New Colorado real estate contracts as of August 2024
In Colorado, real estate brokers are not licensed to practice law or provide legal advice. However, licensed brokers regularly draft contracts for buying and selling homes as part of their daily work. Colorado brokers are permitted to offer more extensive services to their clients than in many other states, a practice rooted in the notable Conway-Bogue case. The case, widely recognized in the Colorado real estate industry, established that brokers could prepare documents for real estate transactions by filling in the blanks of standard and approved forms, provided they acted as brokers in the transaction. One challenge at the time was the lack of standardized forms. The Conway-Bogue case dates back to 1957, but it wasn't until 1971 that the Colorado Real Estate Commission, under the direction of the Attorney General, adopted Rule F, creating standard forms for listing and selling real estate. When I began selling real estate in 1978, both the listing and selling forms were just one page each. Today, 46 years later, the real estate industry has evolved significantly due to changes in legislation, economic conditions, and lending rules.
As of August 2024, the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential) spans 21 pages! Compare that to 1978, when it was just a single page. And that doesn't even include the multi-page addendums for various required disclosures. It seems like a lot! During my over four-decade-long career in real estate, the gradual changes and additions to the contract each year never felt overwhelming. But looking back now, WOW!
The changes to the contract are driven by the Forms Committee of the Colorado Division of Real Estate. Some updates are in response to new federal or Colorado legislation, while others address problems that arose due to a lack of clarity. For example, that early one-page contract didn't include any inspection provisions. In those "old days," it was much more of a "buyer beware" approach. Now, looking at the 21-page contract as of August 15, 2024, it's truly a remarkable document. Having learned about every clause added to the contract over the past 46 years of my real estate career, I have a deep understanding of the situations that led to each change. Sometimes, new clauses are removed the following year because they didn't work as intended. Ultimately, the Colorado Real Estate Commission's Standard Form helps buyers and sellers come to agreements that lead to successful closings where everyone leaves happy.
There are many changes to the 2024 contract. Some of them are merely "housekeeping" items or industry terminology changes, and others are changes from the normal course of business. To see them all, here is the Redline version of the Contract to Buy and Sell (Residential), comparing the contract we were using before August 15, 2024, to the one as of August 15, 2024, is available here: drive.google.com/file/d/1Eh9iZOQDyQqAKZUU1fpRB25pZlLoH04w/view .
Go to the link above to see all of them! Remember, Licensed Real Estate Brokers are only licensed to fill out standard forms and are required to advise buyers and sellers to seek legal advice on any legal matters they don't understand.
Duane graduated with a business degree and a major in real estate from the University of Colorado in 1978. He has been a Realtor® in Boulder since that time. He joined RE/MAX of Boulder in 1982 and has facilitated over 2,500 transactions over his career. Living the life of a Realtor and being immersed in real estate led to the inception of his book, Realtor for Life. For questions, e-mail , call 303.441.5611 or boulderco.com .
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