Winston Salem | How to Spot Rental Application Fraud

 

 Keep these red flags in mind as you gather leasing information.  

• Offering extra (or advance) payment: Those committing rental fraud might try to offer you money in an attempt to get you to skip or accelerate crucial stages of the tenant verification process. Skipping steps can make you miss clear signs that the information they’ve provided doesn’t match up.
• Providing incomplete information: Potential tenants who leave sections of their rental application blank may have something to hide. It’s likely a good idea to require tenants to complete the rental application in full and to only consider renting to those who follow directions.
• Handing over printed documents: If a tenant insists on handing you a printed copy of a credit report or background check, that could be a sign that they’re falsifying documents. Always run your own checks in addition to accepting any supporting documentation from the tenant.
• Finding conflicting details: As you run your own credit and background checks, be wary if you find conflicting information or details that don’t match up. This is often a sign that the potential tenant lied when filling out their rental application.
• Lacking a social media presence: Most people these days are connected to at least one form of social media. If you can’t find someone online, it could be a sign that they’re using a fake identity on their application.

4 Ways to Prevent Rental Application Fraud

A sharp eye isn’t the only tool at your disposal to help you safeguard against these issues. Here a few distinct steps and tools you can take to avoid falling victim to rental application fraud:

1. Don’t look past omissions: If part of a rental application is left blank and you still want to consider it, be sure to ask the potential tenant for an explanation.
2. Cross-check the information provided on the rental application: Consider independently researching the contact information for employers or previous property references. If the info you find doesn’t match the information provided on the application, it could be a sign of fraud.
3. Run your own credit/employment/background checks: In a perfect world, you’d be able to trust the information provided by potential tenants, but that isn’t always the case. Running your own checks will give you a chance to verify the information that the tenant provided is correct.
4. Invest in rental history verification software: If running your own checks is taking up too much time in your day, there is property management software that will take care of these tasks for you with consistent attention to detail. Consider investing in a software program that can save you time while offering you peace of mind. Let’s take a closer look at specific software to help you accomplish this.

Just SOLD - 3600 Grandview Club Rd. Winston Salem, NC

 

Sold Price $409,250!  

Let us list your home and get this done for you.     

Let us explain the new NAR ruling and how it affects your efforts to sell.   We can make it happen for you!

Thank you to Shari and Molly for allowing me to work for you. 

Winston Salem | How do the NAR practice changes impact home sellers?

 

• The practice changes empower consumers with additional choice and transparency when selling a home.
• As a seller, you still have the choice of offering compensation to buyer agents. You may consider doing this as a way of marketing your home or making your listing more attractive to buyers.
• Your agent must clearly disclose to you and obtain your approval for any payment or offer of payment that a listing agent will make to another agent acting for buyers.
• This disclosure must be made to you in writing in advance of any payment or agreement to pay another agent acting for buyers and must specify the payment amount or rate.
• If you choose to approve an offer of compensation, there are changes to how it can be communicated—your agent cannot include it on an MLS.
• Your agent can advertise your listing via off-MLS platforms such as social media, flyers, and websites.
• You as the seller can still offer buyer concessions on an MLS (for example, concessions for buyer closing costs).
• Compensation for your agent remains fully negotiable and is not set by law, and if your agent is a REALTOR®, they must abide by the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and have clear and transparent discussions with you about compensation.
• When finding an agent to work with, ask questions about compensation and understand what services you are receiving.
• Agents who are REALTORS® are here to help you navigate the home selling process and are ethically obligated to work in your best interest. 

Winston Salem | Home Sellers: Here's What the NAR Settlement Means for You

As a home seller, you have a wide range of choices when it comes to listing your home. Agents who are REALTORS® are a trusted source of advice and stand ready to help you navigate this complex process and make the choices that work best for you. NAR’s recent settlement has led to several changes related to broker commissions that benefit sellers, and we wanted to clearly lay them out for you.

Here is what the settlement means for home sellers:

• You still have the choice of offering compensation to buyer brokers. You may consider doing this as a way of marketing your home or making your listing more attractive to buyers.
• Your agent must conspicuously disclose to you and obtain your approval for any payment or offer of payment that a listing broker will make to another broker acting for buyers.
• This disclosure must be made to you in writing in advance of any payment or agreement to pay another broker acting for buyers, and must specify the amount or rate of such payment.
• If you choose to approve an offer of compensation, there are changes to how this can happen.
• You as the seller can still make an offer compensation, but your agent cannot include it on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS)—MLSs are local marketplaces used by both buyer brokers and listing brokers to share information about properties for sale.
• Your agent can advertise your listing via off-MLS platforms such as social media, flyers and websites.
• You as the seller can still offer buyer concessions on an MLS (for example, concessions for buyer closing costs).

These settlement practice changes went into effect August 17.

