Beginning January 1st, some important changes were made to the contracts we use every day. It’s important to stay abreast of these changes so I will go over a few of the major ones here.
If you have written a 1-4 Family Resale lately you have noticed a big change on the first page. A new paragraph in Section 4 lays out the disclosure laws so that sales agents now have a promulgated spot to put their notice of agency. There are no excuses for forgetting to disclosure your agency status on your contracts! There is much talk of what prompted this change and the decision to put the disclosure on Page 1 of the contract. I’d love to hear what you all think spurred the change!
Second, on Page 4, Section 7, additional verbiage was added making written authorization from the seller a requirement for performing a hydrostatic test on the property. Hydrostatic tests often require the removal of a commode so it’s important to get the seller’s permission to perform this test.
Many agents everywhere are relieved that Paragraph 23 on Page 8 was amended to reflect that Option Periods now expire at 5:00PM rather than midnight on the last day of Option. No more negotiating at 11:00 at night!
Significant changes have been made to the Third Party Financing Addendum. Please read through the addendum before use to make sure that you are familiar with the new verbiage. Most importantly, it clarifies Buyer Approval vs. Property Approval. This was an important clarification as I expect with the market continuing to look good for 2016 we will continue facing appraisal challenges.
Finally, the Information About Brokerage Services has been changed to include the Broker and Sales Agent information including license number, email and phone numbers. (StepStone Agents: If you would like an IABS with our information already filled in please reach out to Cameron).
You can find updates on all form and rule changes by visiting your TAR website at www.TexasRealEstate.com or TREC at www.trec.state.tx.us/. And as always, if you have questions about any forms or their usage you should call your broker!
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