In March, the National Association of REALTORS® proposed a settlement to the court regarding recent lawsuits against NAR and several brokerages. The settlement proposal would require the Grand County MLS to opt in to be covered by the terms of the settlement. Those terms will protect our members, our Association, and our MLS. In mid-April, our Board of Directors met with our Board attorney, the MLS Committee, and many of our Employing Brokers to discuss what opting in looks like. After that meeting, the Board of Directors agreed that we should opt our association and MLS to be covered by the terms of the settlement and the attorney will help prepare that to submit to NAR within the next 60 days. Pending court approval of the settlement, some of our rules and processes as practitioners will need to change. Those changes are expected to become effective in late July. We encourage members to review the Settlement FAQ and Fact Sheet NAR has developed to help understand these changes in detail. Below are the highlights:

• NAR has agreed to implement rule changes prohibiting offers of compensation in the MLS.
  • This means that subscribers to our MLS cannot in any way disclose their offer of co-op compensation – not in private remarks, not through the MLS intranet email blast – nowhere! These offers can still be made off MLS.
• NAR will create a new rule about written agreements requiring MLS participants acting on behalf of buyers to enter written agreements with their buyer prior to touring a home.

These changes bring questions for all of us about how we may have to change our processes and for buyers who are financing their purchase with government back loans. This is especially concerning if a seller is not offering a co-op and a buyer must pay their agent directly. NAR has been working with the administration of those government entities to get those answers and has recently updated the Financing FAQs. Save these links and check them again in the coming weeks and months as NAR continues to update with information as it becomes available.

As with other changes the real estate industry has endured over the years, REALTORS® like us will adapt and change too. Grand County REALTORS® can use these changes as an opportunity to show our clients and customers Who We R and the difference a REALTOR® can make when navigating one of the most complicated and important transactions they will ever make!