Question 1

When do you hand a visitor the agency disclosure pamphlet?

Accepted Answer

Oregon does not key this to the open house, it keys it to the first moment you meet the person. ORS 696.820 requires an agent to provide a copy of the initial agency disclosure pamphlet at the first contact with each party to a real property transaction, and it names in person contact alongside telephone, internet and email, so the door counts the same as an inbound message. Keep printed copies on the sign-in table and attach the pamphlet to the confirmation email so the electronic first contacts are covered too. Handing it over does not sign anyone up as your client: the same section has the Real Estate Commissioner prescribe the pamphlet's format and content by rule, and requires those rules to provide that the pamphlet is informational only and may not be construed to be evidence of intent to create an agency relationship. You are hosting under the listing agreement, and ORS 696.805 says a licensee who acts under one acts only as the seller's agent unless the seller has agreed in writing to disclosed limited agency, so say that out loud to an unrepresented visitor rather than letting the pamphlet do it silently.

Question 2

Can you call a visitor after the open house?

Accepted Answer

Oregon regulates the follow up call rather than the sign-in sheet, and its telemarketing definition names real estate directly. ORS 646.567 defines telephone solicitation as soliciting a party by telephone to encourage them to purchase real estate, goods or services, and ORS 646.569 makes it unlawful to place that call to a number on the current state do not call list or on the federal registry. The same definition excludes calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the called party, so the thing that keeps a normal open house follow up outside the rule is the visitor asking you to get back to them. Put that ask on the sign-in form as a real checkbox with the visitor's own words about what they want to hear about, and keep the record of it, because that consent is what you would point to later. If a visitor writes down a number but never asks for contact, treat that number as a cold call and scrub it against the registry before dialing.

Question 3

Does a visitor have to sign a buyer agreement first?

Accepted Answer

Oregon wrote the buyer representation requirement into statute, so this is state law here and not only association policy. ORS 696.810 says a licensee representing a buyer is required to act under a written representation agreement, entered into before, or as soon as reasonably practicable after, the licensee has commenced efforts to assist the buyer in purchasing real property or in identifying real property for purchase. Walking an unrepresented visitor through your own listing is you working under the listing agreement as the seller's agent, so opening the door and answering questions about that house does not by itself put you under this section. The trigger is the moment you start helping that person find or buy a home, which is usually the conversation about seeing other properties, and at that point the agreement has to be written, has to state whether it is exclusive or nonexclusive, and cannot run longer than 24 months including any automatic renewals. Carry the form to the open house so you are not trying to paper it after the fact.

Question 4

What do you owe a visitor whose details you keep?

Accepted Answer

Oregon has no rule written for open house sign-in sheets, and its general data security duty turns on what you actually collect. ORS 646A.622 requires a covered entity to develop, implement and maintain reasonable safeguards for personal information, including safeguards that protect it at disposal, and ORS 646A.602 defines a covered entity as anyone who collects or otherwise possesses that information in the course of their business. The catch is that the same chapter reserves personal information for a name paired with something heavier, such as a Social Security number, a driver license number or a financial account number, so a door list of name, phone and email does not by itself put you under the safeguards duty. Keep the form to those three fields and never ask for anything more sensitive at a public event, because the moment you collect one of those heavier identifiers the duty attaches to your whole list. Treat the disposal half of that duty as the model either way: delete an old event's list rather than leaving years of visitors in a folder, and keep the live list behind a login instead of on a clipboard the next visitor reads while they wait.

Open house rules for Oregon agents

When do you hand a visitor the agency disclosure pamphlet?

Can you call a visitor after the open house?

Does a visitor have to sign a buyer agreement first?

What do you owe a visitor whose details you keep?

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Your disclosure text, on the screen, at every open house