16/04/2022
There have been so many questions about this recently....here is some clarification for WA TCs.
Here's the response from the legal hotline:
Your question was:
Can an unlicensed person do any of the following?
Prepare a timeline of key contract dates and distribute to all parties
Request escrow be opened with the title/escrow company
Prepare NWMLS forms so long as they have cut, copied, and pasted verbiage provided by the broker
Send documents for electronic signature as directed by the agent
Distribute executed documents to the broker’s client, co-op agent, escrow, and lender
Follow up with escrow and lender regarding the status of upcoming deadlines and key milestones
Send reminders/requests to the broker’s client and co-op agent regarding upcoming deadlines
Send a weekly email to the agent’s client regarding status of milestone
As far as the RCW’s go, is preparation of forms or obtaining signatures under the agent’s advisement considered “negotiating”? And is delivery of timelines, reminders, and follow up constitute as “advising, counseling, or consulting”?
Our answer is:
Several years ago, the Department of Licensing posted an analysis of what an unlicensed assistant could and could not do. That analysis has since been removed from the DOL website for updating. Consequently, it is not clear how the Department would answer this question. The answer provided below is consistent with the concepts included in the old DOL analysis.
An unlicensed assistant may provide administrative or secretarial functions. An unlicensed assistant may not perform any RE Brokerage Services. For example, the unlicensed assistant may:
Request escrow be opened with the title/escrow company;
Send documents, prepared by the agent, for electronic signature as directed by the agent;
Distribute executed documents to the broker’s client, co-op agent, escrow, and lender;
Follow up with escrow and lender regarding the status of upcoming deadlines and key milestones;
Send reminders/requests to the broker’s client and co-op agent regarding upcoming deadlines;
Under the supervision of a licensed agent, unlicensed assistant may:
Prepare a timeline of key contract dates and distribute to all parties so long as the broker assembles or approves the timeline before it is sent. This task may not be the provision of RE Brokerage Services but brokers are trained to know how to use the standardized forms and unlicensed assistants are not. Since interpreting the forms to determine deadlines requires knowledge of the forms, the broker who is specially trained to use the forms should oversee this task;
Prepare NWMLS forms so long as broker provides the verbiage to be typed onto the form and so long as broker reviews, edits and/or approves the form before it is sent to any consumer (broker is held to the standard of care of a lawyer for all forms prepared under broker's supervision, even if broker's assistant actually prepares the form);
Send a weekly email to the agent’s client regarding status of milestone so long as broker drafts or approves the communication prior to sending.
Best Regards,
Washington REALTORS® Legal Hotline Lawyer
Annie Fitzsimmons
