&quot;<br /> &lt;<a title="http://ij.org/first_amendment/nh_free_speech/4_1_08pr.html" href="http://ij.org/first_amendment/nh_free_speech/4_1_08pr.html"><font color="#006bb5">http://ij.org/first_amendment/nh_free_speech/4_1_08pr.html</font></a>&gt;<br /> <br /> Here's a similar California case from 2004:<br /> &quot;The State of California announced late last week that it would not appeal a victory by Internet publisher ForSaleByOwner.com that struck down California&rsquo;s demand that websites obtain a real estate broker&rsquo;s license to publish real estate advertising and information.&quot;<br /> &lt;<a title="http://ij.org/first_amendment/ca_internet_real_estate/12_20_04pr.html" href="http://ij.org/first_amendment/ca_internet_real_estate/12_20_04pr.html"><font color="#006bb5">http://ij.org/first_amendment/ca_internet_real_estate/12_20_04pr.html</font></a>&gt;<br /> <br /> Fred<br /> fsalzer@sempre.com<br /> Poway, CA<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>There are only a few listservs that I participate in only because people have not been educated properly how to use them and have abused them.&nbsp; Do you think that these communities will replace the listservs?</p>

<p>Federal Appellate decision favorable to Craigslist....online company held to be a &quot;messenger&quot; and not liable for the discriminatory postings on its site.</p> <p><a href="http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/fdocs/docs.fwx?submit=rss_sho&amp;shofile=07-1101_021.pdf">http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/fdocs/docs.fwx?submit=rss_sho&amp;shofile=07-1101_021.pdf</a></p>

<p><font face="Courier New">today's Federal Register of the proposed RESPA amendments:<br /> <br /> &quot;Federal Register: March 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 51)] [Proposed Rules] [Page 14029-14124]<br /> SUMMARY: This proposed rule presents HUD's proposal to simplify and improve the disclosure requirements for mortgage settlement costs under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA), to protect consumers from unnecessarily high settlement costs. This proposed rule takes into consideration: discussions during HUD's RESPA Reform Roundtables held in July and August 2005; public comments in response to HUD's July 29, 2002, proposed rule that addressed RESPA reform; and comments received and views expressed through congressional hearings; meetings with affected parties; and consultation with other federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. HUD's objective in proposing these revisions is to protect consumers from unnecessarily high settlement costs by taking steps to: Improve and standardize the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) form, to make it easier to use for shopping among settlement service providers; ensure that page one of the GFE provides a clear summary of the loan terms and total settlement charges so that borrowers will be able to use the GFE to comparison shop among loan originators for a mortgage loan; provide more accurate estimates of costs of settlement services shown on the GFE; improve disclosure of yield spread premiums to help borrowers understand how they can affect their settlement charges; facilitate comparison of the GFE and the HUD-1/HUD-1A Settlement Statements (HUD-1 settlement statement or HUD-1); ensure that at settlement borrowers are made aware of final loan terms and settlement costs, by reading and providing a copy of a ``closing script'' to borrowers; clarify HUD-1 instructions; clarify HUD's current regulations concerning discounts; and expressly state when RESPA permits certain pricing mechanisms that benefit consumers, including average cost pricing and discounts, including volume based discounts.&quot;</font></p>

<p>Would you like to compare the various state laws on Agency, Rebates, license reciprocity, Seller Disclosure?</p> <p>The NAR State Issues Tracker is a fabulous&nbsp;research tool available to members of NAR.&nbsp; The NAR State Issues Tracker can be accessed by going to <a href="http://www.realtor.org/stateissues">http://www.realtor.org/stateissues</a></p>

<p>Here's a Field Trip from the e-PRO course that may be of interest.</p> <p>The use of electronic communications has expanded the operation of the real estate brokerage beyond the office to agents&rsquo; homes and mobile operations. The scope of a brokerage policy should therefore extend beyond the physical limitations of the broker&rsquo;s office to include all computers and electronic communication devices used in the conduct of the broker&rsquo;s real estate business.</p> <p>Every brokerage should have a company Internet policy. Review the guidelines set forth at</p> <p><a href="http://www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/rminternetpolicy">http://www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/rminternetpolicy</a></p> <p>In the box provided below, list 3 important areas to cover in a company Internet policy.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>