A WORLD OF COMPETING FORMS
WHAT’S A REALTOR TO DO?
Most REALTORS are now aware that beginning in 2012, non-GAR members who want to use the GAR Forms will only be able to do so after first purchasing an annual license from GAR for $199. In response to this decision, the rumor is that several of the non-GAR companies, along with FMLS and Georgia MLS have decided to create their own set of forms to compete with the GAR Forms. These new forms will apparently be given away at no cost to anyone who wants to use them. How will this affect how REALTORS do business? For the reasons be low, the likely answer is not much.
First, there are already many different real estate forms available and being used in the real estate marketplace today. Most builders use their own real estate forms. Similarly, most banks and asset managers use contract addendums that completely redo any standard contract form to which they are attached. Numerous other forms are available on the internet. At present, when REALTORS see real estate forms with which they are unfamiliar, they normally read the form and do their best to work with it. This will likely continue to be the case if new competing forms are introduced on the market.
The one thing REALTORS should always do prior to filling out an unfamiliar contract form is to verify that the form was prepared by an attorney. Under Georgia law, real estate licensees are only permitted to fill out preprinted real estate contracts prepared by an attorney. All GAR Forms are prepared by GAR’s general counsel and thus licensees can use the GAR Forms without worry. If a REALTOR fills out a real estate form not prepared by an attorney, the REALTOR may be engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.
Second, REALTORS should want to continue to use the GAR Forms for any number of reasons including that the GAR Forms are written to:
1) protect REALTORS against legal claims;
2) protect the commission rights of REALTORS
3) provide practical solutions to today’s real estate issues that have been developed by REALTORS from all over Georgia;
4) balance the needs of buyers and sellers; and;
5) be comprehensive in scope with forms for literally every type of real estate transaction imaginable.
No other real estate forms do all of these things.
Some REALTORS have asked whether they can counter on a GAR Form if they receive an offer on a non-GAR form. The best answer to this question is that this is something that the client of the REALTOR should decide. However, a REALTOR is certainly free to tell a client or customer that he or she is more familiar with the GAR Form and would, therefore, prefer to use those forms in the transaction. The same result may also occur in reverse where a non-GAR member, presumably after discussing the matter with his or her client or customer, counters on a non-GAR contract form. As REALTORS, our first goal should always be to do what is in the best interests of our clients to get the deal done. What form gets used in the transaction should be a secondary consideration.
Other REALTORS have asked me whether they can give a non-GAR member a GAR Form to help the non-GAR member get a deal done in which the REALTOR is involved. The answer to this question is yes. However, to protect against improper use of our GAR Forms by non-GAR members, when a GAR Form is printed, it will now include the name of the authorized person who printed the Form as a footer on every page of the Form along with a statement that it can only be used in real estate transactions in which the licensee who printed the form is involved.
We live in a free country where competition in the marketplace is encouraged and protected. Anyone, including the multiple listing services, can compete in the forms marketplace if they so choose. Obviously, we are entering a new world where the lines are being blurred and companies that were previously involved in only one business may now get into other businesses. As a great believer in our free enterprise system, I am not troubled by this new competition. I am also confident that, if and when the GAR Forms are put to the test, they will clearly and convincingly be seen as the best real estate forms in Georgia.
www.garealtor.com GEORGIA REALTOR I 17
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