452.01 (4p) "Employer",," when used in reference to a broker who is the employer of another broker, a salesperson, or a time-share salesperson, includes means a broker who engages the services of another broker, a salesperson, or a time-share salesperson who provides services to the broker to provide brokerage services to the broker's clients and customers on behalf of the broker and under the broker's supervision, including a broker who engages the services of another broker, salesperson, or time-share salesperson as an independent contractor.
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15. 452.01 (4t) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.01 (4t) "Employment",," when used in reference to a broker's employment of another broker, a salesperson, or a time-share salesperson, includes means the state of providing being engaged by a broker to provide services to the broker by the other broker's clients and customers on behalf of the broker and under the broker's supervision, including being engaged by the employing broker, the salesperson or the time-share salesperson as an independent contractor.
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16. 452.01 (5j) of the statutes is created to read:
452.01 (5j) "Multiple representation relationship" means a relationship between a broker and 2 or more of the broker's clients in which the clients are parties in the same transaction.
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Section
17. 452.01 (5m) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.01 (5m) (intro.) "Negotiate" means to act as an intermediary between the parties to a transaction provide to a party assistance within the scope of the knowledge, skills, and training required under this chapter in developing a proposal or agreement relating to a transaction, including doing any of the following:
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Section
18. 452.01 (5m) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.01 (5m) (a) Facilitating Acting as an intermediary by facilitating or participating in the parties' discussion of the terms of a contract or agreement concerning communications between parties related to the parties' interests in a transaction. In this paragraph, providing advice or opinions on matters that are material to a transaction in which a person is engaged or intends to engage or showing a party real estate does not, in and of itself, constitute acting as an intermediary by facilitating or participating in communications between parties.
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Section
19. 452.01 (5m) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.01 (5m) (c) Presenting to a party the proposals of other parties to the transaction and informing the party receiving a proposal of the advantages and disadvantages giving the party a general explanation of the provisions of the proposal.
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20. 452.01 (5m) (d) of the statutes is repealed.
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Section
21. 452.01 (5r) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.01 (5r) "Party" means a person seeking to
sell, exchange, buy or rent an interest in real estate, a business or a business opportunity. "Party" includes a person who seeks to grant or accept an option to buy, sell or rent an interest in real estate, a business or a business opportunity engage in a transaction.
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Section
22. 452.01 (5w) of the statutes is created to read:
452.01 (5w) "Principal broker" means a broker who engages a subagent to provide brokerage services in a transaction.
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Section
23. 452.01 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.01 (7) "Salesperson" means any person other than a broker or time-share salesperson who is employed by a broker to perform any act authorized by this chapter to be performed by a broker.
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Section
24. 452.01 (7r) of the statutes is created to read:
452.01 (7r) "Subagent" means a broker who is engaged by another broker to provide brokerage services in a transaction, but who is not the other broker's employee.
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Section
25. 452.12 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.12 (3) Broker's liability for acts of employees. Each broker shall supervise, and is responsible for, the acts of, brokerage services provided on behalf of the broker by any broker, salesperson, or time-share salesperson employed by who is an employee of the broker.
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Section
26. 452.133 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (1) Broker's duties to all
parties to persons in a transaction. (intro.) In
A broker who is providing brokerage services to a party to person in a transaction, a broker shall do all of the following owes all of the following duties to the person:
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Section
27. 452.133 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (1) (a) Provide The duty to provide brokerage services to all parties to the transaction honestly
, and fairly and in good faith.
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28. 452.133 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (1) (b) Diligently exercise
The duty to provide brokerage services with reasonable skill and care in providing brokerage services to all parties.
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Section
29. 452.133 (1) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (1) (c) Disclose to each party
The duty to timely disclose in writing all material adverse facts that the broker knows and that the party person does not know or cannot discover through reasonably vigilant observation, unless the disclosure of a material adverse fact is prohibited by law.
