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Frequently Asked Questions

Twenty-seven years ago, there were multiple form sets for real estate transactions in use throughout Oregon. At that time, it was strongly recommended that the Realtor® community develop a statewide set of transaction forms to mitigate consumer risk. In light of that recommendation, the Oregon Association of Realtors®, the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors®, and the Eugene Association of Realtors® jointly formed Oregon Real Estate Forms, LLC (“OREF”) to create a trusted, integrated, and uniform set of transaction forms that could be used by real estate professionals in Oregon. Over the next 25 years, OREF developed and continually refined the current OREF forms library with input from its three association owners and Realtors® from around the state. During that period, Oregon’s real estate professionals have had the option of using OREF’s consistent and widely used set of forms. OREF believes that using its forms has become the standard practice in Oregon.

In 2020, Oregon Realtors® decided to withdraw from its co-ownership of OREF and create a new set of forms.

Yes, they are. Samples of the new forms have been made available by Oregon Realtors® for viewing, and several significant differences have been identified. Please consult with your managing broker to manage your risk and make sure you are using the tools you are most trained on.

OREF believes that the best practice is to choose a single set of forms and stick with them throughout an entire real property transaction. Conflicts and disconnections among differing form sets arising from timeline differences, and differences in key definitions and provisions, create the risk of unintended and unforeseen consequences and legal complications. OREF believes that to mitigate risk, real estate professionals should always use contracts that are designed to fit together and that contain definitions, timelines, terms, and conditions that brokers and their managing brokers have a deep understanding of. You will always want to seek guidance from your managing broker regarding the use of forms.

Please consult with your managing broker to manage your risk and make sure you are using the tools you are most trained on. OREF remains committed to its sole mission of “Creating the highest quality real estate transaction and advisory forms, protecting all parties in a real estate transaction.”  While there have always been other form options in our marketplace, OREF forms have been developed and refined by Realtors® and managing brokers working and living in Oregon, with ongoing guidance from Oregon real estate attorneys. OREF forms library has protected buyers, sellers, and brokers since 1997. In addition to an extensive residential forms library, OREF recently launched an updated Spanish translation library and will soon launch the newly created commercial forms library. OREF prides itself on recognizing and supporting the diverse needs of our subscribers and consumers and continues to evolve our offerings to meet the need for high-quality transactional forms.

The OREF forms library has been developed and refined over the years by our forms committees. The OREF forms committees are comprised of Realtors®, attorneys, and industry experts from across the state of Oregon. Forms committee members have years of experience in the industry, and many are or have been managing brokers and are licensed in multiple states. This combination of knowledge and experience has resulted in robust, trustworthy forms widely used across the state. The forms committees consider all forms suggestions to ensure that issues unique to each area of practice have been addressed.

OREF’s full-time employees are dedicated to providing the best forms product on the market. OREF welcomed Melissa Peterson, an industry insider with over 15 years of brokerage experience, as its Executive Officer in 2022. Since joining OREF, Melissa has streamlined and improved the renewal process and dramatically improved OREF’s subscriber support.  

After bringing the subscriber support team back in-house, Melissa has worked tirelessly to improve responsiveness, service quality, and staff knowledge. She has also worked closely with our platform providers to build a connection with their support teams, helping to improve the assistance provided to our subscribers. 

OREF is available by phone at 503-912-2569, toll-free at 833-817-5084, or via chat through our support page.   

Your Principal Broker is also a good resource for answering questions about OREF forms. 

OREF welcomes input and suggestions about our forms. OREF forms committees meet throughout the year to consider and make changes as needed. You can submit your comments to customerservice@orefonline.com or through our forms suggestions page. Suggestions are forwarded to the forms committee teams for review and discussion. New forms, and revisions to existing forms, are regularly made to keep up with changing market conditions, legislative actions, user requests, and more.  

The latest forms changes will be released in January 2023, and the education schedule for our forms change classes can be found on our website 

Oregon Real Estate Forms, LLC announces that Eugene REALTORS® has withdrawn from OREF ownership effective December 31, 2022 due to changes within their association. OREF wishes to thank Eugene REALTORS® for its many years as a dedicated and productive member of OREF. Eugene REALTORS® wishes to express its appreciation for the outstanding forms and advisory materials OREF has produced over the years and supports OREF’s continued success in that endeavor.

 “OREF has helped shape the real estate industry over decades of successful shared ownership which has resulted in a suite of forms that mitigate risk for both the brokerage community and the public it serves,” said Kelly Ranstad, 2023 Eugene REALTORS® President.