Law & Issues to Know: State Government

State legislation that impacts the business of real estate, including real estate marketing and real estate transactions.

Indiana Initiatives and Legislation Affecting Real Estate

Texting Ban 2011

House Enrolled act 1129 (Koch, R-Bedford), the state’s first texting ban, went into effect last Friday, July 1st. The ban prohibits texting and emailing while driving only. Throughout the legislative session, legislators and advocates debated a more comprehensive ban, including a ban on surfing the internet and playing games.

Indiana Property Taxes 2010

Since the Supreme Court’s Market Value Decision of December 1998, the State of Indiana has been trying to bring property tax in compliance with the state constitution while dealing with the tax shifts and changes in assessment. Larry DeBoer, Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, gave a presentation on Indiana Property Tax Reform, June 2, 2010, where he outlined the history of property tax reform from 2008 to 2010 and explained the impact of the property tax caps on current property tax bills. Visit the web page for Indiana Property Tax Reform 2010 to view DeBoer’s presentation.

Good Funds Legislation

HEA 1374 “Good Funds Legislation”, which went into effect July 1, 2009, requires “Good Funds” on escrow transactions in Indiana. Read a digest of the legislation provided by the Indiana Association of REALTORS.

Unlicensed Assistants

Every year, the Indiana Association of REALTORS® receives numerous inquiries as to what unlicensed assistants can and cannot do under Indiana license laws. IAR has summarized the guidelines, as enumerated in 876 IAC 1-1-42), in the form of two documents linked below. These documents are provided by IAR. If you have any questions about these documents, please have your principal broker contact the IAR Legal Affairs department at legalhotline@indianarealtors.com.

Indiana Real Estate Commission – Laws and Regulations

Click the link below to view a compilation of the Indiana Code and Indiana Administrative Code.

Realtors