Broker Management Clinic 2 – AAR Spring Convention 3/29/16

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Live class notes and resources from Broker Management Clinic 2 – AAR Spring Convention 3/29/16 with instructor Evan Fuchs ABR, CRS, GRI, RSPS, SRS, e-PRO

  • 5 hot policy-related hot issues from Scott Drucker
    1. Marketing Services Agreements are not always addressed in the office policy manual, but they should be. CFPB is really cracking down on these agreements, and structuring the agreement so that it is TRID compliant is becoming nearly impossible. Nonetheless, agents, without the knowledge or consent of their broker, continue to enter into these agreements with title companies, lenders, mortgage brokers and other real estate professionals. In some instance, the MSA is nothing but a sham that operates to allow for payment for the referral of business. If I was a DB, my manual would prohibit agents from entering into individual MSAs.
    2. Teams obviously need to be addressed in the manual, and they typically are. However, they don’t always address all of the critical issues, such as: (1) must a new team member interview with the DB before being hired; (2) is the team leader responsible for any level of management over the team members; (3) can other agents within the brokerage be recruited to the team; (4) under what circumstances can the DB sever/fire a team member or an unlicensed assistant of a team member; (5) can a team member leave the team but stay with the brokerage and who keeps the listings. Manuals should also limit those models that benefit the team, but hurt the brokerage. Finally, I think the manual should require the team leaders to submit to the DB a signed agreement explaining how the team will be dissolved in the case of a break up.
    3. In drafting their manual, DBs need to be more cautious than ever regarding the level of control they seek to exert over someone intended to be an independent contractor.
    4. I know you spend quite a bit of time on unlicensed assistants, but this is still an area of concern. In fact, the manual may want to clarify that a non-licensed employee cannot discuss lease terms as this seems to be an area in which agents commonly run afoul of the commissioner’s rules. Furthermore, it may be worth addressing the fact that a transaction coordinator cannot work for two separate brokerage firms.
    5. We have received a lot of questions regarding difficult agency representation scenarios. The manual may therefore want to address the fact that: (1) an agent is not allowed to represent a family member in a dual agency transaction; and (2) an agent is not allowed to represent a buyer or seller if the agent has an ownership interest in the property. So for example, a listing agent who is part owner of a property cannot also represent a prospective buyer.

Live class notes are used as a visual aid during classes. Leave a comment if you’d like clarification of anything that may not make sense out of context.