Colorado Real Estate Commission approves new forms
by Cindy Compton, Immediate Past President of LTAC and member of the Real Estate Forms Committee
On September 21st and October 2nd, 18 forms were modified for mandatory use in 2013 by the Colorado Real Estate Commission. The forms that will change next year are - Contracts to Buy and Sell (5 CBS forms), Amend/Extend (due to section 3 of CBS change), Counterproposal, Closing Instructions, Exclusive Brokerage Addendum, Earnest Money Receipt, Green Disclosure, Lead-based paint (due to increase in civil penalty amount), Notice to Correct, Inspection Resolution, Notice to Terminate, Listing Contract, EBA 53 (Exclusive Brokerage Add), LB36 (Licensee Buyout Add)
Of interest to the title industry are the changes to the Contract to Buy and Sell (CBS), Closing Instructions, and Earnest Money Receipt. Contract to Buy and Sell - Although many of the changes in the are grammatical (“has” instead of “shall have”), there are some significant changes in the 2013 Contract :
Section 4 - Seller Concession - is moved to a position directly under the price and terms and has been re-worded:
4.3 – Earnest Money - To comply with Commission Position Statement #34, language requiring Closing Instructions to be presented with the Earnest Money when a third party is holding such funds has been deleted: 
This language is also deleted in the Broker’s Acknowledgments at the end of the contract (Sections 33 and 34)
Section 7 – Evidence of Title and Association Documents has been changed to allow for a Buyer to select and pay for the title insurance. Additionally, the Premium for the Owner’s Extended Coverage now has a check box option to be split by Buyer and Seller or for an “Other” option that is delineated:
Section 10.8 – Conditional Upon Sale of Property -- Complete re-write of the “Buyer Disclosure” indicating if a buyer needs to sell and close a property to complete the transaction:
Section 15.5 - Private Transfer Fee – Language was added to identify Private Transfer fess (such as the RETA fee in Telluride) at the time the buyer is contemplating the purchase:
Section 15.6. - Water Transfer Fees – New section added to identify any water transfer fees affecting the property:
Section 24 – Earnest Money Dispute – The last sentence of this paragraph so it only applied if one of the Real Estate Brokerage Firms was holding the earnest money has been deleted:
Closing Instructions – New Section 2 was added for a title company to indicate whether they will issue a Title Commitment and Policy and will furnish copies of the Exceptions:
Earnest Money Receipt – Language was added indicating that until Closing Instructions are signed, Sections 24 and 25 of the contract will apply
All documents should be reviewed prior to the mandatory usage in January 2013. A link to the redlined and clean copies of the revised forms can be found on the LTAC Website www.ltac.org or go directly to the Division of Real Estate’s Website.
