IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION INFORMATION
Administrative Office email:
Broker Bill email:
1. All Agents with Realty USA Southwest, Inc. are required to have a working email address that is on file with the Administrative office. Please notify the office if your email address changes.
2. Emails are sent out from the office or from the Broker and each Agent is responsible for reading these emails daily and responding to them if a response is asked for within 24 hours.
3. You must read and understand the communications and contact us by email if something is not clear to you rather than ignore the message.
4. The communication between Agents and RUSASW is conducted through this email system. Due to the previously high volume of phone calls, we have instigated this new procedure for proper lines of communication.
5. If an Agent emails the office or the Broker with a question, we will reply to your question at the end of the day or the next business day. This type of communication allows for a paper trail with dates, etc. that is not recorded via phone calls.
6. If you are going to take our Training Program, please address all of your questions to Bill Dragonas 602-743-4411.
7. Please DO NOT call the Broker with administrative questions…call Bill only with questions concerning real estate, such as a problematic client, to cancel a listing, to deal with listing or contract issues or about our training, etc. All other correspondence should be done through email to the Admin. Office.
IMPORTANT OFFICE INFORMATION
OFFICE CODE: USAS01
TAX ID#: 73-1657377
100%Plan: Quarterly Rent is due on the first of each quarter:
January 1st; April 1st; July 1st; and October 1st
E&O: Annual Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance is due every January 1st by all Agents. This fee may be deducted from a commission disbursement form if you have a closing during the previous 4th quarter.
Out Of Town: If you have an active listing or contract properties and go out of town, you need to have another agent available to oversee your transactions. Complete the Out of Town/Vacation form found on our website in the Forms Section and fax it to the office at 480-281-1591. This will ensure your clients have a qualified Agent available to assist them at all times. Compensation would be decided between you and the other Agent.
Emergencies: Plan ahead for unexpected events…follow the same procedure as with the Out of Town form. It is your responsibility to have an active Agent with RUSASW who has knowledge of your listings and escrows so they can fill in for you in an emergency. Do not expect the office to handle your business.
R.E. License: It is always the Agent’s responsibility to keep track of their own real estate license and to renew it 30 days prior to license expiration. With the 4 year license you are still required to take 24 continuing education credits every 2 years. The ADRE automatically severs an Agent whose license expires and therefore, RUSASW will have to sever the same Agent as we do not have inactive Agents. Agents must also be current with their local association and the MLS.
Assistants: If you choose to have an assistant work with you they must be a licensed real estate Agent/Broker with RUSASW. Unlicensed assistants allowed by exception only with permission of the Broker. They must not act as an Agent and must follow all rules and regulations.
WEBSITE and GENERAL INFORMATION
www.realtyusasouthwest.com
- To print out required RUSA forms from the Home Page, scroll down to the bottom and click on the blue ‘MLS/R’ logo.
- To print out the list of Vendors/Affiliates recommended by RUSA, scroll to the bottom of the Home Page and click on the red ‘Equal Housing’ logo.
3. If a form is not found on the RUSA website, go to AAR or PAR online websites and look for their ‘forms’. You may also buy forms at your local Associations.
4. Directory of Agents:
A) All agents are listed with their telephone number and email address.
B) If you have a personal website you want to have on RUSA’s website, please
provide Administration with the website address.
5. It is imperative that Agents inform the office of any changes in their name,
address, phone or email information. You must have a working email address at
all times.
6. Please do not call the Broker or Staff on Holidays. Agents need to make
arrangements ahead of time for supervision. Ask yourself before calling, “Can
this call wait until the next business day”.
7 When leads from the RUSA website are referred to an agent, the commission split
is 25% for RUSA and 75% for the Agent (plus normal deductions for E&O
and the appropriate transaction fee).
8. As a licensed Real Estate Professional, you are not permitted by law to
represent anyone (including friends, family or yourself) in a real estate
transaction unless it is in writing and on the proper forms required by your
Broker, the Arizona Department of Real Estate, the MLS and local
Association. This includes property you buy, sell, invest in or develop.
ALL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS must be in writing and submitted
to the Broker for review of compliance.
LISTING AND CONTRACT CHECKLISTS
ALL AGENT TRANSACTION PAPERWORK REQUESTED ON THE CHECKLISTS ARE TO BE FAXED TO: 480-281-1591
ALL OTHER PAPERWORK SHOULD BE SENT TO THE AGENT’S HOME ADDRESS. Please notify the Title Company (for Preliminary Reports), Home Inspection, Home Warranty, Termite, and HOA people, etc. to send all of there reports to you.
Files cannot be closed until all of the required paperwork is signed and in our office.
LISTINGS
Listings are taken by agents in the name of the Broker
ALL LISTINGS BELONG TO THE BROKER AND MY NOT BE CANCELLED WITHOUT THE CONSENT AND WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION OF THE BROKER.
A listing may not be transferred, cancelled, altered or have changed any of the agreed upon terms and conditions without the written agreed upon consent of the Designated Broker.
LISTING CHECKLIST:
1) Agents may purchase listing kits for $8.00 through the office or Anna Thoren. These kits have
the required forms that are to be faxed to the office at the above fax number when you get a
Listing.
2) The Listing Agent needs to sign the ER Legal Language form on page 3 and make sure all of
the information on page 1 is competed and the Seller has signed/initialed all three pages.
3) Page 1 of the ARMLS Profile Sheet needs to be signed/dated by the Agent and Seller.
4) The MLS Profile Sheet and the MLS Plano (print out after all listing information has been
entered) are to be turned in with the ER Legal Language and the Agency Disclosure (READE).
If you are doing an Exclusive Listing with the Seller for a period of time, please indicate that on
the checklist. If the listing is put on the MLS, the Profile Sheets and Plano should be faxed in
to the office.
