Senate Bill No. 541

Introduced by Senator Wyland

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Section 2079.13 of the Civil Code, relating to real property.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 541, as introduced, Wyland. Residential property.

Existing law requires listing agents and selling agents to provide the seller and buyer in a real property transaction with a copy of a specified disclosure form and, except as specified, to obtain a signed acknowledgment of receipt from that seller or buyer subject to certain terms and conditions. Existing law defines various terms for purposes of carrying out that and other related disclosure provisions.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that definition provision.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 2079.13 of the Civil Code is amended
to read:

2079.13.  

As used in Sections 2079.14 to 2079.24, inclusive,
the following terms begin insert shall end insert have the following meanings:

(a) “Agent” means a person acting under provisions of Title 9
(commencing with Section 2295) in a real property transaction,
and includes a person who is licensed as a real estate broker under
Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10130) of Part 1 of Division
4 of the Business and Professions Code, and under whose license
a listing is executed or an offer to purchase is obtained.

(b) “Associate licensee” means a person who is licensed as a
real estate broker or salesperson under Chapter 3 (commencing
with Section 10130) of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Business and
Professions Code and who is either licensed under a broker or has
entered into a written contract with a broker to act as the broker’s
agent in connection with acts requiring a real estate license and to
function under the broker’s supervision in the capacity of an
associate licensee.

The agent in the real property transaction bears responsibility
for his or her associate licensees who perform as agents of the
agent. When an associate licensee owes a duty to any principal,
or to any buyer or seller who is not a principal, in a real property
transaction, that duty is equivalent to the duty owed to that party
by the broker for whom the associate licensee functions.

(c) “Buyer” means a transferee in a real property transaction,
and includes a person who executes an offer to purchase real
property from a seller through an agent, or who seeks the services
of an agent in more than a casual, transitory, or preliminary manner,
with the object of entering into a real property transaction. “Buyer”
includes vendee or lessee.

(d) “Dual agent” means an agent acting, either directly or
through an associate licensee, as agent for both the seller and the
buyer in a real property transaction.

(e) “Listing agreement” means a contract between an owner of
real property and an agent, by which the agent has been authorized
to sell the real property or to find or obtain a buyer.

(f) “Listing agent” means a person who has obtained a listing
of real property to act as an agent for compensation.

(g) “Listing price” is the amount expressed in dollars specified
in the listing for which the seller is willing to sell the real property
through the listing agent.

(h) “Offering price” is the amount expressed in dollars specified
in an offer to purchase for which the buyer is willing to buy the
real property.

(i) “Offer to purchase” means a written contract executed by a
buyer acting through a selling agent which becomes the contract
for the sale of the real property upon acceptance by the seller.

(j) “Real property” means any estate specified by subdivision
(1) or (2) of Section 761 in property which constitutes or is
improved with one to four dwelling units, any leasehold in this
type of property exceeding one year’s duration, and mobilehomes,
when offered for sale or sold through an agent pursuant to the
authority contained in Section 10131.6 of the Business and
Professions Code.

(k) “Real property transaction” means a transaction for the sale
of real property in which an agent is employed by one or more of
the principals to act in that transaction, and includes a listing or
an offer to purchase.

(l) “Sell,” “sale,” or “sold” refers to a transaction for the transfer
of real property from the seller to the buyer, and includes exchanges
of real property between the seller and buyer, transactions for the
creation of a real property sales contract within the meaning of
Section 2985, and transactions for the creation of a leasehold
exceeding one year’s duration.

(m) “Seller” means the transferor in a real property transaction,
and includes an owner who lists real property with an agent,
whether or not a transfer results, or who receives an offer to
purchase real property of which he or she is the owner from an
agent on behalf of another. “Seller” includes both a vendor and a
lessor.

(n) “Selling agent” means a listing agent who acts alone, or an
agent who acts in cooperation with a listing agent, and who sells
or finds and obtains a buyer for the real property, or an agent who
locates property for a buyer or who finds a buyer for a property
for which no listing exists and presents an offer to purchase to the
seller.

(o) “Subagent” means a person to whom an agent delegates
agency powers as provided in Article 5 (commencing with Section
2349) of Chapter 1 of Title 9. However, “subagent” does not
include an associate licensee who is acting under the supervision
of an agent in a real property transaction.