Posted by Betsy on March 18, 2006 at 20:35:37:
Thanks so much for the info! Good to know. Our realtors never explained it to us. I will pass it on to my co-workers!
Is our realtor right? - Posted by Betsy
Posted by Betsy on March 18, 2006 at 15:58:18:
I work at a condominium resort, and people stop in from time to time asking to see some rooms. If the guest even has an inkling of buying, we have been told that we can not give them any information and must direct any potential buyers to our realtor; that legally we can not be involved. We do not try to “sell” the unit on our own, but it can be difficult to say “I’m sorry, I cannot even show you a unit”. What are the legal aspects of this? Can we show the units to people, and give them the information to contact the realtor on their own?
Re: Is our realtor right? - Posted by Natalie-VA
Posted by Natalie-VA on March 19, 2006 at 17:43:13:
Betsy,
I’m not an attorney, but I am a RE Broker. If you are employed by the owner, in most states, you do not need a real estate license to sell their property.
Who is telling you that you can’t? If it’s your employer, it’s probably just their policy that they want the agent to handle it since it is their area of expertise.
–Natalie
Re: Is our realtor right? - Posted by Austin VanScoyk
Posted by Austin VanScoyk on March 18, 2006 at 17:22:36:
Yes,
Legally you must hold a real estate liscence to show property unless you own it. the issue is that realtors are covered by E&O(errors and ommissions) insurance which covers them against making mistakes.
its similar to a doctors malpractice. if you make an incorrect statment about the property and someone sues you later, the realtors have there insurance and you are in deep.
-Austin
Right, employed as EMPLOYEE not agent - Posted by John Merchant
Posted by John Merchant on March 19, 2006 at 19:58:10:
Natalie is dead right here.
A real employee of the seller doesn’t need to have a license as he/she is acting as alter-ego of his employer, and any person or entity can do its own selling…whereas an Agent would need to be licensed RE Agent.
What’s the difference?
A lot. An employee is told when, where, how to do his job; gets a regular agreed compensation, not a commission; and his acts are legally the acts of the employer, so if he hurts someone, legally his employer has done it.
Whereas an Agent is an independent contractor, and his acts are NOT legally the acts of the Seller.
I once sued a truck company because it had carefully (but without really thinking it through) made a very clear written contract with their driver making him their employee…and when he turned his truck over and got killed, and the employer had no worker’s compensation coverage on him, that truck company became liable for the resulting damages to his widow.
The state law of the employing company required that all its employees be covered by WC insurance and its failure to do so cost them a lot of money.
Lots of big RE management firms, such as those which manage big office buildings and complexes, have their own full-time employees act as the rental agents and never hire RE Agents.