Beginning January 1, 2012 non-Realtor® brokers will no longer have free access to Georgia Association of Realtors (GAR) contract forms.
Brokers and agents that wish to continue to use GAR forms will now have to pay a licensing fee to do so. An annual license will cost an agent $199.
The original intent of the standardized forms being offered for free was to make it easier for all licensees to have a uniform instrument that was easy to understand and universally applied.
But as more and more brokers dropped their memberships in local boards across the state, it became more apparent that many were simply cutting costs and luring agents who no longer wanted to pay board dues.
Which is fine, because everyone may choose what is best for them. But all should share the burden of expense for the benefits received, and so the fee for copyrighted form access was instituted.
Only time will tell on how this will all play out. It’s going to rock a lot of agent’s worlds.
And when the dust settles, we will see who is left standing.
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Richard, for those nonRealtor folks, $199 annually is still pretty cheap. Our worlds get rocked everyday juggling the economy and all of our fees. Hopefully they will still see the value. Have a great day and this was an interesting article. I don't even know what non Realtors do in NC about forms.
Richard, that seems like a bargain to me. I can't imagine someone selling real estate not being a member .
Interesting Richard. What will happen if a non-member without a license writes up an offer on one of the GAR forms?
Standardized forms is the logical approach. The fee seems reasonable as well. It will be interesting to see if others go this way.
Richard, considering the high cost of membership in boards, dues, NAR, education, it is only fair that the costs are shared around & around....
Mona...
The question is always asked: "What do I get for membership in the board?" Now, one of the answers will be "free forms!" Thanks for the comment.
Kathy...
If I had to guess, less than 50% of the agents in my county are members. And brokers recruit on the "benefit" of NOT being a member! Thanks so much.
Gabe...
We have been informed that the copyright will be enforced with the statutory torts applied which are pretty hefty. Good question. THX.
Gary...
I think it's time to distribute expenses fairly. Hopefully, this will turn out to be a good thing. Thanks
There were alot of folks who dropped their licenses here too the last 2 years...fine by me! But, yes, that means the boards have to get creative with costs....
Richard, Here in NM non board members have not had access to the RANM forms provided. It's a big No No because the forms imply you ARE a Realtor, however it is odd because the forms themselves have check boxes to disclose if you are or are not a Realtor. I'm not sure the penalty for the infraction but likely minimal.
Very interesting Richard. But I have a bigger question. How do non-member brokers and agents access MLS information? Here that's also part of a Realtor's benefit.
Richard - It only sounds fair that all users share in the costs... just my humble opinion. Interesting to see what happens next year. I hope you keep us posted.
Seems reasonable that those non dues paying members share in the cost of keeping the forms up to date etc. like any user fees.
Ginny....
That's the way I look at it. Thanks my friend.
Kristin...
We lose members to non-Realtor companies in addition to attrition, so we are really facing a challenge. THX.
John M...
Violation of a copyright is a Federal issue with statutory torts. I know for a photo the fine is $10,000 so I imagine it's more than a slap on the wrist. THX.
John S...
Our MLS is open as a result of the threat of litigation, so it's a non issue here. Thanks.
Richard,
A lot of folks are jumping ship here in Arizona, too. If you're going to play, you've got to pay.
Mike in Tucson
p.s. It's good to run into another fan of Robert Service!
That is only fair. Our forms are from our state association and if you don't belong you don't get the forms. It has vbeen this way for a long time.