REMEMBER: ALL LISTINGS BELONG TO THE BROKER AND MAY NOT BE CANCELLED WITHOUT THE CONSENT AND AUTHORIZATION OF THE BROKER. Any Agent who violates this policy understands they will be fined $100 for each transaction.
5) If your Listing is close to expiring and your seller wants to extend the listing, you must complete
a sold/change form (on our website on the forms section), have the Seller sign before the
expiration date, make the changes on the MLS, print out a new plano showing the changes and fax the forms to the office. If the office doesn’t receive a notification of an extended Listing, the
Listing is automatically deleted from the system. A new listing agreement will need to be filled out.
6) AN AGENT IS NOT PERMITTED TO PURCHASE A HOME THEY HAVE
AS A LISTING. If you would like to buy the home, you must have the Seller’s written
authorization for another real estate agent to represent them.
7) An Agent cannot buy or sell any property directly from a principle. Another agent must be
assigned to represent the client. Every real estate transaction an Agent does must be under
Realty USA Southwest. You cannot buy or sell any property of your own or anyone else’s
without proper representation (you cannot buy or sell your own property without another agent
per the E&O company and Broker.
CONTRACTS
CONTRACT CHECKLIST:
1) The Department of Real Estate requires that all purchase contracts be reviewed by the Broker
within 48 hours of signed acceptance per Article 3, Regulation 32-2151.01.
2) All earnest monies shall be deposited after contract acceptance by the Buyer’s Agent with a
Title company that is licensed and bonded per Article 3 Regulation 32-2151 Disposition of
Funds.
3) Contract Requirements:
A) Every page of the nine page contract must be initialed by the Buyer and Seller.
B) All blank lines and boxes must be filled in.
C) PAGE 9: All signatures, information, dates and time of acceptance for the selling agent, buyer, listing agent and seller must be filled in on page 9
at time of acceptance.
D) All Counter Offers and Addenda must accompany the contract and other paperwork
according to the Contract Checklist.
4) An Agent may not act as a dual agent on their personally owned, investment or ‘flip’ properties,
etc. of which they have any portion of ownership. You must have another Agent to represent the
Buyer throughout the transaction as required by the E&O Company.
COMMISSION DISBURSEMENT FORM
1) All information must be completed correctly and according to the Listing and Contract
Checklists and faxed to 480-281-1591.
2) The Broker or Administrator reviews the figures submitted by the agent and authorizes the
Title Company to disburse the funds as directed on the commission disbursement form at close
of escrow. Please indicate how you will receive your check. If it is sent along with the
Broker’s package, you will need to pick it up from the 71st St. Office.
3) Any Agent who bypasses this procedure, does not submit a commission disbursement form
to the office and is paid by the Title Company is subject to a $100 fine.
4) If more than one Agent is involved in a transaction, please make sure you put both names and
addresses on the form if the checks are to be mailed by the Title Company.
5) It is always a good idea before close of escrow to call the escrow officer handling your
transaction and ask them how they will cut the checks. If one check is written to RUSA
tor the full commission amount and RUSA has to cut you a check, there is a $50 check
processing fee deducted from your commission. Make sure the Title Company is doing
what they’ve been instructed to do.
6) If you have a referral that is getting paid, please write the company and or person’s name,
Address, TIN# and the amount they will receive as marked in the box.
7) Have the Title Company deduct any credits to buyers or sellers directly from the HUD
Settlement statement by writing into the contract or on an addendum to do this rather than
Have it show up on your commission disbursement form.
8) If you are handling a Dual Agency transaction, it is counted as two (2) for the E&O
and transaction fees. Please use only ONE COMMISSION FORM AND INDICATE
“DUAL AGENCY’ IN THE APPROPIATE BOXES.
CANCELLATION & E&O FEE WAIVERS
If you are involved in a property cancellation and do not collect a $75 cancellation fee, we offer a waiver to be signed by the cancelling client stating they were pleased with our service and waive their right to any litigation…if need be, they must apply for and attend mediation and arbitration through the Arizona Association of Realtors at their own cost if they choose to pursue any legal or ethical actions against you the Agent, Realty USA Southwest or the Broker, Bill Dragonas All cancellations must be approved by the Broker.
We suggest Clients should always pay a cancellation fee to you, the Agent, for the work that you have done for them. If the contract or listing agreement included a clause stating that “In the event this property is cancelled, RUSA shall receive $75 for the cancellation”, (unless you have submitted the $75 E&O Waiver Form). Agent could add that they shall receive $_____ for their services rendered for advertising, signs, gas, printing, etc.
Concerning the $75 E&O cancellation fee, we offer Agents/Brokers the option of signing a waiver stating that they are not paying the $75 E&O fee and they will be responsible for the E&O deductable if the Client brings action against them down the road.
The waiver needs to be faxed in at the SAME TIME you notify the office of a cancellation, whether it is an addendum or whatever the Title sends as a letter of cancellation. IF A WAIVER DOES NOT ACCOMPANY THE NOTICE OF CANCELLATION THE $75 E&O CANCELLATION FEE IS DUE IMMEDIATELY BY AGENT OR CLIENT TO RUSA. You MAY NOT send the notice and waiver separately into the office….they must be received together.
HOME INSPECTIONS AND HOME WARRANTY
In order to prevent unnecessary liability and possible legal other actions brought about after a close of escrow, all properties that are bought or sold through Realty USA Southwest must be inspected by a licensed professional (see page 5 of the Purchase Contract, #6 Due Diligence). Have your Buyer read and understand this section and initial on line 229. If Buyer declines an inspection or uses a non professional get a signed release stating Buyer is waiving this process.