Statewide Forms Revisions
2024 FORMS REVISIONS
Effective August 15, 2024
Please Review Legal Bulletin 226 (below)
This bulletin summarizes revisions to the statewide forms related to compensation of buyer brokerage firms. The revisions include changes clarifying and simplifying compensation-related provisions to further advance a transparent and consumer-friendly marketplace.
A few revisions stem from the National Association of REALTORS ("NAR") policy changes arising from NAR's proposed settlement agreement in the national class action litigation. REALTOR brokers and REALTOR MLS must comply with those changes, and these forms revisions facilitate compliance.
The revised forms are available on NWMLS's Statewide Forms website as SAMPLE copies for review purposes only. The revised forms will be published for use on August 15, 2024.
Note that while this bulletin generally refers to buyers, sellers, and purchase and sale transactions, the forms changes similarly apply to prospective renters, lessors, and lease transactions.
Effective January 1, 2024
Please Review Legal Bulletin 224 (below)
Revisions to the Real Estate Agency Law (RCW 18.86) take effect on January 1, 2024. The revisions include requiring firms to enter into a brokerage services agreement with their buyer clients, changing the term “dual agent” to “limited dual agent”, requiring buyers and sellers to separately initial consent to an individual broker acting as a limited dual agent, requiring firms to disclose any compensation offered to the firm by another party or firm, and updating the Agency Law pamphlet for consumers.
Due to these changes, NWMLS is revising the listing agreements and related listing forms, the purchase and sale agreements, and the Buyer Brokerage Services Agreement (Form 41) and related buyer forms. NWMLS will also publish informational handouts for brokers to provide to buyers and prospective renters to inform them of the new requirements.
To prepare for the upcoming Agency Law changes, please review Legal Bulletin 224 and the related SAMPLE forms (including both clean and redline/blueline copies). Note that since originally publishing the SAMPLE forms, NWMLS has updated the listing agreements and buyer/tenant agreements to include an acknowledgement that compensation rates are fully negotiable.