Special Price: $5.00

AGENCY DISCLOSURE ONLINE BY ANDREW LIEB, ESQ. 

Nearly 100 NY Real Estate Agents concluded that Lieb School’s Agency Disclosure ONLINE CE course is the best real estate course on the market.

Surveys were conducted after each student completed the course. Below are some highlights: 

About The Instructor - Andrew Lieb, Esq. 

Or you can purchase individual courses here:

• Fair Housing: $60.00 for 4 CE Credits (Satisfies DOS Fair Housing Requirement)
• Agency Disclosure: $80.00 for 8 CE Credits (Satisfies DOS Agency Disclosure Requirement)
• Conflicts of Interest: $35.00 (Satisfies DOS Agency Disclosure Requirement AND NAR Ethics Requirement)

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Courses include:

• Deal Killers (3 CE Credits)
• Conflicts of Interest (3 CE Credits)
• Agency Disclosure (8 CE Credits)
• Divorce Deals (4.5 CE Credits)
• Fair Housing Act (4 CE Credits)

The first course in this package is Deal Killers, where you will learn how to comprehensively negotiate a deal with substance and understand how to lock in your commission through creating a paper trail proving that you addressed substantially all of the essential terms of the transaction while negotiating the deal. Next, Conflicts of Interest will teach you the role of each player in a transaction and how to avoid an ethical claim that can otherwise ruin your career. Following, you will learn the whole enchilada about agency disclosure including an easy to follow 12 scenario explanation of which form to give and when. After you have mastered how to fill out the agency disclosure forms, Divorce Deals will show you how to navigate through all of the complexities of selling a marital residence and share with you interesting insights of what your clients are going through during their divorce process. Last but certainly not least, after completing the Fair Housing Act course, you will learn the nationwide standard for anti-discrimination laws in residential housing and how to perform your job while avoiding lawsuits, which New York State is actively pursuing against real estate brokers today.

After trying Lieb School’s ONLINE classes, you will never want online education from any other provider. Lieb School’s leading distance education combines the latest interactive technology, license law education and continuing edutainment.

Each course includes a video from a live classroom setting that was instructed by premiere lecturer Andrew Lieb, Esq. Content is thereafter broken down in order to simplify the learning experience so that students can absorb our field’s complex materials without being overwhelmed.

*Prices Subject to change
** Must complete the courses 6 months from the date you registered

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Buyer’s Agent. Seller’s Agent. Direct Deal. The terms may sound familiar, but do you or your clients or customers really know what they mean? That knowledge is essential for all sides in real estate dealings, particularly in understanding commissions and not violating license laws.

What’s in a Name? In Real Estate It Could Be the Difference Between a Great Deal & No Deal, is written by Andrew Lieb, Esq. one of the premiere lecturers on this topic. 

This course will answer the maddening questions that are always in the back of every real estate agent’s mind in brokerage:  How do I fill out the form? Who do I work for? How can I get both sides of the deal? Can the Department of State fine me if I mess this up? Why does my broker care so much? Does this affect my commission? How about my license?

You will learn the whole enchilada about agency from disclosure in the presence of another broker to disclosure by electronic means to disclosure at an open house to disclosure when your client / customer refuses to sign the form, and so much more.  You will be familiarized with the applicable statute, the relevant regulation, court cases that decipher your duties and DOS Administrative Decisions that fine violators. This course even includes a skills component where you will learn how to fill out the Agency Disclosure Form in every possible scenario. Finally, you will get it right.  It’s mandatory to practice Agency Disclosure and after taking this course, you will.

CE Credits: 3

To Register: Login to Your Lieb School Account and Click "Enroll" or "Join Waiting List"

Sponsor: Citibank

Credits: 3

Cost: Free

Seats fill up quickly.  Click Here To Enroll

Fredrik Eklund: Photo http://www.bravotv.com/

Spoiler Alert: The below is a legal analysis of Fredrik Eklund's role in the April 2, 2014 Season 3, Episode 1 of Million Dollar Listing New York.

The premier of this season of Million Dollar Listing New York, The City Will Eat You Alive, places Douglas Elliman's Fredrik Eklund, in an ethical quandary and he comes out looking as professional as ever while making the deal for his client and getting a commission along the way.

In the episode, "Fredrik lands his dream listing, only to find out that the seller may be his worst nightmare". The Seller is a micromanager; sound familiar? He knows what he wants, $9.5M, and he makes it clear that he doesn't want to be bothered for anything less. However, Fredrik got an offer of $8M.

