What steps can a listing agent take to verify that the person contacting them is really the owner of the property? 

There have been an increasing number of reports in Massachusetts relating to fraudulent sellers. Often, these scams are attempted on vacation properties or vacant properties because the legitimate owners may not be routinely physically present at the property. Some indicators of a potentially fraudulent seller are:

• They say are out of state/country and cannot meet in person;
• Refusal to engage in a video conference;
• Insistence on selling the property fast;
• Willingness to sell below market value.

If faced with a situation where perhaps the lead seems too good to be true, or there are some red flags, a diligent listing agent should:

• Seek advice from their broker;
• Request identification from the seller(s);
• Do a records search – do the names match?
• Insist on a video call;
• Do an internet/social media search for the seller(s).

If the seller is legitimate, they will likely be agreeable to the efforts to verify their identity and ownership status of the property. In those situations where the person is attempting to perpetrate a fraud, taking these additional steps will likely act as a sufficient deterrent to the scammer. 

Failure to engage in proper due diligence by the listing agent could result in significant damages to the listing agent, the brokerage, the owners of the property, and the buyers.

GBREB, Massachusetts Housing Coalition and the Massachusetts Homebuilders and Remodeler’s Association Take Action to Oppose 2024 Rent Control Ballot Question

The Greater Boston Real Estate Board, Massachusetts Housing Coalition (MHC) and the Massachusetts Homebuilders (HBRAMA) and Remodeler’s Association recently took the first step in opposing a 2024 ballot initiative to bring back rent control. 

Before a question can be put before the voters, it must take clear several procedural steps. One of the first steps is a review by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office to determine if complies with Article 48 of the Massachusetts Constitution. As part of that review, GBREB, MHA and HMRAMA recently submitted a legal memorandum outlining concerns that the question did not meet the constitutional muster to move forward. 

Attorney General Andrea Campbell then has about a month to decide which of the over 40 questions on a wide variety of topics should advance.  

The ballot question process is independent of legislation currently pending at the State House to bring back rent control including the recent home rule petition in Boston filed by Mayor Michelle Wu.

Click here to see an explanation of how a voter referendum is added to the ballot in Massachusetts.

Please visit gbreb.com/advocacy for more information.

No, a seller is not obligated to formally reject an offer. When a buyer submits an offer, such as the MAR Contract to Purchase or other board’s offer contracts, there is a provision that states the duration of the buyer’s offer. If the seller fails to accept the offer by the date and time noted, this is treated as a de facto rejection and no further action is required by either party. Once the offer window set by the buyer lapses, the offer is no longer open for acceptance. While many times a buyer wants the seller to formally reject the offer in writing, there is no legal requirement to do so.

Standard of Practice 1-7 in the Code of Ethics does allow for a cooperating broker to submit a written request to the listing agent, if that agent is a REALTOR®, seeking confirmation that their client’s offer was submitted to the seller or that the seller waived the obligation to have the offer presented. While this does not place an obligation on the seller, or provide a formal rejection, it does aid in providing the buyer with some piece of mind.

Courtesy of the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® Legal Team

Article Courtesy of: State House News
By: Sam Doran

As renters and would-be homebuyers face an affordability crisis, a leading trade group for the people who facilitate home sales is eyeing new building projects as the solution.

"Rent control tries to attack a symptom of our lack of building. And that's not the way to fix the issue. We need to build more housing," Justin Davidson told Mass. Association of Realtors members as they prepared to visit House and Senate offices Monday.

Elected officials in Boston are among those trying to tackle the affordability issue by capping rent increases, which Davidson, the association's government affairs director, called a "harmful" policy.

"If we build enough housing, if people have the options of where to live and what type of home to live in, we don't need rent control," Davidson said.
 he problem without invoking rent control, and supports a tax-deductible savings program (H 2727 / S 1787) to help people bank away up to $5,000 per year to put toward their first property.
 
A Rep. Angelo Puppolo bill pertaining to zoning reforms was touted by the realtors as a top priority, featuring increased by-right zoning for multifamily housing and so-called inlaw apartments, and a lower local threshold to win approval for variances and special permits.

"So much housing in Massachusetts is reliant on a special permit or a variance, and a supermajority threshold is so incredibly difficult to meet," Davidson said of the proposed move to a simple majority for those votes.

Lt. Gov. Kimberley Driscoll, a former Salem mayor, recalled that realtors "were with us" on housing goals in the Witch City, and were "standing up in zoning meetings, supporting the conversations in the local watering holes to promote projects."

