Whitman County Association of Realtors

On Sunday, April 26th the Washington State Legislature adjourned Sine Die and put an end to the 2021 Legislative Session. It was a unique session in many regards. First, it was the first ever fully virtual session in Washington State history. Legislators used Zoom and Teams to (mostly) great success. Additionally, there were questions about what sort of impact COVID-19 would have on the State Budget and what sort of Federal funds might be available for help (the answers… very little and more than expected). Legislators identified priority issues for the 2021 Session—COVID-19 recovery, racial equity and justice, climate change, and tax reform—and generally prioritized those issues over others during the 2021 Session.

The Washington REALTOR® lobbying and volunteer leadership team was ready for this session and it ended with major wins.

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What is changing?
Effective April 23, 2021, The Department of Licensing (DOL) no longer requires real estate licensees to give a paper copy of their real estate license to their firm or Designated Broker for retention.

The department also no longer requires the firm or branch license to be displayed at the licensed location.

Please Note: Your real estate firm may have different policies requiring a copy of your license. Check with your firm before making any changes.

Why is this change being made?
Printed licenses are no longer mailed to licensees or real estate firms or branches unless requested.

Licensees now receive an emailed electronic copy of their license. Real estate firms, and branches have access to their license and affiliated licensee roster through the online Business License Portal.

Who does this impact?
Real Estate Firms, Real Estate Branches, Designated Brokers, Managing Brokers and Brokers.

What will I need to do for an audit or if a consumer requests to see a license?
The Designated Broker and Branch Manager must have the capability of providing a copy of the firm or branch license and a list of affiliated licensees upon request of the department or the public.

From the online Business License Portal, a Licensee Relationships Report can be produced by following the steps below.

Who do I contact if I have additional questions?
Please email the Real Estate Audit Unit at REAudits@dol.wa.gov.

PACMLS wanted you to be the first to know about the latest enhancements to your Paragon System! All enhancements are designed to help you navigate through the system and enhance your experience with Paragon. Below is a list of the enhancements plus a link to a short 10-minute video that will go over all the updated features! Here are some of the features that have been updated:

• Hotsheet and Tour/Open House Reports
• Improved Handling of Street Address Fields
• Expiring Notifications
• Preference Wizard – Message Body & Email Signature Pages
• Add Purge Data to Partial Listings Table
• More Control When Sharing to Facebook
• Radius in the Collaboration Center
• Compare Workflow in the Collaboration Center
• Paragon Connect – Agent Listing Cart

Watch a short 10-minute video highlighting all the updated features below!