Dear MARIS Subscribers,

At the special board meeting immediately following an all-day legal seminar with our attorney and our shareholder associations to discuss the NAR settlement last Wednesday, the MARIS Board of Directors approved staff to participate in the settlement by signing Appendix B on behalf of the MARIS MLS.

What Does the Settlement Mean for the MLS?

• MARIS will remove all current and historical compensation and commission fields from the MLS by August 1, 2024.
• MARIS will actively prevent brokers and agents from making or disclosing offers of compensation in the MLS starting on August 1, 2024.
• MARIS will remove all current and historical compensation and commission fields from IDX/VOW data feeds.
• MARIS will require buyer’s agents have a signed buyer agreement prior to showing any property by August 17, 2024 (but we recommend you begin the practice well before the deadline).
  
  

What Does the Settlement Mean for You?

• Brokers must require:
  1. That all MLS participants working with a buyer enter into a written agreement before the buyer tours a home
  2. That MLS participants specify and conspicuously display the compensation and how it will be determined
  3. That the amount of compensation must be objectively ascertainable and not open-ended
  4. That the participant does not receive compensation for brokerage services from any source that exceeds the amount or rate agreed upon with the buyer.
• You cannot represent your services as free (unless you truly receive no compensation)
• You must disclose to prospective sellers in conspicuous language that your commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable:
  1. In your listing agreement
  2. In your agreement with buyers
  3. In pre-closing disclosure documents
• You must not filter or restrict listings communicated to customers or clients based on the existence or level of compensation offered to the buyer broker or other buyer representative

NOTE: These are my consolidated and abbreviated notes on the settlement terms. Review actual settlement terms.

My Recommendations:

This is not legal advice. Every brokerage should consult with their counsel to determine how your individual office intends to adapt your policies and procedures to be compliant with the settlement terms.

I suggest a thorough review of contracts, agreements, and forms used by your brokerage; review of your training programs and especially marketing materials to ensure there are no conflicts with the settlement terms. If you operate as a part of a team that uses unique agreements or marketing, I suggest a thorough review. If you have ever posted training material or marketing material on a publicly available website like YouTube, for example, I strongly recommend that you review historical material for compliance with the settlement and remove any content that has not been reviewed. 

It is critical that you view the above NAR settlement terms as meaningful changes required of the real estate industry. These changes are meant to be adopted, not worked around. Using semi-private or private websites, social media platforms, or venues other than the listing Brokerage’s owned and controlled website to continue to make offers of cooperative compensation would be in violation of the NAR settlement and would instantly void your brokerage’s coverage under the settlement terms.

For more information about the settlement, please visit the MARIS FAQ page.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Cameron Paine
President & CEO of MARIS

Retraction and Clarification of Language to MARIS Brokers and Agents on June 11, 2024

I would like to clarify the language I used in my email last week to MARIS brokers and agents describing the next steps of the NAR Settlement. I am retracting my statement that "These changes are meant to be adopted, not worked around. Using semi-private or private websites, social media platforms, or venues other than the listing Brokerage’s owned and controlled website to continue to make offers of cooperative compensation would be in violation of the NAR Settlement and would instantly void your brokerage’s coverage under the Settlement terms."

To be clear: The MLS is prohibited from directly or indirectly facilitating an offer of compensation between brokers and agents. The Settlement does not prohibit brokers and agents from using a third-party product to make offers. The MLS may not, and will not create, facilitate, or support such a third-party product.

We appreciate your understanding as we work toward implementing the changes required under the NAR Settlement.  

Sincerely,

Cameron Paine
President & CEO of MARIS

Seller Concessions Update

On August 17th, 2024 MARIS will add a field for "Pre–Sale Concessions" to Matrix. It will allow a simple “Yes/No” selection to indicate a seller’s willingness to offer concessions to the buyer. It is optional and non-binding. 

Pre-sale concessions are expressly permitted by the terms of the NAR Settlement so long as such concessions are not "limited to or conditioned on the retention of or payment to a cooperating broker, buyer broker, or other buyer representative."

 MARIS will continue to offer a post-closing seller concession field, called "Seller Closing Cost". This field should be used to indicate any concessions made in the sale of the property.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].