"There's 351 cities and towns in this state. The state doesn't build housing, it happens in the ground, in the places you live, where you work, where we need it, where it's also hard to get done," the lieutenant governor said.

The Realtors Association opposes transfer tax and rent control bills that many housing advocates are promoting as possible solutions, and Davidson also lumped the transfer tax into a category of "harmful policies."

"You've worked with buyers that know that they can't just come up with a few thousand extra dollars to close the deal," Davidson said, adding that transfer fees are "exclusionary."

Legislation to create a local-option transfer fee has been pushed by proponents who hope to apply the fee to transactions greater than $1 million, although an enabling bill has provisions in it to allow it to apply in any community.

Other association priorities include a real estate licensure bill dealing with required coursework on diversity and fair housing law (H 265 / S 166), and proposed tax-exempt grants for owners of houses with flawed pyrrhotite concrete foundations (S 495 / S 2242).



     



                      


If you missed the REALTOR® Day on the Hill event, visit MAR's website here to learn more about our Legislative Priorities, What REALTORS® Support & Oppose, as well as background information on the event.

Article Courtesy of: Inman News
By: Lee Davenport

Prevent being canceled, fined or jailed by understanding fair housing laws and regulations and avoiding violations

As a real estate expert who works with homebuyers and sellers day in and day out, you may have innocently advised a client using the phrase, “If you were my daughter, I would suggest you look at _____ [fill in the blank] neighborhood(s).”

Harmless, right?

Not necessarily. If working in the real estate field were similar to various sports, I could see a referee immediately stepping in between you and your client saying “flag on the play” as soon as you’ve finished uttering those words.

Why?

There is an elephant in the room. That elephant is the looming threat of being canceled over a social media post, over what you thought was an innocent comment that was captured on a Ring doorbell camera or the like.

It’s time to get the elephant out of the room by doing this quick self-assessment as to whether or not your (or your agent’s) business is a walking red flag. The good thing is that nobody has to know your responses and you can make adjustments now before getting into hot water (not simply with an imaginary referee but) with your local and/or federal laws. 

As an added bonus, if fair housing courses become a requirement to renew our Realtor status every cycle, that becomes another opportunity to make adjustments without the stress of being penalized. 

Red flag quiz: Have you done any of these? 

Red flags to watch out for in your real estate dealings include:

1. Taking clients only to certain neighborhoods where you believe they will ‘fit in’ instead of where they have asked you to tour

More than one-third  of those surveyed —including white, Hispanic/Latino/Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Black, not just people of color — in the 2021 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers by the National Association of Realtors believe that had witnessed or experienced steering towards or away from particular neighborhoods.

The only acceptable reason to not take a client to a neighborhood they have asked to see is if it does not fit their budget, which we should explicitly state and have a paper trail to protect ourselves if there ever are allegations of unfair housing. Anything else may be interpreted as steering.

2. Giving advice based on your own preferences such as,  ‘If you were my daughter/son/niece/sister (or any other familial relationship), I would (not) want you to live here’ 

This may be interpreted as steering unless you give an explicit reason (please have a paper trail) that is tied to the property and not people.

For example: “The flood damage in the neighborhood has not been adequately repaired and impacts appreciation.” We should give statements of fact about the property, never the people.

3. Referencing only certain parts of a community/subdivision/complex/building for those like the client (especially if it refers to a protected class such as how many children they have, their gender, etc.)

This is another example of illegal steering.

4. Being willing and excited to work with a prospect over the phone or via email/direct message but reassigning them to another agent (or outright ignoring/ghosting them) after meeting them in person

Never ghost a prospect because they may be able to make the case that it was due to being part of a lawfully protected class.

There are numerous, valid reasons as to why you may not be able to work with a client at this time and need to refer them.  For example, perhaps you are struck with a sudden, verifiable illness or have documented travel plans that conflict with the prospect’s availability. As a courtesy, and to not be a walking red flag, explain it and follow up in writing.

5. Not being willing to market a listing with the same deliverables or on the same platforms where you market your other properties

It’s one thing if you have a pre-printed menu of services that distinguishes the type of marketing based on what package the seller chooses. It’s another thing (that looks like un-fair housing) when you “on the fly” deem you will not invest certain marketing resources in a particular listing.
In short, pre-plan your different listing packages (which may be at different price points), giving the option to the potential client to select instead of you picking and choosing in a way that may be deemed discriminatory. Offering the same services to everyone is critical to not being a walking red flag.

