When Advertising Online, Know All the Requirements - Oregon.gov
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Oregon Real Estate
News-Journal
Official Publication of the Oregon Real Estate Agency Volume 72, Number 6, December 2018
Social Media, Craigslist, Websites, Emails . . .
When Advertising Online,
Know All the Requirements
Dean Owens, Acting Real Estate Commissioner
M
ost licensees use elec- What is Online Advertising
tronic or online adver-
tising for at least part of Any form of electronic media or
their professional real estate activ- communication used to market your
ity, which includes property man- business, listings, or rentals, not limited
Acting Commissioner agement. Make sure you know the to the internet, web pages, blogs, bulletin
Dean Owens requirements before you send that email, boards, and email, is considered online
tweet that tweet, or publish that blog post. advertising.
The Administrative Rule Requirements for All
Advertising, Including Online
Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR)
863-015-0125 applies to advertising and ;; Be Truthful
advertisements by real estate licensees All your real estate and property manage-
related to professional real estate activity. ment advertising, including online adver-
This includes all forms of representation, tising, must be truthful.
promotion, and solicitation. Don’t mislead or deceive.
Online advertising must comply with all Make sure you represent your license
of OAR 863-015-0125, but section (9) of type, qualifications, and position in your
the rule gives additional requirements that real estate or property management com-
apply specifically to online advertising. pany accurately. (If you don’t run the place,
Please see Online Advertising on page 4
IN THIS ISSUE
Oregon Real Estate
Agency When Advertising Online, Know All No Letter, Phone Call Reminders
530 Center St. NE the Requirements......................................... 1 for RBN Renewals in 2019..........................4
Suite 100 Board Re-Elects Farley as Chair, What You Should Know About Elder
Salem, OR 97301 Hunter as Vice-Chair.................................... 2 Abuse..........................................................5
Next Board Meeting in Salem......................... 2 Administrative Actions...................................7
(503) 378-4170
Think Before You Click: Real Estate Wire Tales From the Complaint Desk....................7
(503) 378-2491 Fax
Transter Fraud Crimes Are on the Rise....... 3 FHFA, GSEs Launch Translated Resources
www.oregon.gov/rea Are You Getting Emails from the Agency?..... 4 for Limited English Speakers......................8
Board Re-Elects Farley as
Chair, Hunter as Vice-Chair
The Oregon Real Estate Board re- demonstrated by his songwriting and play-
elected James E. "Jef" Farley as ing with his band.
Chairperson and Lawnae Hunter as Lawnae Hunter is principal broker and
Vice-Chairperson for 2019. owner of PLUS Property Management,
Mr. Farley is co-owner of Cold- serving Central Oregon and California’s
well Banker Whitney and Associ- Central Coast.
ates in Pendleton. He specializes Her real estate career started in Cali-
in residential and commercial real fornia in 1968 at the age of 19. She has
estate sales in Eastern Oregon. He over 35 years of experience in general real
has been a full-time real estate estate brokerage, including land develop-
professional since 1991 starting ment, commercial and industrial land sales,
with The Lutz Snyder Co. in the new construction, property management
Portland metro area. He moved and general resale. Ms. Hunter earned the
back to his hometown of Pendle- Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager
ton in 1994 for the lifestyle rural (CRB), Certified Residential Specialist
Oregon offers. (CRS), and Graduate, Realtor® Institute
Jef Farley He graduated in 1988 from the (GRI) designations.
University of Montana with a BS She founded Prudential Hunter Realty,
in finance with a real estate em- which was the largest regional real estate
phasis. He is the 2018 president company on the California Central Coast.
of the Umatilla County Board of She sold the company in 2003 and relocat-
Realtors® and served as president ed to Oregon. She still holds her California
of that board in 1996, 2002, and broker license.
