Central Ohio Real Estate Market News

You’ve seen their ads. They’ll list your home for a seemingly small fee but they have a staff of “full-service” agents. So you think, “Why Not? No need to pay all that extra money to the BIG brokers, right?” Well, you’ve heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”.

The State of Ohio wants to make sure sellers understand and agree to the services they’re losing when they hire such companies. Starting in October, these companies are now required to have sellers sign a WAIVER OF DUTIES STATEMENT when certain fiduciary duties required of real estate agents are willingly waived by the seller.  The first section of the Waiver lists those fiduciary duties which cannot be waived by these type of companies. The second section identifies the duties that can be waived but which require the seller’s initials in order to have them waived. This assures that the seller is made totally aware of the services or assistance that they will not be receiving from the real estate agent.

The Ohio legislature, as well as full-service agents, believe that sellers are usually unaware that they won’t have a professional to assist them with negotiating purchase offers, counter offers, buyer’s inspection remedies, or title closing paperwork. In the past, sellers have asked for assistance from the buyer’s agent since the listing agent does not perform these services due to their low fees. This puts the buyer’s agent in a precarious position since that agent has a duty to the buyer, not the seller, and as such should not assist the seller.

The new Waiver informs the seller that they will not receive these services from their own listing agent, nor should they expect to obtain that information from the buyer’s agent. By signing the form, the seller acknowledges that they have been made aware of the services they are giving up. Many other states have implemented similar legislation to protect consumers during the real estate transaction when listing with these cut-rate companies.

 We are fortunate to have had the Ohio legislature act responsibly in this matter.

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