6. Saying you do not serve a particular neighborhood even though it’s similar to and nearer than other neighborhoods you normally promote

It’s one thing if you specialize in horse farms and this is a condo. But it’s another thing if you consider this the “bad” part of town. We know that such selectivity has cost some real estate firms millions.

7. Asking clients to hide any part of their identity (such as sexual orientation, religious affiliation, nationality, how many children they have, race, etc.), especially if they are part of a protected class

It is one thing if we are working with actual fair housing testers, but it is dehumanizing to ask clients to generally hide parts of themselves at the start of a real estate transaction. 

It’s also one thing to have a home staged for a prospective buyer, but we should never have to stage who lives in the home for an appraiser.
For instance, I do not encourage families to hide who they are (e.g. removing family photos, religious symbols, etc.) when an appraiser is scheduled. Instead, if our “spidey senses” are tingling because the valuation results seem to have been lowballed comparatively or impacted by one’s protected class, then we as real estate pros best help our clients by helping them to report it.

It’s less dehumanizing and, if there is an instance of un-fair housing, this particular instance will be documented (since housing discrimination is underreported, which allows it to fester). The specific violator can be identified, asked for restitution and, ideally, can learn to improve their practices for the betterment of our communities.

8. Not targeting communities least likely to apply

Targeting communities least likely to apply is a must for “properties subject to affirmative marketing requirements” but as  Fair Housing Decoders (what I call fair housing advocates), we can go the extra mile to reach more of our communities by pursuing those that are the least likely to apply in addition to our normal marketing challenges.

9. Partnering with vendors who are fair housing offenders (e.g. banks that are notorious for alleged unfair lending)

There is currently an initiative snowballing that says lenders may be on the hook for appraisers who discriminate. For the sake of this article’s topic, we will not get into the nuances of that but I have been asking all Fair Housing Decoders in the continuing education course I teach on fair housing advocacy to hold their vendor partners accountable for fair housing/lending.

That may mean eventually dropping these vendor partners if they are opposed to treating everyone in our community fairly in the home buying/selling/leasing process. I like the onus being voluntarily on us, but it looks like policies/laws may eventually force our hand. There is no time like today to cultivate this practice.

Do you see a theme in not being a red flag? 

It is to communicate as much as possible as early as possible with a paper trail. Thus, a lack of communication is often our biggest red flag that may cause us to deal with the headache of an investigation and/or penalty that could have been avoided by being more proactive in our communication, that again should always have a paper trail.

Coach’s call: I want to challenge you that if you are a night person, at the end of each day, follow up conversations in writing (email, text, DM, or even fax, if that floats your boat) to clarify and make sure all parties are on the same page. If you are a morning person, do itat the start of your day. If you are neither, then be sure to still schedule it daily, while your memory is fresh. This habit will save you in the long run.

As a former managing broker of a “big box” realty firm (I partly got a law degree to better navigate such legal issues as a managing broker), it never failed that the agents who were thorough in communicating via a paper trail were able to avoid fines and penalties. Most times they walked away with a pat on the back for being so detailed, whereas those who simply relied on the selective memory of a conversation often had to face penalties, including fines and/or a loss of their license.

You may even know some in our industry that faced jail time depending on the severity of the infraction.

As real estate experts, we should be our community’s resource for impartial data about the property, not about the people (nor our opinions of those people). Thus, if any part of your real estate dealings describes the people, please know your business is likely a walking red flag.

Lee Davenport is a licensed real estate broker, trainer and coach.

Article Courtesy of: Inman News
By: Andrea Brambila

At the Realtors Legislative Meetings' Residential Economic Issues and Trends Forum, Lawrence Yun predicted total home sales would bottom out this year before ticking up in 2024

National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun started off his much-anticipated presentation on housing market trends Tuesday morning with a dig at the Federal Reserve for its latest interest rate increase aiming to curb inflation.

“They should not have done that,” Yun told attendees of the Residential Economic Issues and Trends Forum at the Realtors Legislative Meetings, NAR’s midyear conference in Washington, D.C.

“The latest figure is that inflation is at 5 percent — not yet 2 percent, but moving in the right direction,” especially compared to a 9 percent peak last summer, he added.

Rent is one of the biggest drivers of inflation and that 5 percent inflation is coming at a time when rental rates are still accelerating — but not for much longer, according to Yun. Rents will come down because of “very, very robust” apartment construction, which is at a 40-year high.

“Therefore in my view the Fed made a mistake,” Yun said.

Yun noted that existing-home sales are currently below their pre-COVID rates, but may be stabilizing.