2006. He was Realtor® of the Because of her interest in economics and
Year in 1999. He is active in his finance, Ms. Hunter founded the Central
community as a member of Rotary Oregon Economic Forecast in 2008, which
and a co-founder of the non-profit joins with the Center for Economic Fore-
“Wheatstock,” a music festival in casting at California Lutheran University
Helix, Oregon, that raises funds for in presenting a yearly economic forecast
the Helix school music program for the region. She currently serves as a
and veterans. board member for Co-Serve International,
Mr. Farley and his wife Sarah and is an active member of the Greater
enjoy traveling, the great outdoors, Bend Rotary. Ms. Hunter holds an honorary
and having fun with family and doctorate degree from Kazakh-American
friends. He is also a lover of music, Free University.
Lawnae Hunter
Next Board Meeting in Salem
Check Agency website for location.
Monday, February 4, 10:00 a.m.
• Open to the public.
• Meet Real Estate Board members and Oregon Real Estate Agency staff.
• Learn how the Real Estate Board works.
2 December 2018 Oregon Real Estate News-Journal
Views from the Board Think Before You Click: Real Estate Wire Transfer Fraud Crimes Are on the Rise Patricia Ihnat, Oregon Real Estate Board Member An Oregon couple purchasing their dream phish victim’s compromised email home in 2018 fell prey to scammers in an account. If a target takes the bait increasingly common wire-transfer scheme and clicks on a link, opens an attach- targeting real estate transactions. The hacker ment, or hits reply to an email, the in this case gained access to an email con- scammer gains entry often without versation among the buyers, their real estate the target’s knowledge. broker, and the title/escrow company han- The fraudster then monitors dling the transaction. Posing as the broker, emails and devises a scheme for the hacker emailed authentic-seeming in- intervening in the transaction by structions to the buyers, who dutifully wired spoofing the email account of a per- $379,000 to the bad guys’ account. With that, son related to the transaction, as in the buyers’ money was gone. the example with the Oregon couple. Real-estate imposter fraud is on the rise. Fraudsters are patient — they moni- According to the FBI, nearly $1 billion was tor a target’s email account, review diverted or attempted to be diverted from real emails in sent and trash folders, estate purchase transactions in 2017. From check social media posts, find pat- 2015 to 2017, reported fraud victims from terns, and wait for the opportunity to Patricia Ihnat real estate transactions increased by more complete the crime. Spoofed emails contain- than 1100 percent, and reported monetary ing fraudulent wire instructions often look losses increased by almost 2200 percent. legitimate – with business logos, correct “Views from the Unfortunately, attempts at these crimes names, contact details, and loan numbers. Board” features the are not slowing. Reports of attempts at wire- Spoofed emails often contain content that is opinions of Real Es- transfer crimes in which buyers and sellers conversational and sounds like the purported tate Board members. are the targets of spoofed emails containing sender. Even a phone number might be pro- The views expressed fraudulent wire instructions are on the rise. vided to confirm the wire-instruction change, are not necessarily More attempts result in more success by the though that phone number routes the target those of the Oregon fraudsters and more losses often involving a victim to the scammer and is part of the fraud. Real Estate News- victim’s life savings. Common indicators you may be a target Journal, the Oregon At risk are real estate brokers, loan offi- of this cyber-crime include: Real Estate Agency cers, mortgage brokers, transaction coordina- • Emails requesting changes to wiring or Agency staff. tors, buyers and sellers, escrow officers, and information, such as a change in the attorneys involved in real estate transactions. beneficiary or the receiving bank. In short, anybody who participates in a real • Emails with attachments purporting to estate transaction can be a target. be “secure” or “encrypted.” In our experience, a scheme typically • Emails purporting to be confidential. starts when a fraudster uses malware or suc- • Emails with instructions requiring the cessfully “phishes’ for a means of getting into recipient to act quickly. victims’ computer or email systems, or when • Emails indicating sudden changes in the a fraudster gains access through the victim’s business practices of a person involved use of an unsecure Wi-Fi network. Once ac- in the transaction, including refusal to cess is obtained, the bad guys send spoofed speak via telephone, a direction to use a emails that include virus-bearing internet new telephone number, or a direction to links or attachments, and that seem legitimate use a new email address. to the recipient. Or, the bad guys intercept • Emails that contain markedly different and send emails directly from within the Please see Think Before You Click on page 5 Oregon Real Estate News-Journal December 2018 3
Only Email Reminders for
RBN Renewals in 2019, Beyond
In 2018, the Oregon Real Estate Agency RBN, and you have a concern about receiv-
sent letters and emails to all responsible ing RBN renewal reminders by email, we
individuals of registered business names suggest that you:
(RBNs) to remind them of the new required • Log in to the RBN’s eLicense account.