Here is what the settlement doesn’t change:

• Agents who are REALTORS® are here to help you navigate the process of selling your home and are ethically obligated to work in your best interest.
• Compensation for your agent remains fully negotiable, and if your agent is a REALTOR®, they must abide by the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and have clear and transparent discussions with you about compensation. When finding an agent to work with, ask questions about compensation and discuss what you would like to offer buyers.
• You have choices. Work with your agent to understand the full range of these choices when selling your home, which will help you make the best possible decision for your needs.

More details about these changes and what they mean can be found at NAR Settlement: Get the Facts.

Winston Salem | Home Sellers: Here's What the NAR Settlement Means for You

 

As of August 17, 2024, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) will no longer allow listing agents to include offers of compensation for a buyer's agent in their listings. This change is intended to address claims that homeowners were forced to pay inflated agent commissions. 

 

Here are some other things that are not allowed in the MLS regarding commissions:

• Total commission disclosure: The MLS cannot require listing brokers to disclose the total negotiated commission in their listing contract.
• Total commission publication: The MLS cannot publish the total negotiated commission on a listing. 
   

However, sellers and listing agents can still agree on the amount of the commission outside of the MLS. This can be done verbally, in emails or texts, or on the listing agent's brokerage website. 

 

The new rules are intended to decouple the buyer fee from the seller fee. This means that the total amount paid may come from the buyer or the seller, and each commission will be negotiated. 

 

Winston Salem | CONSUMER GUIDE: OPEN HOUSES AND WRITTEN AGREEMENTS

 

As of August 17, 2024, many real estate professionals nationwide will be asking buyers to enter into a written agreement prior to touring a home. But what if you are just attending an open house? Here’s what you should know:

I am attending an open house without an agent. Do I need a written buyer agreement in order to tour the home?

No. If you are simply visiting an open house on your own or asking a real estate professional about their services, you do not need to sign a written buyer agreement.

Is an agent who is hosting an open house required to enter into written agreements with the potential buyers who attend the open house?

No. In this case, since the agent is only there at the direction of the listing broker or seller, the agent is not required to have a written agreement with the buyers touring the home. When will I be asked to sign an agreement with an agent? After you begin “working with” an agent and at any point before you tour your first house together.

 What does “working with” an agent mean?

A buyer is “working with” an agent as soon as the agent begins to provide services, such as identifying potential properties and arranging tours. Agents who are simply marketing their services or speaking to a buyer—at an open house or by providing a buyer access to a house they have listed—are not considered to be working with the buyer.

 What does it mean to “tour” a home?

Under the terms of the settlement, a “tour” is when a buyer who is working with an agent enters a home that is for sale or directs their agent to enter the home on their behalf. This includes when the buyer’s agent provides a live, virtual tour to a buyer not physically present.

What is the purpose of written buyer agreements?

Clarity and transparency. Written buyer agreements lay out the services your real estate professional will provide and what they will be paid. Buyers should not sign anything that includes terms they do not agree with or do not understand. You are in the driver's seat with these agreements, which are fully negotiable.

Where can I learn more about buyer agreements?

NAR has created a dedicated resource on written buyer agreements here.

Please visit NAR Settlement: Get the Facts for more information and resources, and consult your real estate professional or attorney for details about state law where you are purchasing a home

Winston Salem | An Agents Take on offering of compensation in the MLS

 

On this week's episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, California agent Chris Cragnotti shares his experience working with sellers who chose not to include an offer of compensation in the MLS, 10 months before it was required. He describes the conversations he's had with clients, the responses of buyer agents and how the deals went down.  

See why eliminating upfront offers of comp is 'nothing to be afraid of': Many agents are just starting to talk with clients about industry rule changes, but Cragnotti has been doing it since November. After the Sitzer/Burnett verdict was announced, "we knew what the DOJ wanted," he said. 

So how did sellers react? His first conversation was "super easy." Transparency and education have been key.

"I realized that I had a fiduciary obligation to explain to my sellers that this pathway existed, that not only do they not have to offer compensation, but the buyer can can now ask them in the purchase agreement. And I explained to every one of my sellers, you're very likely going to be asked to pay compensation, and I think it's a great insurance policy. They should have their own representative. It protects you, it protects me. It's better and it's worth your money to do it. You can still say no. You'll be able to negotiate it."

Were buyers (or their agents) scared away? Removing an offer of compensation has not impacted Cragnotti's business or his sellers. All of his recent listings have sold — many for above asking — and the change, he said, has ultimately been "a big nothing."

"What I think all the other agents gleaned from the experience was that, oh, it's just an extra a piece of paper we have to do. It's a conversation I have to have with my buyers now, a conversation we probably should have been having all along anyway. But at the end of the day, you know, it's just really easy and it will become easier."