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REDUCING RISK FOR REAL ESTATE CONSUMERS By Gary Isom and Tim GroomsThe underlying function of the Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC), a regulatory agency of the state of Arkansas, is to protect members of the public who utilize the brokerage services of the persons to whom we issue real estate licenses. Approximately seventy percent of the persons licensed by this agency are members of the …

SURVEYS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED WHEN PURCHASING REAL ESTATE By Gary Isom, Executive Director of the Arkansas Real Estate Commission By far one of the biggest mistakes buyers make when purchasing real estate is choosing not to have a new survey completed. Several complaints have been filed through the years with the Real Estate Commission about property lines, driveways, access to property an…

IS PROPERTY CONDITION DISCLOSURE REQUIRED BY LAW? Arkansas REALTORS® Association This week’s column is guest authored by Gary Isom, Executive Director of the Arkansas Real Estate Commission. Of the questions we receive from the media, the topic that most often arises is related to property condition disclosure, also referred to as seller disclosure.  The typical question is something…

AREC PROTECTING ARKANSANS By Andrea Alford, Deputy Executive Director of the AREC The first five words of the Arkansas Real Estate Commission’s mission statement are:  “to protect the public interest.” We see that as the ultimate focus of all that we do. In fact, one of our core values is a commitment to serving the citizens of the state of Arkansas by advancing a secure real estate mar…

AGENCY REPRESENTATION By Andrea Alford, Deputy Executive Director, Arkansas Real Estate Commission In the real estate business, the concept of agency representation, or who represents whom in a real estate transaction, is often misunderstood. In 1978, the FTC did a study that showed most consumers had no idea if the agent they worked with represented them, the opposite party, or both. To mak…