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30. 452.133 (1) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (1) (d) Keep The duty to keep confidential any information given to the broker in confidence, or any information obtained by the broker that he or she knows a reasonable party person would want to be kept confidential, unless the information must be disclosed under par. (c) or s. 452.23 or is otherwise required by law to be disclosed or the party person whose interests may be adversely affected by the disclosure specifically authorizes the disclosure of particular confidential information. A broker shall continue to keep the information confidential after the transaction is complete and after the broker is no longer providing brokerage services to the party person.
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31. 452.133 (1) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (1) (e) Provide The duty to provide accurate information about market conditions that affect a
the person's transaction, to any party who requests the information, within a reasonable time of after the party's person's request, unless disclosure of the information is prohibited by law.
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Section
32. 452.133 (1) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (1) (f) Account for all The duty to safeguard trust funds and other property coming into the possession of a held by the broker that belongs to any party within a reasonable time of receiving the property as required by rules promulgated by the department under s. 452.13 (5).
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33. 452.133 (1) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (1) (g) When the broker is negotiating on behalf of a party, the duty to present contract proposals in an objective and unbiased manner and disclose the advantages and disadvantages of the proposals.
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Section
34. 452.133 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (2) Broker's duties to a client. (intro.) In addition to his or her duties under sub. (1), a
A broker providing brokerage services to his or her client shall do owes the client the duties that the broker owes to a person under sub. (1) and all of the following additional duties:
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Section
35. 452.133 (2) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 452.133 (2) (a) (intro.) and amended to read:
452.133 (2) (a) (intro.) Loyally
The duty to loyally represent the client's interests by placing doing all of the following:
1. Placing the client's interests ahead of the broker's interests of any other party, unless loyalty to a client violates the broker's duties under sub. (1) or s. 452.137 (2).
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36. 452.133 (2) (a) 2. of the statutes is created to read:
452.133 (2) (a) 2. Placing the client's interests ahead of the interests of persons in the transaction who are not the broker's clients by not disclosing to persons in the transaction other than the broker's clients information or advice the disclosure of which is contrary to the interests of a client of the broker, unless the disclosure is required by law.
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37. 452.133 (2) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
452.133 (2) (am) The duty to provide, when requested by the client, information and advice to the client on matters that are material to the client's transaction and that are within the scope of the knowledge, skills, and training required under this chapter.
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Section
38. 452.133 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (2) (b) Disclose The duty to disclose to the client all information known by the broker that is material to the transaction and that is not known by the client or discoverable by the client through reasonably vigilant observation, except for confidential information under sub. (1) (d) and other information the disclosure of which is prohibited by law.
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39. 452.133 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
452.133 (2) (c) Fulfill The duty to fulfill any obligation required by the agency agreement, and any order of the client that is within the scope of the agency agreement, that are is not inconsistent with another duty that the broker has under this chapter or any other law.
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Section
40. 452.133 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
452.133 (2) (d) The duty to negotiate on behalf of the client.
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Section
41. 452.133 (4) and (5) of the statutes are created to read:
452.133 (4) Subagent's duties. (a) A subagent owes all persons to whom a broker is providing brokerage services in a transaction the duties specified in sub. (1) but does not owe the clients of the principal broker the duties under sub. (2).
(b) A subagent may not do any of the following:
1. Place the subagent's interests ahead of the interests of the clients of the principal broker in the transaction in which the subagent has been engaged by the principal broker.
2. Provide advice or opinions to parties in the transaction if providing the advice or opinions is contrary to the interests of the clients of the principal broker in the transaction in which the subagent has been engaged by the principal broker, unless required by law.
(5) Duties without agency or subagency relationship. If a broker is providing brokerage services to a person who is a party or a prospective party to a transaction, and the broker does not have an agency agreement with the person and is not a subagent of another broker in the transaction, then the broker owes the person the duties under sub. (1) and may not, unless required by law, provide advice or opinions relating to the transaction in which the person is receiving brokerage services if providing the advice or opinions is contrary to the interests of a party to a current or prospective transaction with the person receiving the brokerage services.
