CONSUMER NOTICE
CN
THIS
IS NOT A CONTRACT
Pennsylvania
Law requires real estate brokers
and salespersons (licensees) to
advise consumers who are seeking
to sell or purchase residential
or
commercial real estate or tenants
who are seeking to lease residential
or commercial real estate where
the licensee is working on behalf
of the tenant of the business
relationships permitted by the
Real Estate Licensing and Registration
Act. This
notice must be provided to the
consumer at the first contact
where a substantive discussion
about real estate occurs unless
an oral disclosure has been previously
provided. If the oral disclosure
was provided, this notice must
be provided at the first meeting
or the first time a property is
shown to the consumer by the broker
or salesperson.
Before you disclose
any information to a licensee,
be advised that unless you select
an agency relationship the licensee
is NOT REPRESENTING YOU. A business
relationship of any kind will
NOT be presumed but must be established
between the consumer and the licensee.
Any licensee who
provides you with real estate
services owes you the following
duties:
• Exercise reasonable
professional skill and care which
meets the practice standards required
by the Act.
• Deal honestly
and in good faith.
• Present, in a
reasonably practicable period
of time, all offers, counteroffers,
notices, and communications to
and from the parties in writing.
The duty to present written offers
and counteroffers may be waived
if the waiver is in writing.
• Comply with Real
Estate Seller Disclosure Act.
• Account for escrow
and deposit funds.
• Disclose all conflicts
of interest in a reasonably practicable
period of time.
• Provide assistance
with document preparation and
advise the consumer regarding
compliance with laws pertaining
to real estate transactions.
• Advise the consumer
to seek expert advice on matters
about the transaction that are
beyond the licensee’s expertise.
• Keep the consumer
informed about the transaction
and the tasks to be completed.
• Disclose financial
interest in a service, such as
financial, title transfer and
preparation services, insurance,
construction, repair or inspection,
at the time service is recommended
or the first time the licensee
learns that the service will be
used.
A licensee may have
the following business relationships
with the consumer:
Seller
Agency: Seller
agency is a relationship where
the licensee, upon entering into
a written agreement, works only
for a seller/landlord. Seller’s
agents owe the additional duties
of:
•
Loyalty
to
the seller/landlord by acting
in the seller’s/landlord’s best
interest.
•
Confidentiality,
except that a licensee has a duty
to reveal known material defects
about the property.
•
Making a continuous
and good faith effort to
find a buyer for the property,
except while the property is subject
to an existing agreement.
• Disclosure to
other parties in the transaction
that the licensee has been engaged
as a seller’s agent.
A
seller’s agent may compensate
other brokers as subagents
if
the seller/landlord agrees in
writing. Subagents have the same
duties
and obligations as the seller’s
agent. Seller’s agents may also
compensate buyer’s agents and
transaction licensees who do not
have the same duties and obligations
as seller’s agents.
If
you enter into a written agreement,
the licensees in the real estate
company owe you the additional
duties identified above under
seller agency. The exception is
designated agency. See the designated
agency section in this notice
for more information.
Buyer Agency:
Buyer
agency is a relationship where
the licensee, upon entering into
a written agreement, works only
for the buyer/tenant. Buyer’s
agents owe the additional duties
of:
•
Loyalty
to
the buyer/tenant by acting in
the buyer’s/tenant’s best interest.
•
Confidentiality,
except that a licensee is required
to disclose known material defects
about the property.
•
Making a continuous
and good faith effort to
find a property for the buyer/tenant,
except while the buyer is subject
to an existing
contract.
• Disclosure to
other parties in the transaction
that the licensee has been engaged
as a buyer’s agent.
A buyer’s agent
may be paid fees, which may include
a percentage of the purchase price,
and, even if paid by the seller/landlord,
will represent the interests of
the buyer/tenant.
If you enter into
a written agreement, the licensees
in the real estate company owe
you the additional duties identified
above under buyer agency. The
exception is designated agency.
See the designated agency section
in this notice for more information.
Dual Agency:
Dual
agency is a relationship where
the licensee acts as the agent
for both the seller/landlord and
the buyer/tenant in the same transaction
with the written consent of all
parties. Dual agents owe the additional
duties of:
•
Taking no action that is adverse
or detrimental to
either party’s interest in the
transaction.
•
Unless otherwise agreed to in
writing, making a continuous
and good faith effort to
find a buyer for the property
and a
property for the
buyer, unless either are subject
to an existing contract.
•
Confidentiality,
except that a licensee is required
to disclose known material defects
about the property.
COPIES: GREEN–CONSUMER;
WHITE–BROKER 4/02
Designated
Agency: In
designated agency, the employing
broker may, with your consent,
designate one or more licensees
from the real estate company to
represent you. Other licensees
in the company may represent another
party and shall not be provided
with any confidential information.
The designated agent(s) shall
have the duties as listed above
under seller agency and buyer
agency.
In
designated agency, the employing
broker will be a dual agent and
have the additional duties of:
• Taking reasonable
care to protect any confidential
information disclosed to the licensee.
• Taking responsibility
to direct and supervise the business
activities of the licensees who
represent the seller and buyer
while taking no
action that is adverse or detrimental
to either party’s interest in
the transaction.
The designation
may take place at the time that
the parties enter into a written
agreement, but may occur at a
later time. Regardless of when
the designation takes place, the
employing broker is responsible
for ensuring that confidential
information is not disclosed.
Transaction
Licensee: A
transaction licensee is a broker
or salesperson who provides communication
or document preparation services
or performs other acts for which
a license is required WITHOUT
being the agent or advocate for
either the seller/landlord or
the buyer/tenant. Upon signing
a written agreement or disclosure
statement, a transaction licensee
has the additional duty of limited
confidentiality in that the following
information may not be disclosed:
• The seller/landlord
will accept a price less than
the asking/listing price.
• The buyer/tenant
will pay a price greater than
the price submitted in a written
offer.
• The seller/landlord
or buyer/tenant will agree to
financing terms other than those
offered.
Other information
deemed confidential by the consumer
shall not be provided to the transaction
licensee.
OTHER INFORMATION
ABOUT REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS
The following are
negotiable and shall be addressed
in an agreement/disclosure statement
with the licensee:
• The duration of
the employment, listing agreement
or contract.
• The fees or commissions.
• The scope of the
activities or practices.
• The broker’s cooperation
with other brokers, including
the sharing of fees.
Any sales agreement
must contain the zoning classification
of a property except in cases
where the property is zoned solely
or primarily to permit single
family dwellings.
A Real Estate Recovery
Fund exists to reimburse any person
who has obtained a final civil
judgment against a Pennsylvania
real estate licensee owing to
fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit
in a real estate transaction and
who has been unable to collect
the judgment after exhausting
all legal and equitable remedies.
For complete details about the
Fund, call (717) 783-3658.
|
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
|
| I
acknowledge that I have received
this disclosure. |
| Date:
_________________________ |
_______________________________ |
___________________________ |
|
Print
(Consumer) |
Print
(Consumer) |
|
_______________________________ |
___________________________ |
|
Signed
(Consumer) |
Signed
(Consumer) |
|
_______________________________ |
___________________________ |
|
Address
(optional) |
Address
(optional) |
|
_______________________________ |
___________________________ |
|
Phone
Number (optional) |
Phone
Number (optional) |
| I
certify that I have provided
this document to the above
consumer. |
|
| Date:
_________________________ |
______________________________________________________________ |
|
Print
(Licensee) |
| Date:
_________________________ |
______________________________________________________________ |
|
Signed
(Licensee) |
Adopted by the State
Real Estate Commission at 49 Pa.
Code §35.336.