RBN renewals. For those RBNs that were °° Check that your email address is
close to expiration, Agency staff called the correct.
responsible individuals to remind them °° Make note of the renewal date
of the deadline because of the significant and set a reminder on your smart
consequences of not renewing in time. phone, computer, or calendar.
Starting in 2019, the letters and phone • Log in to your email account and add
calls will end. The Agency will continue “noreply_rea@rea.state.or.us” to your
to send email reminders. safe sender list.
The Agency expects responsible indi- Registered business names must be re-
viduals for all RBNs to have access to their newed with the Agency annually. This is sep-
respective email accounts to receive email arate from the business renewal required by
reminders. the Secretary of State Corporation Divi-
If you are a responsible individual for an sion.
Online Advertising
Continued from page 1
don’t make it sound like you do.) Specific Requirements for
Online Advertising
;; Get Permission
No matter how you are advertising a ;; Use Licensed Name
specific property, you must have the per- The first and last name that you are licensed
mission of the property owner or owner’s under must be on the first page of all elec-
authorized agent before advertising it. tronic advertising. You can use a common
derivative of the first name that you are
;; Use the Registered Business Name licensed under.
The name of the company you work under,
as it is registered with the Agency, must ;; Say You Are an Oregon Licensee
be prominently displayed, immediately All advertising you publish online must
noticeable, and conspicuous in all your have a statement on the first page that you
advertising, including online advertising. are licensed in the state of Oregon.
;; Submit Ads to Principal Brokers
If you are a broker, or a property manager
associated with a principal broker, you
Are You Getting Emails
must submit all advertising, including on-
line advertising, to your principal broker
from the Agency?
for review and approval. Make sure you receive all notifications
The broker or property manager is re- from the Agency. Log in to your
sponsible for keeping a record of approval eLicense account today to confirm
for each advertisment, which must be avail- that your email address is correct.
able to the Agency upon request.
4 December 2018 Oregon Real Estate News-JournalThink Before You Click
Continued from page 3
grammar, sentence structure or spelling • Avoid connecting to free Wi-Fi, and
compared to previous emails from a change your settings to avoid automatic
person involved in the transaction. connections to available Wi-Fi.
• Immediately delete unsolicited email
Education, awareness, and understanding from unknown parties.
of how these schemes operate is the best • Never open suspicious emails, click on
defense against giving a fraudster the oppor- links in the email, or open attachments.
tunity for your client to become a victim, or If you do, report immediately to your
becoming a victim yourself. Let your clients cybersecurity professionals, and contact
know they will receive wire instructions only your clients outside of the email environ-
from the title/escrow company, and not from ment.
you or any other party. Let your clients know • Regularly purge your email so fraud-
they will not receive wire instructions from sters cannot review old emails to gather
the title/escrow company through regular information.
email. Don’t use regular email to forward
attachments you originally received through If you suspect an email is spoofed, one
the title/escrow company’s encrypted secure way to test it is to hover your cursor over
email system. Caution your clients to avoid the “From” or “Sender” line in the email
using regular email to forward attachments heading. A window showing the sender’s
they originally received through a secure email address will pop up, which you should
email system. Take steps to limit the op- check carefully. Often fraudsters create email
portunity for fraudsters to intervene in your addresses that differ from participants’ le-
transactions. gitimate email addresses by just one letter
Educate your clients about wire fraud risks. or number, or by inserting a period/dot or an
Early in a transaction and outside of the email underscore.
