2023 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 61 - Professional and Occupational Licenses
Article 29 - Real Estate Brokers and Salesmen
Section 61-29-10.2 - Licensee's duties; disclosure.
A. Prior to the time a licensee generates or presents any written document that has the potential to become an express written agreement, the licensee shall give to a prospective buyer, seller, landlord or tenant a list of the licensee's duties that are in accordance with requirements established by the commission.
B. Licensees shall perform all duties that are established for licensees by the commission.
History: Laws 1999, ch. 127, § 3; 2003, ch. 36, § 3; 2005, ch. 35, § 12.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2005 amendment, effective January 1, 2006, provides that prior to the time a licensee prepares or presents a document that will be a written agreement, the licensee must provide a list of the licensee's duties.
The 2003 amendment, effective January 1, 2004, substituted "Licensee's Duties - Disclosure" for "Brokerage Relationship; Disclosure" in the heading; designated the former first paragraph as Subsection A and added Subsection B; and substituted "at the time when the parties enter into an express written agreement, a list of the licensee's duties that are in accordance with requirements established by the commission" for "at the first substantive contact a brokerage relationship disclosure in accordance with requirements established by the commission" at the end of Subsection A.
Transaction brokers duty of care includes disclosing the licensing status of recommended contractors. — Where defendant signed a listing agreement with plaintiffs to be their transaction broker for the sale of their home, and where, after a home inspection revealed problems with portions of the roof, defendant volunteered to find a roofer to perform the work, and where the roofer, who was not licensed or insured, performed the work negligently, causing a fire that destroyed plaintiffs' home, the district court did not err in concluding that defendant owed statutory duties independent of the listing agreement regarding the recommendation and procurement of the roofer or in concluding that the fire and plaintiffs' damages were a natural and continuous result from defendant's recommendation of an unqualified roofer, because the New Mexico real estate commission's established reasonable care as a duty for transaction brokers; this duty includes disclosing the licensing status for recommended contractors. LM Insurance v. I Do ABQ, 2023-NMCA-021.
District judge did not err in awarding attorney fees where there was a connection between negligence claims and listing agreement. — Where defendant signed a listing agreement with plaintiffs to be their transaction broker for the sale of their home, and where, after a home inspection revealed problems with portions of the roof, defendant volunteered to find a roofer to perform the work, and where the roofer, who was not licensed or insured, performed the work negligently, causing a fire that destroyed plaintiffs' home, and where the district court concluded that defendant owed statutory duties independent of the listing agreement regarding the recommendation and procurement of the roofer and that the fire and plaintiffs' damages were a natural and continuous result from defendant's recommendation of an unqualified roofer, the district court did not err in awarding attorney fees based on the listing agreement's attorney fee provision, because plaintiffs' negligence claims were related to the parties listing agreement and resulted in litigation, as contemplated by the attorney fees provision. LM Insurance v. I Do ABQ, 2023-NMCA-021.
