The Secret on How Preprinted Real Estate Contracts Could Get You Fined
As a professional real estate agent, you need to not only work smart to increase your profits but also reduce operating costs. More importantly, you need to ensure that your clients get utmost value for their investment and access all advantages of home ownership.
“Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” — Anonymous
One of the surest ways of doing this is by avoiding unnecessary fines from the regulatory authorities.
What is Preprinting Real Estate Contract?
Preprinting real estate contracts is one of the newest ways that Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is using to fine brokers. Ideally, it is considered unprofessional to print names of third party service providers in your real estate contract if you brokerage has an affiliation with the provider. The main reason why most of the agents prefer doing this is to build credibility and reputation. Unknown to them is that this can harm their finances and reputation in the market
Who is at Highest Risk of these Fines?
Well, brokerages that already have marketing service agreements and other affiliated business arrangements with various title companies are at the highest risk. This is because revenue sharing relationships attract massive attention that in turn results in strict regulatory scrutiny. The main reason why regulatory organizations are keen about this is to ensure that clients enjoy the full benefits of home ownership.
Because of this trend, most real estate agencies are adding their voices in some of these laws. Their main objective is to ensure that clients planning on buying your first home do not choose a specific lender or title company.
Incentives for Prospective Home Buyers
Tax benefits of home ownership are one of the incentives that lure people to purchase homes though mortgage deals. Real estate agents and clients need to check the National Market Averages to get first hand information on real estate market especially concerning interest rates and offers.
Nowadays, you can gather all the information you need to know about this industry from the comfort of your home through the internet. For instance, clients need to get a clear understanding of tax deductions for homeowners to know if a particular deal is in line with their current financial capability.
How to Avoid Contract Fines
One of the guaranteed ways of avoid these fines is by ensuring that your name does not appear at the bottom of any preprinted contract document if the service provider is currently in an MSA or AFBA agreement with your brokerage.