SB 374, one of the last bills signed by Gov. DeSantis this year, prohibits “discriminatory restrictions” from any title transaction recorded in the state. Until now, those restrictions could be added or allowed to remain in any title transaction – they just weren’t enforceable in court.
“How can I get the seller to accept MY offer?”, buyers wonder in today’s heated, multiple-offer market. In some areas of the country, “love letters” – a note from buyer to seller praising the home – are common. But some of the letters flirt with Fair Housing Act violations.
“But that wasn’t a Code of Ethics violation,” often follows the filing of a Code of Ethics complaint. It’s a difficult process even if the Realtor did nothing wrong, but here are some steps to lessen the risk it will happen to you.
How do you get paid? While most transactions involve one of two commission agreements – the exclusive right of sale (or exclusive right to lease) listing agreements and the offer of compensation in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) – you have other options.
A Realtor’s friend and colleague works at a different brokerage, and per a seller’s instructions, she must ban the entire brokerage from representing a buyer if she wants a listing. It’s a personal problem but is it a Code of Ethics problem? Can she ban a single business from the transaction?
HUD will change hands under a new administration, and housing affordability will be a key challenge for any new secretary facing a pandemic-fueled uptick in evictions.
Alabama and Georgia Realtors are suing the Trump Administration, saying the CDC’s eviction ban unilaterally shifted economic burdens from renters to landlords.
Single-family home construction saw an even bigger increase – 5.6%, according to the Commerce Department. Oct. spending exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Economists predict a 5.7% U.S. price increase and 7% growth in sales, but a closer look at 9 Fla. metros finds varying predictions. They range from a projected 1.5% sales growth (4.3% price) in Cape Coral-Fort Myers to 11.6% sales growth (4.7% price) along the Space Coast.
In a town that exists only in cyberspace, Realtors work against the clock to sell homes but face a challenge: They confront discrimination along the way.