Oregon Real Estate Law and Agency Rules
The regulator and licensing
The Oregon Real Estate Agency, headed by the Real Estate Commissioner, administers ORS 696 and the rules in OAR chapter 863. Oregon licenses brokers and principal brokers; a principal broker supervises affiliated licensees and is responsible for the office's licensed activity. Property managers are also licensed. Licenses renew on a two-year cycle with continuing education that includes required hours in fair housing and Oregon law and rule. Trust accounts, advertising, and records are audited.
Agency rules
Oregon recognizes three agency relationships: seller's agent, buyer's agent, and disclosed limited agent. The Initial Agency Disclosure Pamphlet is delivered at first substantive contact. Representation agreements must be in writing and signed. Disclosed limited agency requires the written informed consent of all parties, and an undisclosed dual agent is a serious violation. Confidentiality survives termination. Oregon does not use transaction broker or facilitator designations.
Transaction-specific law
The Seller's Real Property Disclosure Statement under ORS 105.464 applies to most residential resales, and a buyer who receives it late has a limited right to revoke. Earnest money must be handled according to trust account rules. Oregon has no state real estate transfer tax; voters banned local transfer taxes. Property tax questions in Oregon turn on assessed value under Measure 50, real market value, and Measure 5 rate limits.
Traps
Giving legal or tax advice outside license scope; paying a referral fee to an unlicensed person; assuming a ministerial act creates agency; treating the pamphlet as a substitute for a written agreement.
Rule of thumb: disclosure first, agreement in writing, consent in writing for dual agency.