Arizona home buyers must sign contract before touring homes for sale

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — If you are in the market to buy a home, starting Thursday, before you can even physically look inside, there is a new and important document you’ll need to sign.

“Consumers are going to be taken off guard. They shouldn’t be scared but they need to know what the contract says,” said Jim Knupp, the deputy commissioner of the Arizona Department of Real Estate.

Before you can tour a prospective home, you must sign a contract with a licensed real estate agent.

“A lot of times you may not have even met a licensee prior to wanting to tour a home and this is going to be a contract tying you to a licensee for compensation before you even met the individual. So, you really need to understand what is in the contract,” said Knupp.

Knupp said it’s important to read this document carefully because you will be locked into having this agent for as long as the document specifies.

“These contracts are binding. These are contracts with private individuals, and they can be held to the terms of the contract,” said Knupp.

The Arizona Department of Real Estate said everything on the document should be negotiable before you sign it. This means you can decide how long you have the agent, whether it’s for a few days or longer.

You can also have it so that you have only one agent for a single property. You can even discuss their commission on the sale.

“If you wanted to see a certain home, the contract could be only tailored to viewing that home and for the duration of the contract it would exist for that home if you wanted to buy that home,” said Knupp.

If you feel pressured to sign something you don’t want to, Knupp says to report it to them.

“The department exists to investigate complaints against licensees, and we are happy to do so,” said Knupp.

The added document is in response to recent lawsuits by the Department of Justice against the National Association of Realtors.

The good news for home buyers is this form will outline exactly how much your agent will make.

This starts on Thursday in Arizona and is expected to begin nationwide by Aug. 15.

This change will not affect open house viewings.

If someone has a real estate agent they regularly use or prefer, starting Thursday, they will give you that document to sign if you want to buy a home.

This will officially make them your agent and say for how long. It should also have how much commission they make.

correction: Editor’s Note: The Arizona Department of Real Estate originally said the change would impact open-house viewings. The agency has since contacted us to correct the error, and the report has been updated.

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