“We have to stop the bleeding before the improvement can take place,” Yun said.

On the other hand, new-home sales are back to their pre-COVID levels, according to Yun.

He attributed the difference to inventory: While existing homes on the market are about 40 percent below what they were in 2019, new-home inventory is higher than it has been for years.

The lack of existing-home inventory means that there’s no home-price collapse coming, according to Yun. Sixty percent of listings currently sell within a month and 28 percent are attracting multiple offers, he said.

“Seventy percent of the country is seeing positive gains [in home prices], 30 percent negative,” Yun added.

Demographics will continue to drive housing demand as the population grows and life events trigger home sales, according to Yun.

While he made jokes throughout his presentation, his loudest laugh line came when he predicted that when divorce data came out for 2022, it would be lower than in 2021.

“Why? You hate your spouse, but you realize you love your 3 percent mortgage rate,” he said, prompting guffaws from the audience.

He predicted that total home sales would bottom this year before ticking up next year as mortgage rates decline and job growth continues.

Robert Dietz, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), also spoke at the forum and, not surprisingly, stressed the need to build more housing units to both boost inventory and reduce inflation, the latter of which he said could only be addressed by building “attainable affordable housing.”

According to Dietz, the primary obstacles to homebuilding include the cost of building materials, which are still hindered by supply chain issues, such as tariffs on Canadian lumber, regulations that can add up to $200,000 to the cost of a home in a high-cost market like California and a labor shortage of about 100,000 workers.

“The long-term labor shortage in the industry is going to remain with us,” Dietz said.

He said the country would need to build more than 1.1 million single-family homes a year to meaningfully reduce the inventory shortage, and the NAHB doesn’t expect that figure to rise above 1 million until 2025.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has ordered new loan level pricing adjustments (LLPAs) at the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which mortgage lenders must be in compliance with as of May 1.  As a result, many homebuyers with mortgages insured by Fannie and Freddie are now paying higher upfront fees.  Importantly, the fees do not apply to Fannie and Freddie’s affordable mortgage programs, HomeReady and Home Possible, which let buyers put as little as 3 percent down, or to non-conventional government-backed loans, including FHA, VA and USDA loans and HUD Section 184 loans

Since 2008, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac have charged LLPAs to individual borrowers based on their credit score, down payment, and other risk factors.  With this latest change, many buyers who put 5% to 25% down and have credit scores above 680 are seeing fee increases, and the same can be expected for those with high-balance adjustable rate loans.  Notably, it was just last year the FHFA raised guarantee fees on second homes, conforming jumbo mortgages, and high-balance cash out refinancing loans.  Meanwhile, higher-risk borrowers with lower credit scores and large down payments are seeing reduced fees, though they can still expect to pay more than those with good credit.  In addition, changes made in 2022 that reduced or eliminated the LLPA fee for first-time buyers and those with low or moderate incomes are now being made permanent. 

While reduced fees for entry-level borrowers is welcomed news within the industry, the National Association of Realtors® has urged the FHFA to rescind the higher fees imposed on middle-wealth borrowers, noting that the fee increases exacerbate the 3 percentage point jump in mortgage rates over the past year and are completely unnecessary given the current financial strength of the GSEs.  Additionally, NAR is working alongside industry partners to oppose a new fee on borrowers with debt-to-income ratios (DTIs) greater than 40 percent that the FHFA has announced plans to impose beginning August 1.  For more background and explanation on the recent change in LLPAs, read more from Inman News.     

Article Courtesy of: Inman News
By: Bernice Ross

The authors of 'Exactly What to Say for Real Estate Agents' provided 30 magic words to help agents have the tough conversations. Here, Bernice Ross boils down the top takeaways

Best-selling author Chris Smith and Jimmy Mackin, the co-founders of Curaytor, joined forces with legendary sales trainer Phil M. Jones to create a book packed with the “magic words” that can help real estate agents be more effective and close more transactions than ever before.  

In Exactly What to Say for Real Estate Agents, they provide “30 Magic Words” to help real estate agents with the most common critical and difficult conversations they face today. 

Smith and Mackin are well-known in the real estate business, but most real estate professionals don’t know Jones. As Mackin puts it, “He’s a modern day Zig Ziglar.” Jones says that he has trained more than 2 million salespeople.

Don’t tell and sell. Ask questions 

Top producers know what to say, how to say it and when to say it. In the book, Jones explains how certain “magic words talk straight to the subconscious brain.”
Because these words circumvent maybe answers by creating yes and no answers, they enable your clients to make decisions without over-analyzing them. 
“Change your words, change your world,” the authors say. 

