legal liability: Home Inspection or Not - 09/23/06 11:28 PM
Have been around for many years, I have seen lots of different views on the usefulness or necessity of home inspections. How we have treated this matter has come back to haunt and roost on more than a few Realtors - legally, financially and professionally. Home Purchasers (with or without Buyer Agency agreements) have a reasonable expectation to be able to rely on the advice and guidance we provide in making decisions about whether or not to proceed in proposing a home inspection.
During the last two years of the hot sellers’ market, for listings where I received multiple offers, … (3 comments)

legal liability: Marketing Idea or Violation of RESPA? - 09/13/06 10:14 PM
There is a n on-going debate among colleagues about a marketing idea -  25% referral to a non-profit organization. Some say that since the payment comes off the top of our commission and goes directly to the non-profit, that you are not paying a referral fee to an unlicensed individual. If it were a referral from an individual I would have to send the referral to the "charity" of their choice - NOT the individual.
Can this work?  If it needs to be handled differently, what the best approach that will keep us out of trouble?
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legal liability: Buyer Agents - Make certain you "go the distance" for your Client! - 09/11/06 10:23 PM
The Fifth District Court of Appeals of Ohio sitting in Delaware CountyRecently decided a case dealing with an alleged acreage shortage andAddressed the duties of the seller and the real estate agents involved inThat transaction. (See Schmiedebusch v. Rako Realty, Inc., 2005-Ohio-4884.)The case is insightful, as it illustrates the relatively minimal duties owedBy a seller and seller's agent to a buyer, yet the extremely high dutiesOwed by a buyer's agent to a buyer.Schmiedebusch dealt with a situation in which the buyer purchased a vacantLot in Delaware County on which he planned to build a home. After the buyerFound the lot through … (1 comments)