16 Jul New Standard Forms Coach
How to find the Forms Coach
Using the Forms Coach could not be easier. Click on the “Member Services” tab, choose “MAR Standard Forms” from the drop down menu, select F1, F2 or F4 and then click on the Forms Coach icon.
About the Forms Coach
Mississippi REALTORS® can enjoy state-of-the-art teaching tools as part of their formidable standard real estate form set. As part of the 2018 revisions to the system, the Mississippi REALTORS® staff developed the Forms Coach tool as part of overall enhancements designed to make the forms user-friendly and self-explanatory.
Members will be able to access the Forms Coach tool through a newly enhanced forms internet portal accessed by members through the Mississippi REALTORS® website. This portal will greet members with PDF copies of all current forms and links to the Forms Coach unique to that particular form. Following the link to the Forms Coach, the member will view the selected form in an interactive format allowing the member to click on each blank in the form and instantly receive concise instructions on exactly what should go in that blank. Every blank in the F1 Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Real Estate, the F2 Lots and Land Contract, and the F4 Exclusive Right to Sell and Listing Agreement are currently annotated, with plans in place to eventually cover every blank in every form.
The Forms Coach also gives members immediate access to instructional videos covering individual forms and relevant topics. Mississippi REALTORS® General Counsel Ron Farris narrates a series of new videos detailing 2018 changes to major forms and explaining key sections of key standard forms, such as new home inspection protocols, earnest money, interpleader, loan contingency provisions, breach, closing protocols, TRID timing issues and newly revised disclosures dealing with the MREC Property Condition Disclosure Statement, among others. Another new video educates members on relevant legal risks inherent with wire fraud schemes and the new wire fraud disclosures in the form set.
In addition to scroll-over line explanations and video links, the Forms Coach also offers members detailed written explanations of major revisions appearing in key standard forms such as the F1 Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Real Estate, the F2 Lots and Land Contract, and the F4 Exclusive Right to Sell and Listing Agreement.
The new features comprising the Forms Coach represent Phase 1 of a multi-phase roll-out of enhancements designed to make the Mississippi REALTORS® standard form set the premier real estate form set. Future plans call for additional videos covering other standard forms as well as educational topics of interest to real estate practitioners of all ages and experience.
The 2018 revisions to the standard form set are a direct response to member input and suggestions relating to the forms and their use, and represent the work of many Mississippi REALTORS®, including the 2018 Standard Forms Advisory Committee led by Chairman David Massey and Vice Chair Jim Stroo. Since the primary revised forms were posted beginning in April, several minor revisions have been made in response to member feedback, which is an ongoing project. It is anticipated that minor improvements will continue to be made to the forms and the Forms Coach tool based upon member feedback in an effort to keep the form set relevant and of maximum benefit to all Mississippi REALTORS®. Suggestions for improvement can be made directly to General Counsel Ron Farris, Chairman Massey, Vice Chair Stroo, MAR staff liaison Kristen Short, or to any member of the Standard Forms Advisory Committee, and are welcomed.
