Question: The seller does not agree with some of the observations made by the selling agent and does not want to sign the AVID. What is the proper way to handle a situation where a principal to the transaction does not agree with comments made on an agent’s AVID?Answer: Explain to the seller

Question: I am a listing agent and an attorney represented a buyer in a transaction. The attorney is requesting to share in my commission. Is that legal?Answer: No, unless the attorney is a licensed real estate broker. Attorneys may not collect commissions unless they have a real estate license.

Question: I am a licensed real estate salesperson and refer a significant amount of business to a particular lender. May I accept a referral fee from that lender?Answer: No. The acceptance of a referral fee from a lender constitutes a RESPA violation. Shannon B. Jones, Partner sbj@sbj-law.com

Question: Is the initialing of the Confirmation of Acceptance required to establish a binding contract?Answer: No. That is a professional courtesy. A binding contract is reached when the offer is accepted and the acceptance is delivered back to the offeror.Shannon B. Jones, Partner sbj@sbj-law.com

Recently, we circulated a risk management tip regarding a recent increase in wire fraud instances. The California Department of Real Estate (“DRE”) has now published an article entitled, “Buyer, Seller, Real Estate Agents and Escrow-Holders BEWARE: Criminals are targeting your wire

Recently, a real estate agent residing in the San Francisco East Bay was sentenced in Federal Court in San Francisco to six and a half (6 ½) years in prison for a sophisticated housing fraud scheme using a phony mortgage company. Robert Jacobsen was sentenced on one (1) count of wire fraud

Recently, Fannie Mae issued an alert to mortgage brokers operating in California regarding the use of false employment information by loan applicants. Specifically, Fannie Mae targeted Northern California and identified employers whose existence could not be verified by Fannie Mae on loan

Recently, a jury awarded a Plaintiff $289,000,000 against Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup, a common weed killer. Plaintiff alleged serious medical conditions arising out of exposure to Roundup, a common weed killer. Monsanto has taken the position that Roundup is safe. The question now arises

Question: When can I hire a handyman versus a licensed general contractor?Answer: California Contractors’ State Licensing Board provides that the total cost, including labor and materials, for one (1) or more contracts on a single project require a contractors’ license if the cost is

In the last year, approximately 30,000 housing discrimination complaints were filed in the United States. This is a slight increase from the prior year. It is estimated that there are approximately 3.7 million offenses each year. The three (3) most common complaints are concerns relating to