environment, you can protect yourself and Be careful of what is posted on your social
your clients by establishing trusted telephone media sites and websites, especially job duties
numbers or passphrases to verify transaction and descriptions, and out-of-office details.
details. Remind your clients that wiring in- These are the types of details that could be a
structions never will be sent to them from you. roadmap for fraudsters as they devise strategy
Inform your clients to use the pre-established for targeting victims and transactions.
trusted phone number and/or passphrase and Always remind your clients: Inquire be-
verbally verify any instructions purporting to fore you wire!
be sent by you. Remind your clients to use a As for the Oregon couple tricked into send-
trusted and verified phone number to confirm ing $379,000 to scammers, The Oregonian
any instructions that appear to be sent by the reported they eventually recovered most of
title/escrow company. their money because the bank where the
Be proactive by working with information fraudsters established an account was notified
technology and cybersecurity professionals to quickly and froze the account.
ensure that email accounts, online systems, Many victims aren’t so lucky.
and business practices are as secure and cur-
rent as possible. Patricia Ihnat is a public member of the Or-
And always remember these basic rules: egon Real Estate Board. She is an attorney
• Use two-factor authentication for email and serves as Oregon underwriting counsel
accounts. for Fidelity National Title, a national title
• Select complex passwords that employ insurer and escrow settlement provider. Ms.
a combination of mixed case, numbers, Ihnat has been with Fidelity for 25 years
and symbols. in various positions as a litigator, claims
• Never send sensitive or confidential manager, and underwriter.
information via standard email.
Oregon Real Estate News-Journal December 2018 5Special to the Oregon Real Estate News-Journal
What You Should Know
About Elder Abuse
Nelsa Brodie, Aging & People with Disabilities Program, Adult Protective Services
Each year in Oregon, Department of Human for themselves at 1/10th of the price. They
Services and our partners receive thousands also brought along with them someone who
of reports of abuse and exploitation of vul- does “estate sales” to try and “help her”
nerable older adults. Financial exploitation, with selling some of her belongings for the
which can leave its victim penniless, and move. Turned out they were working with
physical abuse are the most substantiated each other. Sadly, while not common, these
forms of abuse we have seen in recent years. are not isolated incidents.
For those in the real estate profession, Older adults and people with disabilities
the most common type of abuse you may who are abused often suffer in silence. They
encounter is financial exploitation. These are too ashamed or embarrassed to admit the
issues primarily involve family and family abuse. Frequently, their abuser is someone
dynamics and commonly include trusts, quit they know and trust, such as a spouse, part-
claim deeds and power of attorney abuse. ner, family member or caregiver.
For example, in Eastern and Southern Ore- The abuse of elders and people with dis-
gon where there are still large parcels of land abilities affects individuals from all walks
that are owned by (and have been owned by) of life, men as well as women, and those
the same family name for hundreds of years. older adults who experience dementia or
Sometimes you have a victim who might poor memory.
have capacity issues and they sign over a The State of Oregon has set up a toll-free
quit claim deed for thousands of acres for confidential abuse hotline where you can
$1. Or perhaps family dynamics where you report abuse from anywhere in the state:
have multiple trustees and one starts selling 1-855-503-SAFE (7233). Everyone has
property that lies within the trust. a shared responsibility in preventing and
Adult Protective Services (APS) has reporting abuse of vulnerable adults!
also, unfortunately, seen real estate brokers Learn more about types of abuse and
being perpetrators of abuse. Being alert to warning signs at our website:
potential abuse by understanding the signs, https://www.oregon.gov/DHS/SENIORS-
is always very helpful. APS had a recent DISABILITIES/ADULT-ABUSE/Pages/
case in Southern Oregon where the victim index.aspx
(who was recently widowed) had contacted If you would like us to do a presentation
a real estate agent about selling her large in your local community on elder abuse,
parcel of property because she wanted to please contact: Nelsa Brodie, Nelsa.Bro-
move closer to her daughter. The agent die@dhsoha.state.or.us and I will be happy
came back the next day to buy the property to set up something for you!
