HB 1907 – Agency in Virginia, Disclosures and More

HB 1907 is a big bill; I’ve talked about it before, discussed how and why single agent dual agency is bad; when we founded Nest we made a policy against single agent dual agency ….

No Dual Agency. To my knowledge, we are the only real estate brokerage in the Charlottesville area stating definitively and publicly “No Dual Agency.”

Interestingly, thanks to the above comment, several local brokerages mentioned that they too have policies against dual agency. We just happened to be the only ones publicly discussing it and advocating for consumers against it.

The bill has unanimously passed the Committee and the House of Representatives.

Discussing the perils of single agent dual agency has long been my windmill; while not perfect, this bill clearly is a step towards representation.

As a consumer, would you agree to not having representation?

1. That following the commencement of dual standard agency, the licensee will be unable to advise either party as to the terms, offers or counteroffers; however, under the limited circumstances specified in subsection C, the licensee may have previously discussed such terms with one party prior to the commencement of dual standard agency;

2. That the licensee cannot advise a buyer client as to the suitability of the property, its condition (other than to make any disclosures as required by law of any licensee representing a seller), and cannot advise either party as to repairs of the property to make or request;

3. That the licensee cannot advise either party in any dispute that might later arise relating to the transaction;

4. That the licensee will be acting without knowledge of the client’s needs, client’s experience in the market, or client’s experience in handling real estate transactions unless he has gained that information from earlier contact with the client under the limited circumstances specified in subsection C; and

5. That either party may engage another licensee if he requires additional representation.

I wrote about HB 1907 for the Virginia Association of Realtors’ blog, VARBuzz. It may be a bit of “inside baseball” for some, but for you real estate voyeurs, I think it’s a good primer on some of the changes.