Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 193E - Real Estate Commission › Chapter 2 - Definitions › Rule 193E-2.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
"Additional license"
means any officer or
				partner license(s) issued based upon and dependent or contingent upon the
				primary or main officer or partner license, but assigned to a different
				corporation or partnership.
"Advance fees"
means any fees charged for
				services to be paid in advance of the rendering of such services including,
				without limitation, any fees charged for listing, advertising, or offering for
				sale or lease any real property, but excluding any fees paid solely for
				advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation.
"Affiliated licensee"
means a broker associate
				or salesperson, as defined in Iowa Code section
				543B.5(5)  and
				543B.5(19), who
				is under the supervision of a broker.
"Applicant"
means a person who has applied for
				or intends to apply for a real estate salesperson or real estate broker
				license.
"Application form"
means the form furnished by
				the commission to be completed and submitted to apply for an original license
				as a real estate salesperson, real estate broker, real estate firm or trade
				name.
"Branch office license"
means the same as
				"duplicate license" as used in Iowa Code section
				543B.31.
"Broker"
means any person holding an Iowa real
				estate broker license as defined in Iowa Code section
				543B.3.
"Brokerage agreement"
means the same as
				defined in Iowa Code section
				543B.5(7).
"Broker associate"
means the same as defined
				in Iowa Code section 543B.5(5).
"Buyer"
includes a purchaser, tenant, vendee,
				lessee, party to an exchange, or grantee of an option. Selected rules in these
				chapters will at times refer separately to "buyers" and "tenants" to clarify
				licensees' duties and obligations.
"Client"
means the same as defined in Iowa
				Code section 543B.5(9).
"Commission"
means the real estate
				commission.
"Common source information companies"
means
				any individual, corporation, limited liability company, business trust, estate,
				trust, partnership, association, or any other legal entity (except any
				government or governmental subdivision or agency, or any officer or employee
				thereof acting in such individual's official capacity) that is a source,
				compiler, or supplier of information regarding real estate for sale or lease
				and other data and includes, but is not limited to, multiple listing
				services.
"Completed application"
means an original or
				renewal application timely received with all necessary information, documents,
				signatures, fees or penalties.
"Confidential information"
means information
				made confidential by statute, regulation, or express instructions from the
				client. Confidential information does not include "material adverse facts" as
				defined in Iowa Code section
				543B.5(14).
				Confidential information includes, but is not limited to, the following:
1. Information concerning the client that, if
			 disclosed to the other party, could place the client at a disadvantage when
			 bargaining;
2. That the seller or
			 landlord is willing to accept less than the asking price or lease price for the
			 property;
3. That the buyer or
			 tenant is willing to pay more than the asking price or lease price for the
			 property;
4. The motivating factors
			 for the party selling or leasing the property;
5. The motivating factors for the party
			 buying or leasing the property;
6.
			 That the seller or landlord will agree to sale, lease, or financing terms other
			 than those offered;
7. That the
			 buyer or tenant will agree to sale, lease, or financing terms other than those
			 offered;
8. The seller's or
			 landlord's real estate needs;
9.
			 The buyer's or tenant's real estate needs;
10. The seller's or landlord's financial
			 information, except that the seller's ability to sell and the landlord's
			 ability to lease are considered a material fact;
11. The buyer's or tenant's financial
			 qualifications, except that the buyer's ability to buy and the tenant's ability
			 to lease are considered a material fact.
Confidential information is not disclosable unless one of the
				following applies:
1. The client to
			 whom the information pertains provides informed written consent to disclose the
			 information;
2. The disclosure is
			 mandated by statute or regulation, or failure to disclose the information would
			 constitute fraudulent representation;
3. The information is made public or becomes
			 public by the words or conduct of the client to whom the information pertains
			 or from a source other than the licensee; or
4. The disclosure is necessary to defend the
			 licensee against an accusation of wrongful conduct in an actual or threatened
			 judicial proceeding, an administrative proceeding before the commission, or in
			 a proceeding before a professional committee.
"Consumer"
means a person seeking or receiving
				real estate brokerage services.
"Contract between the buyer and seller"
means
				an offer to purchase, a sales contract, an option, a lease-purchase option, an
				offer to lease, or a lease.
"Conviction"
means the same as defined in Iowa
				Code section 543B.15(3).
"Customer"
means a consumer of real estate
				services in connection with a real estate transaction who is not being
				represented by the licensee, but for whom the licensee may perform ministerial
				acts. A customer may be a client of another broker, may have yet to decide
				whether or not to be represented by any broker, or may have chosen not to be
				represented by any broker.
"Designated broker"
means the broker or broker
				associate designated as the person in charge of and responsible for supervision
				of a main office or branch office as defined in Iowa Code section
				543B.5(11).
"Dual agent"
means a licensee who, with the
				written informed consent of all the parties to a contemplated real estate
				transaction, has entered into a brokerage agreement with and therefore
				represents the seller and buyer or both the landlord and tenant in the same
				in-house transaction.
"Duplicate license"
or
"replacement
				license"
means a license reissued for the remainder of a license term,
				at the written request of the broker, to replace a lost or destroyed
				license.
"Electronic format"
means a record generated,
				communicated, received, or stored by electronic means, and is in a format that
				has the continued capability to be retrieved and legibly printed upon
				request.
"Examination"
means a licensure examination
				necessary before issuance of a license.
"Examinee"
means a person who has registered
				or intends to register to take a licensure examination.
"Filed"
means that documents or application
				and fees are considered filed with the commission on the date postmarked, not
				the date metered, or on the date personally delivered to the commission
				office.
"Firm"
means a licensed partnership,
				association, limited liability company, or corporation.
"Licensee"
means the same as defined in Iowa
				Code section 543B.5(13).