Report Elder Abuse
(855) 503-7233
Toll-free and confidential
6 December 2018 Oregon Real Estate News-JournalAdministrative Actions
The Oregon Real Estate Agency is required by law to publish disciplinary actions. The
final order for each action can be viewed by clicking on the individual names listed below.
Please note that there are individuals with real estate licenses that may have similar or
the same names as those listed below, even in the same market area. If you are in doubt
if an individual listed here is someone you know or with whom you are working, please
contact the Agency for verification.
Stipulated settlements do not necessarily reflect all the factual violations initially alleged
by the Agency. Sanctions may have been adjusted as part of the negotiation process. Such
settlement may not, therefore, directly compare in severity/sanction with other cases.
REVOCATION October 22, 2018.
Turner, John Douglas (Portland) Principal REPRIMAND
Broker. Stipulated final order dated Octo-
ber 12, 2018 Smith, Simon G. (Eugene) Principal Broker
940200151. Stipulated order dated Novem-
Gist, Jason (Grants Pass) Property Man- ber 27, 2018.
ager 201211947. Default final order dated
Tales from the Complaint Desk
Liz Hayes, Administrative Specialist, Oregon Real Estate Agency
Complaint: “The Listing Agent didn’t pres- fer and the seller absolutely won’t look at
ent my offer. They didn’t even send back a another offer or sign a rejection?
signed rejection by the seller.”
Answer: Your life would be so much easier
Question: As the listing agent, must you if sellers would just do what you ask of them,
present every offer, even if you already have right? Sometimes, your attempts to present
an accepted offer, to your seller? an offer after an executed agreement may be
ignored. If you are unable to obtain a written
Answer: Yes! As the listing agent, per Ore- response from your seller, you should keep
gon Revised Statute 696.805(2)(b), you must documentation of your efforts and notify the
present all written offers, written notices, and buyer of such.
other written communications to and from
the parties involved in a timely manner with- Bottom line:
out regard to whether the property is already • Present all offers by phone, in person, by
party to a contract to purchase. email, or by aerial banner.*
But, did you also know that you must • Record the date and time of delivery.
maintain written record of the date and time Use the last page of the sales agreement,
of each written offer or counter offer deliv- a dirty napkin, or even the back of your
ered and of the seller’s or buyer’s response? gas receipt.
If the seller rejects the offer or counter- • Keep proof of delivery documentation
offer, the licensee must provide a true copy in your working file.
to the buyer, per Oregon Administrative Rule • Provide a true copy of the response to
863-015-0135(3). the buyer.
*The Agency does not encourage presenting
Question: What if there is an accepted of- offers by aerial banner.
Oregon Real Estate News-Journal December 2018 7FHFA, GSEs Launch Translated
Resources for Limited English Speakers
Reprinted courtesy of ARELLO's Boundaries Magazine. Copyright ARELLO®.
OREGON REAL ESTATE
NEWS-JOURNAL
The Federal Housing Finance Agency such as the steps to getting a mortgage, clos-
(FHFA) and government-sponsored enter- ing costs, and how to become a successful
Official Publication
prises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie homeowner.
