Real property disclosure requirements.

The Real Estate Law provides for the licensure and regulation of real estate brokers and salespersons by the Real Estate Commissioner, the chief officer of the Bureau of Real Estate. Existing civil law governing agency listings for the transfer of certain property, which includes real property and mobilehomes, prohibits a listing from being placed in a multiple listing service (MLS) , as defined, unless authorized or directed by the owner in the listing. If an open listing is placed in the multiple listing service, existing law requires the total compensation that the owner is to pay to go to the selling agent who procures an enforceable offer from a ready, able, and willing buyer on the terms accepted by the owner. Existing law does not require an open listing to specify compensation to the selling agent, but authorizes the open listing to state that the compensation is to be negotiated between the selling agent and the owner. Existing law authorizes an open listing to contain an agreement by the owner to pay the listing agent compensation in any amount, at any time, and for any services, other than for selling the property or procuring or finding a buyer, as the agreement may specify. This bill would delete those provisions relating to an open listing and would revise and recast those provisions to make definitions in the Real Estate Law applicable to these provisions. Existing civil law governing disclosures upon the transfer of residential property requires the transferor of any real property to deliver to the prospective transferee a specified written statement disclosure subject to specified requirements. If any disclosure, or any material amendment of any disclosure, is delivered after the execution of an offer to purchase, existing law requires the transferee to have a specified period of time to terminate his or her offer by delivery of a written notice of termination to the transferor or the transferor's agent. Existing law requires these disclosures to be made on a specified form. This bill would make the definitions in the Real Estate Law applicable to these provisions. The bill would provide that the period of time the prospective buyer has in which to terminate his or her offer commences when the 3 sections of the disclosure form are completed and delivered to the buyer or buyer's agent. The bill would also authorize a real estate agent to complete his or her portion of the disclosure by providing all of the information on the agent's inspection disclosure, as specified. The bill would increase the length of time that the transferee has to terminate his or her offer if the delivery of a record was made electronically, as specified. Existing law authorizes a city or county to elect to require a local option real estate disclosure document in addition to the real estate transfer disclosure document. This bill would update the content of that optional disclosure document based on making the Real Estate Law definitions applicable to these provisions. Existing law generally requires the disclosure of natural and environmental hazards, right-to-farm, and other disclosures upon the transfer of residential property. Under existing law, if more than one licensed real estate broker is acting as an agent in a transaction, the broker who has obtained the offer made by the transferee is required to deliver the disclosure to the transferee, unless the transferor has given other written instructions for delivery. If any disclosure, or any material amendment of any disclosure, is delivered after the execution of an offer to purchase, existing law requires the transferee to have a specified period of time to terminate his or her offer by delivery of a written notice of termination to the transferor or the transferor's agent. This bill would make the definitions in the Real Estate Law applicable to these provisions. The bill would update the content of the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement based on those newly defined terms. The bill would increase the length of time that the transferee has to terminate his or her offer if the delivery of a record was made electronically, as specified. Under existing law, real estate brokers and salespersons owe certain duties to prospective purchasers of real property. This bill would modify, add to, and delete, some of the definitions applicable to these provisions. Existing law requires listing agents and selling agents to provide the seller and buyer in a real property transaction with a copy of a disclosure form regarding real estate agency relationships. Existing law further requires these agency relationships to be confirmed to the buyer and seller in a specified form. This bill revise the content of the disclosure form to include certain information, including seller and buyer responsibilities. The bill would also revise the content of the form required to confirm real estate agent relationships. Existing law requires the selling agent to provide the disclosure form to the seller as soon as practicable prior to presenting the seller with an offer to purchase and authorizes a selling agent that does not deal face to face with the seller to furnish the disclosure form by certified mail or by the listing agent. Existing law prohibits a selling agent in a real property transaction from acting as an agent for the buyer only when the selling agent is also acting as the listing agent. This bill would eliminate those provisions. Existing law prohibits a dual agent from disclosing to the buyer that the seller is willing to sell the property at a price less than the listing price or that the buyer is willing to pay a price greater than the offering price without the express written consent of the seller or buyer, respectively. This bill would eliminate that prohibition and instead prohibit a dual agent from disclosing to the buyer or seller any confidential information without express permission. The bill would make the operation of its provisions contingent on the enactment of Assembly Bill 2884. The bill would also specify that neither its provisions nor those of Assembly Bill 2884 are to be construed to affect certain existing duties of real estate brokers, salespersons, and related persons.