COVID-19 Update

York and Adams Counties are Moving to the Green Phase of Re-opening on Friday, June 12th

Click here to find out what you need to know about practicing real estate in the green phase.

 

As Covid-19 has spread throughout Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf made a declaration of closing “non-life sustaining businesses.”

The REALTORS Association of York & Adams Counties staff will be working remotely for the next several weeks and we promise not to skip a beat in providing services to you.

RAYAC and PAR’s legal guidance is in-person activities We have compiled a list of important resources for you to you below.

All Real Estate in Pennsylvania Re-Opened with Guidance

On May 19, the Wolf administration issued new statewide real estate guidance that applies to all real estate transactions in Pennsylvania. Though it’s definitely not “business as usual” for Realtors®, this new guidance opens up the industry with uniform rules across all markets and eliminates much of the confusing and contradictory information that had been put out in previous documents. Specifically, this completely eliminates the Department of State memo from April 28 and all the confusion it created.The Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS has developed a Real Estate in the Age of COVID-19 Suggested Best Practices.  We highly recommend all members read this document.

RAYAC Video on Best Practices During Covid-19
RAYAC Executive Officer Shanna Terroso hosted a video discussing best practices for real estate during this time period.  Click here to view the video.  Here is a link to the slides from the presentation.

Daily Real Estate Boost

RAYAC is here to help you perfect your craft in real estate by releasing daily tips, tricks, education and more in the new RAYAC Daily Real Estate Boost.

Recent News

Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS FAQ–  this is your best resource for the most up to date information on questions that both real estate practitioners and consumers have during the Governor’s Shutdown Directive.

Coronavirus: SBA Cares Act FAQ from NAR

Right Tools, Right Now-In light of the challenges presented by Covid-19 on the real estate industry, NAR is stepping up to support members through these uncertain times.

PAR Files Brief Supporting Lawsuit to Request Governor to Designate Real Estate as a Life-Sustaining Business-PAR filed an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit filed against Gov. Tom Wolf today. The lawsuit is on behalf of several businesses, which have been impacted by the arbitrary and unclear rules under the governor’s closure order issued last month in response to the coronavirus.

Rental and Mortgage Payments May Be Affected by Pandemic-The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered courts closed to eviction proceedings due to the COVID-19 state of emergency. The court’s order is applicable to all Pennsylvania property owners, managers, landlords, as well as mortgage brokers and lenders.

Freddie Mac Extends Help to Homeowners Affected by COVID-19–Homeowners facing job loss, reduced income, illness or other issues that impact their ability to make their monthly mortgage payment may be able to contact Freddie Mac, a PAR sponsor, for relief options.

Working To Help Consumers During The Pandemic–PAR is committed to working with the administration and related industries to develop a comprehensive safety strategy for moving the industry forward in a manner that protects consumers and those involved in providing real estate services.

Ethics in the Time of COVID-19–Adherence to the Realtor® Code of Ethics is one of the things that sets you apart from mere licensees, and living by the Code is more important than ever in these uncertain times.

Real Estate Firm Receives Warning for Non-Compliance from State Police–A Pennsylvania real estate firm was notified by the Pennsylvania State Police that they were in violation of Gov. Tom Wolf’s order for non-life-sustaining business to cease in-person operations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Governor Authorizes Temporary Use of Remote Online Notarization–Gov. Tom Wolf approves a temporary notarial rule suspension to allow for remote online notarization of documents in a limited category of real estate transactions.

Continuing Education

License renewal and continuing education requirements for real estate brokers and salespersons have been delayed 90 days, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. Renewals and continuing education requirements will now be required by Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020.  RAYAC has cancelled all in-person classes through April 30th.

We have rescheduled many of the classes, please see the updated class chart below. Individuals who had registered for those classes will be receiving an individual email with instructions on how to receive a refund, be moved to the rescheduled class, or how to take a different class online.

Date & Time

Course

Credits

Location

RAYAC does offer online continuing education and you can find out more information by visiting this link.

What about Bright MLS?  Can I keep a listing as Active or Active Under Contract if physical showings are not allowed?
Bright MLS has temporarily suspended the rules that a property in the active or active under contract status does not need to require physical showings.  The only mandate is that they must have at least 1 photo.  Yesterday Bright required a virtual tour or virtual showing to remain Active, but this wasn’t workable those who do not have tours already cannot access the property to create one.   Active listings will continue to syndicate to major portals and accrue Days on Market. They are making this announcement to all the subscribers today.

RAYAC Office Closure Information

The Realtors Association of York and Adams Counties office will be closed starting on Tuesday, March 17^th.  All employees will be working remotely. We look forward to providing you with the same extraordinary service via telecommuting. If you need assistance, please email staff@rayac.com or call 717-843-7891.