REALTOR®

Wednesday Word of the Week

Before I ventured into real estate over a decade ago, I would often hear people refer to their "realtor" or their "real estate agent" interchangeably.  It wasn't until I became a member of the National Association of REALTORS® that I discovered my faux pas.  I also realized quickly that the the registered symbol nearly always follows the word in advertising material, and it is almost always capitalized.

^{If you've never noticed that before, you will now!  That's how it works.}

I suppose it's best to begin like this - REALTOR® is not actually a word.  Go ahead and type "realtor" into your favorite word processor.  It will underline it in red and tell you it's spelled wrong.  If you're like me, you'll yell at your computer and tell it how you're right, and it's wrong, and won't it just listen to you!  But, alas, this point goes to the computer.  REALTOR (either appearing with or without the registered symbol) is a trademark of the National Association of REALTORS®.

Although conversationally people may exchange REALTOR® for real estate agent, they are not the same thing.  Like a square is a rectangle but a rectangle isn't necessarily a square, a REALTOR® is probably a real estate agent, but a real estate agent is not necessarily a REALTOR®.  I became licensed as a real estate agent in the state of Virginia and afterwards I joined the National Association of REALTORS®.  That means that as a real estate agent in Chesterfield VA, I voluntarily choose to associate myself with a distinction that upholds a strict code of ethics.

Bill Petrey of AgentHarvest provides further clarification of the distinction of the trademark in his blog.

Mary Newill, Trademark Administrator for NAR explained it this way.  "While we hope to one day have everyone understand that when someone is identified as a REALTOR they are a member of the REALTOR Association, a real estate professional who is the most educated, honest and ethical real estate salesperson or broker around.  Someone who voluntarily has agreed to abide by a strict code of Ethics that protects the public, REALTORS and other real estate licensees and has agreed to arbitrate any complaints made by any of these groups, but unfortunately we know that this has not happened yet."

The fact of the matter is that most active real estate agents do maintain membership with the National Association of REALTORS®, which I'm sure is why there may be some confusion about the distinction.  But now that I understand the difference I am very careful to use the terms properly, especially in print.

For any other real estate agents out there that may be a little confused as to when and how to use the trademark, this is a great resource.

I am Lynda Heithaus.  I am a real estate agent in Chesterfield VA.  And I am a REALTOR®.

Escrow

Wednesday Word of the Week

Escrow is a word often heard in conjunction with real estate.  The term has so many different uses that it is a little mysterious.  In my work as a Realtor in Chesterfield Virginia, I rarely even use the term.  Folks from California or the northeast may use the term more often, but in reference to different aspects of real estate transactions.

To begin, let’s take a look at the origins of the term.  Escrow is a term derived from an old French word escroue, which meant scrap of paper or roll of parchment.  You might recognize similarities in the English word scroll, which has the same etymology as escrow.  Originally the term referred to the parchment that a deed or promissory note would have been printed on.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Escrow+account

This site will give you an idea of how many uses the term escrow can have.

It is defined on this site as “something of value, such as a deed, stock, money, or written instrument, that is put into the custody of a third person by its owner, a grantor, an obligor, or a promisor, to be retained until the occurrence of a contingency or performance of a condition.”

Colloquially, escrow can refer to either an account, the account manager or agent, or the deed or thing of value in the account.  We will use escrow to refer to the account.

Beyond this simplified explanation, escrow can have many other nuanced applications.  It is enough for most of us to know that “escrow” implies the existence of a third party that may hold funds, deeds, or other documents, released upon the meeting of certain conditions (e.g., a home inspection).

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This Wednesday Word of the Week is brought to you by: Lynda Heithaus, serving as a Realtor in Chesterfield, VA, a Realtor in Powhatan, VA, and the surrounding areas for more than 10 years.

Click here to find out more about what I can do for you!