Oregon Real Estate Agency Mac recently announced the launch of In addition, the Mortgage Translations
530 Center St. NE Ste. 100
Mortgage Translations, a centralized online clearinghouse contains items such as Eng-
Salem, Oregon 97301
Telephone: (503) 378-4170
clearinghouse of resources to assist lenders, lish- and Spanish-language versions of the
servicers, housing counselors, and other CFPB’s “Know Before You Owe” Loan
Facsimile:
(503) 378-2491
real estate professionals in serving limited Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms
(503) 373-7153 Regulation English proficient (LEP) borrowers. (also known as the TILA-RESPA Integrated
Web Page:
The Mortgage Translations clearinghouse Disclosures, or “TRID” forms) and extensive
http://www.oregon.gov/rea launch is one of the first “milestones” in the explanatory materials that were developed
OREGON REAL ESTATE
multi-year plan of the FHFA/GSEs to im- for their use. The resource also contains hun-
AGENCY prove the ability of “mortgage-ready [LEP] dreds of state-specific Fannie Mae, Freddie
Kate Brown, Governor
borrowers to understand and participate in Mac and other government-related mortgage
all facets of the mortgage life cycle.” The loan documents such as security instruments
Dean Owens, Acting Commis-
sioner
resource was created in collaboration with (e.g., deeds of trust), promissory notes, and
industry, consumer, and government partners more. The clearinghouse also contains trans-
REAL ESTATE BOARD
and contains resources such as translated lations of numerous GSE/CFPB and other
James E. "Jef" Farley Chair-
documents and borrower education materi- consumer-oriented publications touching
person, Pendleton
als. on a multitude of real estate and mortgage
Lawnae Hunter, Vice Chairper-
The FHFA said in its announcement that transaction topics such as building credit,
son, Bend
the first phase of the launch consists of the mortgage and home-buying processes,
Debra Gisriel, Klamath Falls
Spanish-language documents, noting that identifying mortgage fraud, and avoiding
and Springfield
“According to the U.S. Census, persons who foreclosures, to name just a few.
Susan Glen, Portland
speak Spanish as their primary language Mortgage Translations also features a
Jose Gonzalez, Salem comprise more than 60 percent of the LEP new online Spanish-English glossary that
David Hamilton, Portland population in the U.S.” The FHFA also said, provides hundreds of translated real estate/
Patricia Ihnat, Portland “LEP borrowers make up a growing share of mortgage terms, which the FHFA expects
David Koch, Canby
today’s mortgage market-a trend that is likely to be particularly helpful in standardizing
to continue in the coming decades-and lend- translations across the mortgage industry.
Alex MacLean, Lake Oswego
ers and other mortgage market participants The FHFA was established by the Hous-
are in need of tools to help them serve these ing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
The Oregon Real Estate News- consumers.” In the coming years, the FHFA (HERA) and is responsible for the effective
Journal is published by the
plans to add Mortgage Translations resources supervision, regulation, and housing mission
Oregon Real Estate Agency as
an educational service to all
in four other languages commonly spoken oversight of the GSEs and the Federal Home
real estate licensees in the state in LEP households: Chinese, Vietnamese, Loan Bank system. Since 2008, the FHFA
under the provisions of Section Korean, and Tagalog. has also served as conservator of the GSEs,
696.445 of the Oregon Revised So far, the clearinghouse features Eng- which support the U.S. housing finance
Statutes.
lish- and Spanish-language versions of market by purchasing, guaranteeing, and
frequently used documents such as Fannie securitizing single-family mortgages.
Mesheal Heyman, Editor Mae and Freddie Mac Uniform Residential
Vol. 72, No. 6 Loan Application forms, the GSEs’ Mort- * The CFPB recently took to referring to
December 2018 gage Assistance Application(s) for those itself as the “Bureau of Consumer Financial
facing mortgage payment challenges, and Protection,” which it says is more consistent
the federal Consumer Financial Protection with its enabling legislation -- the federal
Bureau’s (CFPB)* Your Home Loan Toolkit, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Con-
which helps consumers to understand matters sumer Protection Act of 2010 -- Ed.
8 December 2018 Oregon Real Estate News-JournalYou can also read
