18VAC135-20-181?Maintenance and management of escrow accounts.

• Under A.1.c.  "escrow account authority" should be changed to "signatory authority" to be consistent.

18VAC135-20-185?Maintenance and management of?records.

The language in section C. is confusing. Perhaps reword to: 

1. Each brokerage agreement must be retained?for?three years from the date of execution.
2. Each disclosure and consent to dual agency or dual representation, or designated agency or designated representation?must be retained for three years from the date of execution.   
3. All documents pertaining to the real estate transaction including, a complete and legible copy of any ratified contract of sale, any ratified release from contract, any ratified lease agreement, any ratified property management agreement,?any disclosure to an unrepresented party, and any settlement statement in the broker's control or possession unless prohibited by law. Such records must be retained for three years from the date of closing or from date of ratification if the transaction fails to close. 

18VAC135-20-280?Improper?financial transactions and dealings. 

• Paragraph 2 is unclear. Is the intent to allow a closing agent to pay a licensee directly with written broker approval? Stating "at the time of the licensed real estate activity" could indicate a licensee could be paid for negotiating a contract or showing property. This section needs to clarified and keep the wording "at the time of the transaction."
• Paragraph B will put a lot of liability on licensees with the current state of fraud in real estate and require them to verify identity with tools they do not have. Perhaps better wording would be: "Actions constituting improper dealing include knowingly offering real property for sale or for lease without consent of the owner or the owner’s authorized representative, or on any terms other than those authorized by the owner or the owner’s authorized representative.