“Turtles All the Way Down”

Realtors who don’t want to run afoul of the Minnesota Department of Commerce take care to have prospective clients sign-here3sign and initial — (very) early in the relationship** — a state-required form called “Agency Relationships in Real Estate Transactions.”

So early, in fact, that the would-be client may not yet be comfortable signing anything.

That’s true even though the form is merely a disclosure meant to educate consumers, versus something more weighty, like a contract.

[Don’t] Sign Here

If prospects balk, agents are instructed to procure the would-be client’s initials that they’re declining to initial/sign anything.

But, what if they won’t agree to that, either?

turtlesAt least with especially guarded prospects, that suggests another acknowledgement:  namely, that they’re declining to initial that they’re declining to initial.  🙂

P.S.:  In such a case, one would certainly hope that a memo to the Realtor’s file would satisfy Commerce, should the need arise.

**Technically, the threshold is known as “the first substantive contact.”

See also, “Disclosure No-No’s for Minnesota Buyers’ Agents“; “Licensees, Principals, Agents & Brokers (Oh My!)”; Delivering the Realtor “Miranda Warning” in an Online World“; “Perils of Dual Agency:  Exhibit A”; “Awkward Dual Agent Moment #24“; and “Dual Agent vs. Double Agent.

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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