Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 6, 1993 TAG: 9301060069
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press and Charlyne McWilliams Staff Writer at the Roanoke
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
TIGHTER LAWS FOR REALTY BROKERS SOUGHT
Disparate organizations representing consumers and real estate agents launched a joint campaign Tuesday to strengthen state laws requiring brokers to advise prospective home buyers about whom they represent."Agency disclosure laws in most states do not ensure that home buyers know whom their real estate agency represents," said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America.
Often, because consumers do not realize brokers usually represent sellers, they reveal such information as the prices they are willing to pay, which in turn is passed along to the sellers.
As a result, "buyers end up paying too much for homes and inflating housing prices throughout the country," Brobeck said.
Virginia already has regulations governing how real estate agencies present themselves to sellers, said Anne Lee Stevens, president of the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors.
She said the Virginia Association of Realtors will sponsor educational programs for brokers on how to operate as buyers' brokers, sellers' brokers or both while adhering to the changes in the industry.
The seminars in Roanoke will begin on Jan. 11 and will be completed by March, Stevens said.
The organizations released a list of criteria designed to improve consumer protection:
The disclosure must be written, on a state-prescribed form.
It must be made at the first contact with the buyer or seller.
The form must be signed by the consumer and the agent.
The form should be concise and easily understood.
Edmund G. "Gill" Woods Jr., the Realtors first vice president, said 43 states and the District of Columbia require some kind of disclosure.
writer Charlyne H. McWilliams contributed to this story.