Each year, Tennessee REALTORS® (formerly the Tennessee Association of REALTORS®) releases changes and updates to the association’s contract and disclosure forms. The new forms are crafted by the association’s forms committee and their attorneys and introduced each January to REALTOR® members throughout the state. “Many of the revisions for 2018 clarify, reduce or expand existing “boiler-plate” language found in the forms or the addition of new terms and conditions to reflect changes to state and federal laws”, according to John Giffen, Benchmark’s Director, Broker Services who oversees broker compliance for the company.
The 2018 Tennessee REALTORS® form changes are not widespread throughout the form inventory; however, there are some significant modifications to disclosures and addendums associated with the residential Purchase and Sale Agreement (RF401). The following is a brief summary of some of the more significant changes to documents used on a regular basis by members of Tennessee REALTORS®:
Purchase and Sale Agreements
Changes to RF401 – Purchase and Sale Agreement – are very minor. Some terminology was either added or deleted in order to remove any ambiguity to a few sections of the Agreement. One revision that stands out is moving the paragraph informing the buyer they will take the property “as-is” if they do not complete their inspection within the inspection timeframe from the “Inspections” information section to the “Buyer’s Inspections/Resolutions” section.
There were several changes to RF 403 – New Construction Purchase and Sale Agreement. Most were the addition of specific information on the builder. Some of the revisions include the adding the name of the builder, their contractor license number, plan specifications, builder warranty, etc.
Property Condition Disclosure Forms
The six items requested of sellers concerning exterior injection well, percolation tests, etc. on RF203 – Tennessee Residential Property Condition Exemption Notification form and RF204 – Tennessee Residential Property Condition Disclaimer Statement have been removed from both forms and incorporated into a new form entitled RF205 – Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure (For Exempt Properties & Property Residential Disclaimers).
Addendums
RF 623 – Seller’s Right to Continue to Market Property was renamed Buyer’s First Right of Refusal Addendum. Ambiguous language was changed to make the addendum more clear especially in the notification/performance section relating to earnest money/trust money. In addition, the related addendum, RF624 – Seller’s Notice to Buyer of Receipt of Acceptable Offer was revised to reflect the changes in RF623.
The two Temporary Occupancy Agreements – RF626 – Temporary Occupancy Agreement for Buyer Prior to Closing Amendment/Addendum and RF627 – Temporary Occupancy Agreement for Seller After Closing Amendment/Addendum have a few changes. In RF626, language was added or deleted in order to simplify information concerning compensation, deposits and default. RF 627 has minor changes concerning compensation and default.
There are minor changes in other forms that the forms committee felt needed to be made in order to simplify or eliminate language in the respective document. A complete list of all the updates made to the 2018 forms can be found on Tennessee REALTORS® website at www.tnrealtors.com.
Every Benchmark agent is well equipped to guide his or her client through the numerous documents required in today’s complex real estate transaction. At the beginning of each year, Benchmark management conducts meetings at each office to ensure all company agents know any and all changes made to the Tennessee REALTORS® forms. The company’s commitment to document compliance is a hallmark of Benchmark’s reputation in the Middle Tennessee real estate market. If you are interested in being a Benchmark agent, visit BenchmarkRealtyTn.com.