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Section
42. 452.133 (6) of the statutes is created to read:
452.133 (6) Waiver of duties. The duties imposed by subs. (1), (2) (a), (am), (b), and (c), (4), and (5) may not be waived. A client may waive, in part or in full, the broker's duty under sub. (2) (d), except that a waiver under this subsection is not effective unless the broker provides to the client a written disclosure containing all of the following:
(a) A copy of the text of sub. (2) (d) and s. 452.01 (5m), and a statement that, as a consequence of the client's waiver, the broker will have no legal duty to perform the duty imposed by sub. (2) (d).
(b) A statement that as a consequence of the client's waiver, the client may require the assistance of an attorney or another service provider to fulfill the client's goals and contractual duties in the transaction.
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Section
43. 452.134 of the statutes is created to read:
452.134 Agency relationships; multiple representation relationships. (1) Agency relationship not required. (a) Subject to par. (b), a broker may provide brokerage services to any person in a transaction, whether or not the broker has entered into an agency agreement with a party to the transaction or the broker has been engaged to provide brokerage services in the transaction as a subagent.
(b) A broker may not negotiate on behalf of a party to a transaction unless a party to the transaction is one of the following:
1. The broker's client.
2. A client of a principal broker who has engaged the broker as a subagent.
(2) Multiple representation relationships; consent required. A broker may not provide brokerage services in a multiple representation relationship unless all of the broker's clients in the multiple representation relationship have consented to a multiple representation relationship in writing.
(3) Designated agency; consent required. (a) A broker in a multiple representation relationship may not engage in designated agency unless all of the broker's clients in the relationship have consented to designated agency in writing. A client may withdraw consent to designated agency by written notice to the broker at any time.
(b) If a broker is engaged in designated agency, the broker's employee who is negotiating on behalf of a client of the broker in the transaction may provide to the client on whose behalf the employee is negotiating information, opinions, and advice to assist the client in the negotiations, whether or not the information, opinions, and advice place the interests of one of the broker's clients ahead of the interests of another client of the broker.
(4) Multiple representations relationship without designated agency. If a broker's client in a multiple representation relationship does not consent to designated agency or withdraws consent to designated agency, the broker and the broker's employees may not place the interests of any client ahead of the interests of any other in the negotiations.
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44. 452.135 of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:
452.135 Disclosure of duties. (1) (a) A broker may not negotiate on behalf of a party who is not the broker's client unless the broker provides to the party a copy of the following written disclosure statement:
BROKER DISCLOSURE TO CUSTOMERS
You are a customer of the broker. The broker is either an agent of another party in the transaction or a subagent of another broker who is the agent of another party in the transaction. The broker, or a salesperson acting on behalf of the broker, may provide brokerage services to you. Whenever the broker is providing brokerage services to you, the broker owes you, the customer, the following duties:
The duty to provide brokerage services to you fairly and honestly.
The duty to exercise reasonable skill and care in providing brokerage services to you.
The duty to provide you with accurate information about market conditions within a reasonable time if you request it, unless disclosure of the information is prohibited by law.
The duty to disclose to you in writing certain material adverse facts about a property, unless disclosure of the information is prohibited by law.
The duty to protect your confidentiality. Unless the law requires it, the broker will not disclose your confidential information or the confidential information of other parties.
The duty to safeguard trust funds and other property the broker holds.
The duty, when negotiating, to present contract proposals in an objective and unbiased manner and disclose the advantages and disadvantages of the proposals.
Please review this information carefully. A broker or salesperson can answer your questions about brokerage services, but if you need legal advice, tax advice, or a professional home inspection, contact an attorney, tax advisor, or home inspector.
This disclosure is required by section 452.135 of the Wisconsin statutes and is for information only. It is a plain-language summary of a broker's duties to a customer under section 452.133 (1) of the Wisconsin statutes.
(b) If a broker is providing brokerage services as a subagent to a principal broker, the broker shall provide a copy of the written disclosure statement under par. (a) to any person who is not the principal broker's client and who receives brokerage services from the broker within the scope of the agreement between the broker and the principal broker.
(2) (a) Except as provided in sub. (b), a broker shall provide to a client a copy of the following written disclosure statement not later than the time the broker enters into an agency agreement with the client:
BROKER DISCLOSURE TO CLIENTS
Under Wisconsin law, a broker owes certain duties to all parties to a transaction:
