Virginia 2HR Agency Law

The purpose of this course is to review for Virginia licensees the concept of agency and evaluate the agency environment in the wake of the NAR Settlement.

Agency in Virginia differs from that of many other states because Virginia law defines the brokerage relationship and establishes the parameters of agency representation. Buyers and sellers have specific legal rights when they work with licensees in the capacity of either their listing agent or buyer's agent. Staying in touch with the legalities of agency is critical to licensees' abilities to fulfill their statutory obligations to clients and customers, as well as protecting the interests of consumers with whom they work.

By now, you've probably heard of the Sitzer-Burnett case. This federal class-action lawsuit out of Missouri revolved around residential real estate commission rates, which the plaintiffs alleged led to unacceptably high payouts for buyer brokers at the expense of home sellers. In 2023, the court agreed. The following year, the plaintiffs, the National Association of REALTORS®, and other parties in the case reached settlement terms that will have significant effects on the ways real estate professionals across the country do their jobs.

This two-hour course, which meets the real estate agency requirement for all renewing salespeople and brokers, provides a summary and review of Virginia's rules and regulations specific to agency relationships and discusses the practical implications of the NAR Settlement.

Course highlights include:

• Legal and ethical responsibilities of listing agents, buyer's agents, rental listing agents, and leasing agents
• Commonly used contracts and agreements, including listing agreements and buyer/broker agreements
• Dual agency, designated dual agency¸ and the differences between the two
• Limited service agencies (LSAs) and the duties they are required by law to provide
• Terms of the settlement in the Sitzer-Burnett class-action case.
• Practice changes affecting seller and buyer agreements following the NAR Settlement.
• Negotiating broker compensation following the NAR Settlement.
• Activities and examples to seal in the new information and frame it in everyday context