"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.