"Listing broker"
means the real estate broker
				who obtains a listing of real estate or of an interest in a residential
				cooperative housing corporation.
"Ministerial acts"
means those acts that a
				licensee may perform for a consumer that are informative in nature and do not
				rise to the level of specific assistance on behalf of a consumer. For purposes
				of these rules, ministerial acts include, but are not limited to, the
				following:
1. Responding to general
			 telephone inquiries by consumers as to the availability and pricing of
			 brokerage services;
2. Responding
			 to general telephone inquiries from a consumer concerning the price, facts and
			 features, or location of property;
3. Attending an open house and responding to
			 general questions from a consumer about the facts and features of the
			 property;
4. Setting an appointment
			 to view property;
5. Responding to
			 general questions of consumers walking into a licensee's office concerning
			 brokerage services offered or the facts and features of particular
			 properties;
6. Accompanying an
			 appraiser, inspector, contractor, or similar third party on a visit to a
			 property;
7. Describing the facts
			 and features of a property or the property's condition in response to a
			 consumer's inquiry;
8. Completing
			 business or factual information for a consumer on an offer or contract to
			 purchase on behalf of a client;
9.
			 Showing a client through a property being sold by an owner; or
10. Referring a person to another broker or
			 service provider.
"Moral turpitude"
means an act of baseness,
				vileness, or depravity, in the private and social duties which a person owes to
				another person or to society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary
				rule of right and duty between person and person. It is conduct that is
				contrary to justice, honesty and good morals. Various factors may cause an
				offense which is generally not regarded as constituting moral turpitude tobe
				regarded as such. A crime of moral turpitude as specified in Iowa Code section
				543B.15(3) 
				shall include without limitation forcible felonies as delineated in Iowa Code
				section 702.11.
"Original license"
means the license of a
				salesperson, broker, or firm that covers the first term of licensure in Iowa. A
				license applied for and reissued after the final deadline for renewal of a
				license is also an original license.
"Primary license"
or
"main
				license"
means the original license issued based upon examination,
				including any subsequent renewals or reinstatements of the license. Continuing
				education is necessary to renew to active status.
"Principal broker"
means a broker who is
				either a real estate proprietor, a partner in a real estate partnership, or an
				officer in a real estate corporation.
"Renewal application form"
means the form
				furnished by the commission to be completed and submitted to apply for renewal
				of a license as a real estate salesperson, real estate broker, real estate
				firm, branch office or trade name.
"Salesperson"
means any person holding an Iowa
				real estate salesperson license as defined in Iowa Code section
				543B.5(19).
"Seller"
includes an owner, landlord, vendor,
				lessor, party to an exchange, or grantor of an option. Selected rules in these
				chapters will at times refer separately to "sellers" and "landlords" to clarify
				licensees' duties and obligations.
"Selling broker"
means a real estate broker
				who finds and obtains a buyer in a transaction.
"Single agent"
means a licensee who represents
				only one party in a real estate transaction. A single agent includes a broker
				and any affiliated broker associates or salespersons representing a party
				exclusively or nonexclusively, regardless of whether the single agent be all
				affiliated broker associates or salespersons, or only the identified broker
				associates or salespersons, or a group of identified broker associates or
				salespersons. A single agent may be one of the following:
1. "Seller's agent," which means a licensee
			 who represents the seller in a real estate transaction;
2. "Landlord's agent," which means a licensee
			 who represents the landlord in a leasing transaction;
3. "Buyer's agent," which means a licensee
			 who represents the buyer in a real estate transaction; and
4. "Tenant's agent," which means a licensee
			 who represents the tenant in a leasing transaction.
"Sole-proprietor broker"
means an individual
				or single license broker who privately owns and manages a real estate
				company.
"Specific assistance"
means any communication
				beyond casual conversation concerning the facts and features of a property
				which occurs prior to the point of discussing price range or any specific,
				financial qualifications of the buyer or tenant, or selling or buying motives
				or objectives of the seller or buyer, or tenant or landlord, or eliciting or
				accepting information involving a proposed or preliminary offer associated with
				a specific property, in which the person may unknowingly divulge any
				confidential personal or financial information, which, if disclosed to the
				other party, could harm the party's bargaining position. For the purposes of
				these rules, "specific assistance" does not include preliminary conversations
				or "small talk" concerning location and property styles, or responses to
				general factual questions from a potential buyer or tenant concerning facts and
				features of properties which have been advertised for sale or lease.
"Status"
means the condition of a real estate
				license. A license may be active, inactive, expired, suspended, revoked or
				canceled. "Inactive license" is defined in Iowa Code section
				543B.5(12).
"Subagent"
means a broker and a broker's
				affiliated licensees, engaged by another broker to act as an agent for a
				client. The subagent has the same obligations and responsibilities to the
				client as the primary broker representing the client.
"Third party"
means a person or entity that is
				not a client, is not a party to the transaction, and has no agency relationship
				to a real estate brokerage.
"Timely"
means done or occurring at a
				reasonable time under the circumstances.
"Timely received"
means postmarked, not
				metered, not later than midnight on the last date of the deadline specified by
				the Iowa Code or commission rules.
"Transaction"
means the sale, exchange,
				purchase, or rental of, or the granting or acceptance of, an option to sell,
				exchange, purchase, or rent an interest in real estate, but excluding the
				subleasing of an interest in a residential cooperative housing corporation,
				when the leases are for one year or less.
"Type"
means the category to which a broker
				license or firm license is issued. A broker license may be issued as a
				sole-proprietor broker, broker officer, broker partner, or broker associate. A
				firm license may be issued as a corporation, partnership or association.
"Undisclosed dual agent"
means a licensee
				representing two or more clients in the same transaction whose interests are
				adverse without the knowledge and informed consent of the clients.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code chapters 17A, 272C
				and 543B.