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Tag Archive: ADRE
MARS Update – July 2011
Big news on the MARS Short Sale front this week, both from the ADRE and the FTC. We’ll probably hear more from ADRE once the Federal announcement gets digested.
Here’s an excerpt from the ADRE bulletin earlier this week.
Here’s what the FTC had to say.
So what do these announcements mean to the agents negotiating short sales in Arizona? My initial take is no more disclosure forms or announcements on web sites or other forms of advertising. For John Hall agents that means all forms 1, 2, 3a and 3b are no longer required. 1 is the advertising form for ads and web sites. 2, 3a and 3b were for short sale listing transactions. Again the MARS forms are no longer required at John Hall & Associates. Removing the ban on advanced fees might be a little trickier. Is it regulated by state statute or by the FTC? That’s why I think we will hear something from ADRE in the near future.
ADRE did clarify their interpretation on 2 agents from the same company working a short sale and teams having multiple agents including a specific short sale bank negotiator and whether they need a loan originator license or not. It’s contained in the 4th and 5th questions in the article. We’ll be talking about these changes at the office meetings coming up, so check us out on Tuesday in Scottsdale and 7/26 in the PV office.
Stay informed and practice real estate the right way.
Sitting Open Houses for Another Agent-Different Company
Arizona Department of Real Estate
From the Real Estate Department’s New bulletin-
Here’s our Commissioner clarifying the Open house question
Q. May a licensee of one company hold an Open House on a listing of another company?
A. The Department sees pitfalls with the arrangement, specifically confusion on the part of the public. ADRE requires that both involved brokers agree to allow the non-listing agent to conduct an open house in the listed property. In addition, the non-listing agent may not receive compensation from the listing agent for conducting the open house and the non-listing agent must make it very clear that he/she is not representing the seller and is present in the home for the purpose of finding interested buyers to work with. The licensee holding the Open House must clearly identify their company through signage, business cards distributed and all advertising.
Short Sale Negotiators and MARS
Added 3.3.11: Here is updated MARS Disclosure information
The first hot link contains the article written by the Commissioner and AAR’s Michelle Lind. It answers questions about real estate agents who negotiate Short Sales.
The second link is the FTC’s publication about MARS. It’s the ‘short’ version (only 54 pages) because it doesn’t have the 500+ footnotes.
They’ll be more written about this in the next week or two as NAR checks in with their report about their interactions with the FTC. It’s important to stay current on this topic. Certainly a lot has changed since the first of the year.
02.03.11
Message from Commissioner Lowe:
In a spirit of keeping our licensees informed on current and relevant topics, we are providing the following article on Short Sale Negotiator Regulations and the link to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (“MARS”) Rule.
1. Short Sale Negotiator Regulations:
Click here to view. (PDF)
The information in this article is based on Arizona law and was drafted in conjunction with Arizona Department of Real Estate, the Department of Financial Institutions and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the Arizona Association of REALTORS®.
ADRE will begin enforcement of this prohibition on March 1, 2011 which should give licensees time to bring their business practices into compliance.
2. FTC Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (“MARS”) Rule:
Click here to view. (PDF)
The MARS issue is still unresolved; however, the National Association of REALTORS® is meeting with the FTC.
Adding the ADRE Squeaky Clean Image To Your Site
Since this article was published on the AAR blog a couple weeks ago, I’ve been talking to our agents about adding this badge to their web sites. The easiest way I know how to do that is to copy and paste the code into your Source/HTML/Code editor.
Once you’ve copied the code into your source editor, be sure to replace the words YOUR PROFILE URL with the actual link to your profile – leave the quotation marks. Search for your ADRE profile here.
<a href="YOUR PROFILE URL" target="_blank"><img src="http://johnhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/adre-rap-sheet.jpg" alt="ADRE Profile" width="160" height="255" /></a>
If you have any questions call. If you’d like me to do this for you, stop by my office with your login name and password to your website!
New from the AAR and ADRE: Short Sale Seller’s Advisory
A big concern in today’s market is how we handle advice and suggestions to our seller when they have to sell their house but it is worth less than they owe on it.
Often we are asked to explain foreclosure/REO transactions. We are asked if a short sale is what they should do. Our clients want to know which method of selling their property is best for them.
At our annual Kick-Off event, Rick Mack, a prominent real estate attorney here in Arizona, addressed some of these concerns. He said our clients need good advice, and have a right to expect us to advise them. The problems arise when we go beyond our level of expertise and legal capabilities. He told us then that the Arizona Association of REALTORS®, through their legal counsel Michelle Lind, was working with the Department of Real Estate Short Sale Committee to develop the “Short Sale Seller Advisory” which would be available soon.
