Atlanta Board of Realtors excellent 2011 GAR Contract Changes Class by Dickenson Gilroy LLC, Jan 25th, 2011.
Every year the Georgia Association of Realtors update and change the set of real estate contracts Realtors use in Georgia. Typically the class is the second week in January just before the new forms come out. We were delayed this year because of Atlanta’s SNOWMAGEDDEN, but we are back on track!
We love going to class and understanding the changes, updates and new Georgia GAR forms for Real Estate. Today, Monica Gilroy and Jennifer Dickenson, of Dickenson Gilroy LLC did a fabulous job of highlighting the changes and why they were important. They shared this from litigation and closing attorney’s perspectives, respectively.
A lot of forms were updated for clarification purposes as well as to protect our client interests. This is especially true for the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement since Georgia is a Caveat Emptor – or Buyer Beware state. Also, new EPA guidelines with respect to Lead-Based Paint are critical to understand for homes built prior to 1978 for any renovation project on those homes.
New forms have been developed such as the Short Sale Contingency and the Lease Option – Exhibit “X” To Lease Agreement Giving Tenant Option to Purchase Leased Property. Since so many homes are now sold as Short Sales, we were glad to see that new Contingency. Again, the increased demand in leases makes the Option Lease for the tenants a new opportunity to reserve buying the home they are leasing in the future. Time will tell how these continue to evolve.
I love attending education as the real estate world (and the rest of the world) is constantly evolving. There is no better way to stay on top of these changes than to read voraciously, attend webinars, trade shows and take as much education as I can. The state of GA has a requirement of 24 continuing education hours every 4 years to keep your licensing up to date. The good news is that I don’t even need to check my numbers; I am typically way ahead of that curve every four years from a natural love of learning.
How much time do you dedicate to continuing education? Would you if it was optional?
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