Legal Column

Jameson Stone, legal counsel for the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS®, provides a legal column to our membership.

Dual Agency: Use It When Needed, Avoid It When Possible

It has been almost 17 years since Act 112 of 1998 became law authorizing real estate licensees to act as dual agents in a real estate transaction. During that time, I have consistently heard real estate licensees tell me that they “must” become a dual agent when an unrepresented buyer wishes to make an offer on one of their listings… Read On

A Few Issues With Dual Agency

Dual agency has been around long enough now that we see how it is working and whether it’s causing hardships for those who practice it. Here are few tips regarding dual agency issues that are either overlooked or not handled cleanly enough. The law requires that buyers and sellers consent to dual agency before it may be practiced… Read On

Don’t be a RELWOC

A FSBO, or for Sale by Owner, is objectively a seller who is marketing his/her real estate without the assistance of a licensed real estate broker. Subjectively, we think of a FSBO as cheap and not wise enough to know what he/she does not know about the marketing and sale of real estate. You, my readers… Read On

We Buy Houses

“Need to sell your house fast?” “We buy homes in [your town], PA for cash.” “We buy properties! Divorced? Bankrupt?” “We buy ugly houses.” Sound familiar? You have read these statements on signs on telephone poles, on the internet, and who knows where else. The outfits who post these are also the subject of a number of HotLine calls… Read On