Well – it’s here!!!!!! (Link to: Arizona Short Sale Advisory PDF)
The form will soon be available through AAR, as a Quick Link from our John Hall & Associates Intranet and added to the Phoenix Real Estate Toolbar.
What we love about the form is that:
- it talks about lender options,
- it discusses scams and fraud,
- it gives directions to information for websites and telephone contacts for legal advice, tax advice and helpline services that are available,
- it discusses options other than short sales including but not limited to Loan Modifications, Deed-In-Lieu of Foreclosures, Foreclosures, Bankruptcy………….
AND MORE!!!!!!!!!
We strongly suggest you begin using this form immediately along with the Short Sale Addendum to the Listing Agreement and the Short Sale Addendum to the Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract. It is a great step in the right direction to help and inform our clients.
Judy Lowe – Welcome to the helm of the AZ Department of Real Estate
It’s official! Judy Lowe is Arizona’s newest real estate commissioner. With the new commissioner comes a new title. According to the press release on the Department’s website her position is now the Director of the Arizona Department of Real Estate. So it appears the correct announcement would be Judy Lowe is Arizona’s newest Director of Real Estate!
Whatever Governor Brewer calls the position, the industry is excited that one of their own is at the helm. Director Lowe is the past president/owner of Realty Executives Southern Arizona and the past owner of Coldwell Banker Success Realty Arizona. The Department’s press release mentions she brings experience from commercial, residential, land, new home sales and relocation, and corporate services. All areas that I’m sure will need her attention as the Director of Real Estate.
Congratulations Director Lowe we at John Hall & Associates wish you the best of luck on this new adventure!
New 'Proof' Procedures from ADRE
As I’m sure you know, all new and current Arizona real estate licensees must provide the Arizona Department of Real Estate with “Proof of eligibility to work in the United States”. For the last two weeks the Department has asked all licensees to email the Proof to them. That changes today!
They have added a new portal to their intranet site that enables you to upload Proof directly to them. They no longer want emails. This new portal displays the status of approval (for you and your broker) and a copy of the file you upload. The new tool leaves the guess work out of whether they got your email or not. It also allows the Department to easily match your Proof with your license number.
The hard part still remains – how to get a digital/scanned copy of your license, passport, etc. Well, here are some other options if you don’t have a scanner.
1. Take a picture of Proof with your digital camera and upload the image to your computer.
2. If your cell phone has a good enough camera, use it to take a picture of Proof. If the picture is legible, send a text/picture message from your phone to your email address. You should receive the picture as an attachment.
3. Use a copy machine and the post office. 
One last thing I want to mention is that this is a one time event. Get it out of the way now and you won’t have to ever think about it again.
New requirement for Arizona real estate licensees
As of October 1, 2008 you are required to prove your legal presence in the United States when renewing (or receiving) your real estate license. This is a one-time event, you will not have to do this every time you renew.
For instructions on how to do this, read this.
The Department strongly recommends you take care of this now rather than when you renew. This allows the Department plenty of time to process your paperwork.
Is the AZ real estate commish reading our blog?
Sam Wercinski signed a new Substantive Policy Statement this month that took effect June 18, 2008. It covers the actions the Department is going to take in the event a licensed real estate agent is convicted of Residential Mortgage Fraud. Not only does the SPS cover the intended actions, it also provides recommendations to keep you out of jail. Straight from the Statement…
The Department recommends that a licensee who provides a premium, credit, or rebate in a real estate transaction disclose the premium, credit, or rebate to all parties in the transaction, including the lender and third-party service providers, such as appraisers, in the purchase agreement and the HUD-1 statement (or other writing if no HUD-1 is required).
Good advice! And strangely similar to Jim Sexton’s last post.
Department of Real Estate Updates
I was excited to receive in today’s mail Issue #2 of the “periodic” bulletin from ADRE, and since I have been asked to blog with you, what a good topic… So I went to ADRE’s website to provide you the link here and lo and behold there is even a more recent bulletin, Issue #3, posted on their site. Remember it is your responsibility as a licensee to go online and read their periodic updates.
It is also essential that you log on to ADRE and notify them whenever you move or need to change other personal information. If you haven’t already logged on to view your license information, take a moment to do so. Provide your email address to ADRE and you will be notified just prior to your license expiring. You can also sign up for email updates that are very informative.
Remember the bulletin is not only where disciplinary actions are published but lots of other good educationary materials as well.
Diane Scherer, CEO
Phoenix Association of REALTORS®
Designated Broker Office
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