April 26th, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Multiple Choice Question: Given that April is National Fair Housing Month, let’s test your knowledge of the fair housing laws. Which of the following is a landlord prohibited from doing when renting out a property to a prospective tenant? Pick the best answer:
A. Checking a rental applicant’s criminal history.
B. Refusing to rent to anyone with a criminal history.
C. Delaying the consideration of an applicant’s criminal history until after the landlord verifies the applicant’s financials and other qualifications.
D. Considering an applicant’s mitigating information concerning a past criminal conviction. (more…)
April 19th, 2021 at 3:45 pm
Question: In last week’s Legal Tip, we addressed the possibility of offering a bonus to a listing agent. If, for example, a listing agent offers a 3% commission in the MLS, it would be legal for a buyer’s agent to offer the listing agent a $5,000 bonus if the seller accepts an offer from a buyer represented by that particular buyer’s agent. The listing agent must, however, fully disclose the bonus to the seller.
Multiple Choice Question: As a follow-up question, can a buyer’s agent insert an offer to pay that bonus in the buyer’s offer to purchase? Pick the best answer:
A. Yes.
B. No as a matter of law only.
C. No as a matter of ethics only.
D. No as a matter of both law and ethics. (more…)
April 12th, 2021 at 2:59 pm
Question: You are the listing agent for a property listed in the MLS. You have not received any offers yet, but you are expecting a multiple offer situation. One of the buyer’s agents has sent to you an unsolicited email offering to pay our listing brokerage a $5,000 bonus if the seller accepts an offer from that agent’s client.
Multiple Choice Question: Can you agree to accept the $5,000 bonus? Pick the best answer:
A. Yes.
B. Yes, as long as you inform the seller about the bonus.
C. No, because it would be illegal to accept the bonus.
D. No, because it would be an MLS violation to accept the bonus. (more…)
April 5th, 2021 at 1:28 pm
Question: You are the buyers’ agent for the pending purchase of a condominium unit. The seller lives in the unit, but upon close of escrow, the buyers want to rent it out. The condo complex has a total of 10 units. Only 2 of the units are currently rented out, given that the CC&Rs only allows 20% non-owner occupancy.
Multiple Choice Question: Can you tell your buyers that they can rent their unit out because a new 2021 law prohibits HOAs from restricting rentals to less than 25% of all units? Pick the best answer:
A. Yes.
B. No, because the buyer must wait until the HOA revises its CC&Rs to comply with the new law.
C. No, because some of the owner-occupied units may already have rent-paying roommates.
D. No. (more…)
March 29th, 2021 at 2:22 pm
Fact Pattern: You are the listing agent for a pending sales transaction. The terms and conditions of your listing are set forth in a C.A.R. Residential Listing Agreement. The buyer in the sales transaction has removed all contingencies, but now wants to cancel due to no fault of the seller. The seller wants to keep the buyer’s $40,000 deposit as liquidated damages.
Multiple Choice Question: If the seller were to collect $40,000 from the buyer, are we as the listing broker and agent entitled to receive half of the money? Pick the best answer:
A. Yes.
B. Yes, if our listing agreement has expired.
C. Yes, if we do not help the seller sell the property to another buyer.
D. No. (more…)
