Call only between 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. These hours have been selected to provide flexibility to agents who work differing schedules, while keeping all calls within regular office hours. Every effort is made to return calls on the day they’re made, so you might get a call back outside of those hours depending on how many calls are handled that day. Though you might get a return call after hours, please do not call the Hotline outside of these posted hours. Even if you are able to leave a message, the message cannot be retrieved and the call will not be returned.

PAR Members Only. The Hotline is a service for PAR members only. Do not give the number to your clients, to non-Realtor® licensees or to friends who are having trouble in a transaction. The only exception to this rule is that the Hotline will accept calls from your legal counsel if he or she has a relevant question. Remember that PAR is paying for the attorneys’ time out of your member dues, so calls by non-members will redirect your dues money to someone else’s benefit.

Know the issue. The caller should have a full understanding of the situation and be able to answer relevant questions from the Hotline attorney. If it’s your transaction, you should probably call yourself, or maybe with your broker/manager, if that would be helpful. Asking another agent or administrative staff to call when they don’t have the specifics means it will probably be an incomplete question and therefore an incomplete answer.

Make the call more effective (for you and the Hotline attorney) by having all the necessary information at your fingertips when you make the call. And if you won’t be at your desk, try to take any necessary information with you so you’ll have it when the call is returned.

Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. If you are asking about a clause in contract, have the document available. “It says something like…” won’t get you as good an answer as “Let me read this to you….”

Have you tried… One of the questions you’re likely to be asked by a Hotline attorney is “Have you talked to your broker or manager about this?” They may have had a similar experience in the past, or your question may be one that comes down to brokerage policy, so that’s a good place to start.

Use your resources. Many of the most common questions can be answered in whole or in part by reviewing resources already available from PAR. Even if you can’t find an answer, reviewing these resources may help you get a better feel for the questions to ask.

• PARJustListed.com has published thousands of articles since launching in 2008, many of which cover legal and transactional issues. There’s even a “Best of the Hotline” series. Try searching by a few keywords to see if an article is available.
• PAR’s Legal Resource Library collects links and resources on many common topics.
• If you have a question about forms usage, try reading PAR’s guidelines for that particular form. Just go to the standard forms page and log in to see the guidelines, which are also a members-only benefit.

When you call during Hotline hours, attorneys may already be on other calls. If your call goes to the Hotline voicemail, please be clear about who you are and how to reach you, and be brief with your message. Remember that every moment spent listening to a voicemail cuts down the time the attorneys have available to answer questions.

Be brief. Please leave only your name and your contact telephone number; do not ask your question or explain the situation. Messages are often retrieved by administrative staff, and you will need to tell the full story to the attorney anyway.

Be clear. Because this is a member benefit, Hotline attorneys verify your membership against PAR’s records. If they are unable to verify membership or can’t understand your phone number, the call may not be returned. If you’re unsure of what’s in your membership records, you may want to contact PAR directly before making the Hotline call.

• First name: Be sure to use the first name in your membership records (e.g., Robert instead of Bob), and remember any first initials (e.g., if your member profile is under “F. Todd Jackson” it won’t appear if we look up “Todd Jackson.”)
• Last name: Say it slowly and clearly, then spell it just for good measure. If the name in your membership records is hyphenated, please be sure to give the full last name.
• Phone number: Leave your full number with area code. Be sure to think ahead to the rest of the day when deciding what number to leave. Providing your office number when you’ll be doing showings most of the day won’t be helpful.

Hotline attorneys do not represent you. The role of the Hotline is to provide general answers to common problems that occur in your business, not to write contracts, provide opinion letters or negotiate with a cooperating broker who just doesn’t see things your way. If you are wrestling with a substantive issue that could affect a transaction or if you are seeking to defend a complaint or lawsuit, you should always seek advice from your own attorney or from your broker’s counsel.

Name dropping. Hotline attorneys don’t need, or want, to know who your client is or what other brokers/agents may be involved in the transaction, so please don’t mention anyone else by name. But to make sure the issue is clear, be sure to describe each person by their role rather than just using ‘him’ or ‘her’ in your question. Bad: “She said the offer was rejected, but then I saw her at the gym and she said it wasn’t presented.” Good: “The listing agent said the seller rejected our offer, but when I saw the seller at the gym, she said that the offer was never presented by the listing agent.”

Hotline attorneys are not mind readers. If you don’t provide complete and accurate information about the subject of your question, Hotline attorneys can’t give you a complete response. Be sure to prepare your question in advance, and include as much detail and background as you can to clarify the question.

The answers provided on the Legal Hotline should be considered general information about real estate and the law and not legal opinions of the attorneys or PAR. The responses given are based solely on the facts presented by the caller, which are presumed to be accurate for purposes of giving the caller an answer.

The Legal Hotline is not meant as a substitute for your own private legal counsel, nor is it meant to be used as a means of conflict resolution in any dispute. The Hotline is meant solely for the use and benefit of PAR members. Callers should not try to counsel their clients on legal matters based on a call to the Hotline. They must never give the Hotline number to clients; instead, tell clients to seek their own attorneys.

Answers from the Hotline should not be quoted (or even worse, misquoted) in legal documents or proceedings, ethics or arbitration hearings or in correspondence to other persons regarding a dispute. Hotline attorneys do not take sides in any dispute but may refer callers to other resources, like mediation, for dispute resolution assistance.

Callers may not fax or e-mail documents to Hotline attorneys but may refer to PAR Standard Forms used in a transaction of interest.
Callers should, of course, maintain a courteous and civil tone at all times.