Five new forms are now available for your use in Wisconsin real estate transactions. In April this year, the Real Estate Examining Board approved updated versions of five WB forms: 

• WB-24 Option to Purchase
• WB-40 Amendment to Offer to Purchase
• WB-41 Notice Relating to Offer to Purchase
• WB-44 Counter-Offer
• WB-45 Cancellation Agreement and Mutual Release

All five forms have a mandatory use date of July 1, 2022. Interested in incorporating the forms into your transactions before July 1? The optional use date for the revised forms was May 1, so you’re free to use them now. The revised forms are available for your use on the DSPS website, in Transactions (zipForm Edition) and in the WRA PDF forms library at www.wra.org/FormsLibrary (for subscribers only).

Revisions at a glance

WB-24

The REEB reordered provisions in the WB-24 form to create more transactional flow. The WB-24 provisions were updated to match the provisions used in the offers where appropriate. There were clarifications to the Option Terms provisions, in part with respect to when fees are nonrefundable. Major changes were made in the title provisions such that the buyer may elect to have title evidence upon the granting of the option and again upon the exercise of the option.

WB-40 

Specifically, the lines for initials that indicate rejection were combined.

WB-41 

The REEB made formatting changes to the WB-41 form. Specifically, the word “on” was added on line 2 of the WB-40.

WB-44 

The WB-44 form underwent changes to the signature lines and the line for party initials for a rejection or counter. The signature lines now read, “Buyer’s Signature and Seller’s Signature,” and they previously read, “Signature of Party Making Counter-Offer and Signature of Party Accepting Counter-Offer” in the prior version of the WB-44.

WB-45 

In the WB-45, the form refers to “firm” rather than “broker,” and more clearly provides it can be used to direct disbursements by a firm or a third party holding the earnest money or other funds. Lines 6-8 now read, “The Parties hereby release the Firms and their licensees from any and all liability for disbursing trust funds as directed and hereby authorize and direct the Firm or third party holding the earnest money or other trust funds to disburse the trust funds held on behalf of the Parties as follows ...” Lines 10 and 12 now note that including the address is optional because the funds may not be mailed and may be hand-delivered or transferred electronically depending on the circumstances. 

Also note that the ampersand in the former “Cancellation Agreement & Mutual Release” title now appears as the word “and,” making the official title of the 2022 version of the WB-45 the “Cancellation Agreement and Mutual Release.”

Learn more

To learn more about these revised forms, visit the WRA forms update resource webpage at www.wra.org/FormsUpdate. There you can access yellow-highlighted samples of the revised WB forms, designed for educational use so you can easily see the exact revisions the REEB made to the forms.

Plus, later this month, you’ll be able to watch detailed video explanations of these forms in the WRA Line by Line training video series at www.wra.org/LineByLine. Line by Line is totally free for WRA REALTOR^® members and legal members.