Most scripts and strategies are based on the old sales strategy known as “Hunt ’em, tell ’em, and sell ’em.”

However, for the 35-plus years I’ve been in the business, there’s one negotiation maxim that I have always found to be true: The person asking the questions is the person who is control of the conversation. 

And despite their focus on messaging, the authors agree. Questions are important because:

• They start conversations. 
• Conversations build relationships.
• Relationships create opportunities.
• Opportunities lead to decisions. 

Consequently, the secret of sales success — and communicating more effectively in any situation — is asking better questions. 
Below are just a few of the many powerful takeaways from Exactly What to Say for Real Estate Agents.  

Getting past rejection

Unless you’re part of that very small percentage of people who are immune to rejection, you are constantly missing opportunities to introduce yourself, your services or a property to someone who could benefit from that introduction. 

According to Jones:
It was for this reason that I figured the best place to start is with a set of Magic Words you can use to introduce just about anything to just about anybody, at just about any point in time, that is completely rejection free. The words in the questions are: 
“I’m not sure if it’s for you, but … ”

Here’s why this works:  
• The clients don’t feel pressure.
• Suggesting that “it” might not be right for them intrigues them because their curiosity is spiked, and they’ll want to know what it is.
• This approach, “fires an internal driver that tells them a decision needs to be made and it is their decision to make.” 
• The effect on your client’s brain is, “You might want to take a look at this.” 

Jones goes on to explain that the real magic word here is “but.” 

In most cases, you want to avoid using the word “but” because it negates everything that comes before it. 

For example, if your client says, “We really like what you’ve told us about listing our home, but … ,” you can already tell you’re not getting the listing. Here are two examples from the book: 
• I’m not sure if it’s for you, but there is a new listing coming up next week that could be a good fit. 
• I’m not sure if it’s for you, but there is an open house on Saturday, and you’re welcome to join us. 
At this point the listener will either ask for more information or give it some thought and peg the conversation to recall at a later date.

Why word choice matters

Mackin and Smith have created an invaluable field guide that takes Jones’ 30 “Magic Words” and applies them to prospecting, working with buyers and sellers, closing and overcoming common objections. Here are some additional examples from their field guide, plus a bonus of seven words you should never say during negotiations: 

‘Help me understand the benefits of selling without an agent’
Instead of telling someone you don’t understand them, make your lack of understanding your fault. This removes their defensiveness because you’re creating a situation where you are allowing them to teach you something. 

‘Just imagine’
The authors ask, “Did you know that every decision any human makes is made at least twice? The decision is first made in your mind hypothetically before it is ever made in reality.”

The power of this phrase comes from creating a story. “Just imagine” causes the subconscious brain to kick in and the person pictures the scenario that you’re creating.

For example: 
• Just imagine your kids’ faces when they see this backyard.
• Just imagine the memories you will make in this home.  

‘Most people’
Jones explains that these two words “most people” are probably responsible for more of his negotiating success than any other strategy he has ever used. People draw confidence from the fact that others have made the same decision, and it worked out well. 
Second, people don’t like being told what to do. Using the phrase “most people” allows you to share advice without bumping into this issue. 
This approach also triggers a response in their subconscious brain that, “I’m like most people, so if this is what most people would do, then perhaps it is what I should do too.”

Two examples include:
• Most people who list with me sell over asking price.
• Most people find the first offer they receive is typically the best one. 

If you’re ready to upgrade your negotiation skills and to make more money this year, Exactly What to Say for Real Estate Agents is definitely the one guide you need today to achieve that goal.

For more of these kinds of useful insights, you can also watch an interview I conducted with Jimmy Mackin here.

Most people do, and just imagine what could happen to your sales if you did.

Bonus: 7 words you should avoid during negotiations

Have you ever been in a negotiation where everything seemed to be going well, and it fell apart for no apparent reason? Although there are thousands of reasons deals go wrong, there are seven seemingly innocuous words that often cause negotiations to fall apart. Eliminating these words from your negotiation vocabulary will help you be stronger and more confident at the negotiation table.

1. But
2. Can’t
3. Hope
4. If
5. No / not
6. Should
7. Try


Bernice Ross, President and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, is a national speaker, author and trainer with over 1,000 published articles. Learn about her broker/manager training programs designed for women, by women, at BrokerageUp.com and her new agent sales training at RealEstateCoach.com/newagent.