What should he do?

As a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson in the State of New York, an agent can have one of five types of agency with differing corresponding Fiduciary Duties dependent on the applicable agency type, to wit:

1. Seller's Agent
2. Buyer's Agent
3. Dual Agent
4. Dual Agent with Designated Sales Agent
5. Broker's Agent

An agency relationship means the duties of a licensed individual in representing the interests of its principal in this context. Here, Fredrik was clearly a Seller's Agent, as his interests were aligned with the Seller; he was trying to get the Seller the most possible money in the transaction. In fact, the Agency Disclosure Form in the State of New York, states as to a Seller's Agent, the following: "A seller's agent does this by securing a buyer for the seller's home at a price and on terms acceptable to the seller". Conversely in the situation displayed in the episode, where Fredrik was receiving the $8M offer at the restaurant, Fredrik was meeting with a Buyer's Agent who had previously viewed the property at a Broker's Open House. The Buyer's Agent was clearly aligned with the Buyer's interests, offering a significantly lower number than the Ask. In fact, the Agency Disclosure Form in the State of New York, states as to a Buyer's Agent, the following: "The buyer's agent does this by negotiating the purchase of a home at a price and on terms acceptable to the buyer". As a result, in the episode, the Buyer's Agent owed his Fiduciary Duties to the Buyer and Fredrik, the Seller's Agent, owed his Fiduciary Duties to the Seller.

To clarify, a Buyer's Agent and a Seller's Agent cannot work at the same brokerage company by operation of New York State Law. Instead, where two agents at the same company work an In-House Deal, representing the interests of different parties to the transaction, that type of agency is called a Dual Agent with Designated Sales Agent in New York State. However, where an agent represents the interest of the Seller and a different agent represents the interest of the Buyer there are two possible types of agency that can apply, with the dispositive factor as to the appropriate agency being whether the opposing agents work at the same brokerage company. If the agents work at the same brokerage company, the agency is called a Dual Agent with Designated Sales Agent. If the agents work at different brokerage companies, one agent would be the Seller's Agent and one agent would be the Buyer's Agent, which is the situation Fredrik was engaged in during this episode.

In a Dual Agent with Designated Sales Agent situation the agents have compromised Fiduciary Duties because they both report to the same supervisor. In fact, the New York State Agency Disclosure Form states, as to this conflict, the following: "The designated sales agent must explain that like the dual agent under whose supervision they function, they cannot provide undivided loyalty". Yet, Fredrik was a Seller's Agent, and as such, had the following Fiduciary Duties to his client, the Seller, including: (1) Confidentiality; (2) Obedience; (3) Loyalty; (4) Accountability; (5) Disclosure; and (6) Reasonable Care.

Which Fiduciary Duties were at play in the scenario faced by Fredrik when he received an $8M offer while his client didn't want to hear about anything below $9.5M?

Fredrik had two competing Fiduciary Duties in this scenario, one to be obedient to his Client's instructions and one to give full disclosure to his Client. So, on the one hand Fredrik had to listen to his client's direction to not bother him absent a full Ask offer, but on the other hand, Fredrik lacked the authority to reject the $8M offer without his Client's authority, which first required him to fully disclose the offer to his Client.

So what happened?

Fredrik chose right and advised his client of the offer in the face of knowing all the while that he was going to be lambasted for making the call. To know that Fredrik's decision was correct an agent only needs to do a Cost / Benefit Analysis of the choices. The worst case scenario in telling your client that they received an offer below the Ask is that they are unhappy and give you grief about wasting their time. However, the worst case scenario in not disclosing an offer to your Client is that the Client claims that you breached your Fiduciary Duties and makes a complaint to the Department of State charging you with a License Law Violation. In fact, the Department of State has previously suspended a real estate agent's license for a period of six months for failing to transmit an offer and also failing to provide an agency disclosure form in a matter called Lemcke v. Department of State. So, it seems like a rather simple choice for a real estate agent faced with this predicament.

In Million Dollar Listing the choice was not only the safest, but the best for the agent and the Client as well. You see, by making the call and engaging his principal, the Seller, Fredrik initiated a dialogue that resulted in a deal at $8.8M. A win for the Seller, Buyer and the agents involved.

Agency Disclosure

Credits: 3

Instructor: Andrew Lieb, Esq.