The First Thing You Should Know

By John Silvia

John Silvia can be reached at 401-862-3883

John's Featured Listing: (photo above)

67 General Sullivan Circle

Portsmouth, RI 02871

Sandy Point Neighborhood

Listing Price:  $550,000

In May of 2008, the real estate industry in Rhode Island changed dramatically as a new Agency Law was enacted.  The purpose of the law was to insure that the Consumer had a choice in the relationship they were to have with any individual, Broker or Salesperson, who was licensed to sell or lease Real Estate in Rhode Island.  The major concern is that upon any consumer meeting with a real estate licensee a disclosure must be presented to the consumer by the licensee prior to any confidential information being exchanged.  There are basically two choices for the consumer in establishing a relationship with a licensee.  First is the default mode for all licensees, and that is a Transaction Facilitator.  This means that the licensee will provide assistance to a buyer, seller, tenant or landlord, or both in a real estate transaction, but does NOT represent the consumer.  The second type of relationship is that of a Client Representative and in this case the licensee does represent the consumer, but advocates on behalf of the consumer.   Most importantly, all the information of a confidential nature between the consumer and the licensee is protected forever in this type of relationship, but not in the other Transaction Facilitator. 

So if you are a consumer considering leasing, selling or buying real estate and are using the services of a professional, licensed in the State of Rhode Island, you SHOULD EXPECT that licensee to review and provide you with a Mandatory Relationship Disclosure form that they ask you to sign.  You should have a copy of what you signed and they must keep a copy for their records.  If a licensee does not offer this to you, then all sorts of red flags should go off in your mind as this licensee is not following the law.