Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2026 20:10:39 -0500

Subject: Second Follow-Up and Request for Response by January 16, 2026 | Request for Explanation and Follow-Up | Approximately eighty percent (80%) of Florida lawmakers have received endorsements from the Florida Realtors® Political Action Committee (PAC)

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2026 20:10:39 -0500

From: Werner Heidbuechel <[email protected]>

To: [email protected]

Representative Toby Overdorf,

Another week has passed with no response from you regarding the emails referenced below. Simply ignoring these questions is not a solution.

A copy of this email will be forwarded to the Florida Realtors® Member Association. Please be advised that the website (https://beenduped.com/real-estate/) is now live, and all correspondence related to this matter, beginning in August 2024, will be published in full in the interest of transparency. The published record will reflect that you were informed of the issues outlined below and that, as of this date, no substantive response or position has been communicated.

Can I expect a response from you by Friday, January 16, 2026? The questions raised are straightforward and have been repeatedly posed. Specifically: did you, as suggested in the emails below, contact any members of the Florida House of Representatives or Florida Senate who are actively involved in, or familiar with, real estate regulation?

If time constraints are an issue, I am willing to do the groundwork on your behalf. 

If helpful, I can provide you with draft legislation, including both a Florida House Bill and a Florida Senate Bill, addressing the following:

Default Brokerage Representation Reform

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

• Section 1. Legislative Findings and Intent

• Section 2. Amendments to s. 475.278, Florida Statutes

• Section 3. Rulemaking and Implementation

• Section 4. Applicability

• Section 5. Effective Date

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

Summary:
This bill amends s. 475.278, Florida Statutes, to establish single-agent representation as the default brokerage relationship in Florida real estate transactions; requires affirmative written election for transaction broker relationships; strengthens consumer disclosure obligations; and directs the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) to implement conforming rules and forms.

I can also provide a Florida Senate companion bill, titled:

An Act Relating to Real Estate Brokerage Relationships

An act relating to real estate brokerage relationships; amending s. 475.278, Florida Statutes; revising the default presumption of brokerage representation; requiring affirmative written election of transaction broker relationships; providing enhanced disclosure requirements; granting enforcement and rulemaking authority; and providing an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

• Section 1. Legislative Findings and Intent

• Section 2. Amendments to s. 475.278, Florida Statutes

• Section 3. Rulemaking Authority

• Section 4. Applicability

• Section 5. Effective Date

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

Summary:
This Senate bill serves as a companion to the House bill and similarly amends s. 475.278, Florida Statutes, to establish single-agent representation as the default brokerage relationship, require affirmative written election for transaction broker representation, enhance consumer disclosures, and direct DBPR and FREC to implement conforming rules and enforcement mechanisms.

A copy of this email will be forwarded to all Florida House Representatives and Florida Senators.

I look forward to your response by the date stated above.

Respectfully,

Werner Heidbuechel
Florida Lic. Real Estate Broker

On 1/5/2026 11:38 AM, Werner Heidbuechel wrote:

To: Representative Toby Overdorf
From: Werner Heidbuechel, Florida Licensed Real Estate Broker
Date: 01/05/2026
Re: Request for Explanation and Follow-Up |Chapter 475.278, Florida Statutes — Presumption of Brokerage Relationship
Attachments: 

I write to formally ask whether any of the individuals or organizations listed below have provided a response to the correspondence that follows below this message dared 12/17/25. If no responses have been received, I request an explanation as to why these clear statutory and consumer-protection questions have gone unanswered by all parties identified, notwithstanding their direct role in or influence over Florida’s real estate regulatory structure.

Representative Overdorf you will receive a separate correspondence addressing Florida real estate forms. That correspondence documents how current form language enables brokerages to collect compensation attributable to both sides of a transaction even when a buyer is unrepresented. This creates the appearance of consumer savings while, in practice, the commission that would have been paid to a buyer’s agent is redirected to the listing brokerage. Stated plainly, the structure preserves brokerage compensation while offering buyers the illusion of change. A copy of an email that was sent out on 11-04-24 is attached. 

Please recall that during our phone conversation, I offered to meet with you and the real estate professionals you contacted regarding this matter. You declined that offer immediately. You also declined my request for a three-way phone call.

Can you explain why both options were declined?

It reasonably appears that such a discussion may have been avoided because the issues raised in the email below;specifically those set forth in Paragraph IV, Consumer-Protection Concerns, of my December 17, 2025 correspondence cannot be meaningfully rebutted.

Accordingly, I would like to make the following suggestion. Please consider forwarding this email, along with my December 17, 2025 email below, to the relevant lawmaker(s) and members of the listed real estate association, and asking the following question:

“Given that I, Toby Overdorf, do not possess the same level of familiarity with real estate matters, can someone provide clear and substantive responses to the questions raised in Paragraph IV, Consumer-Protection Concerns, of the December 17, 2025 email?”

Doing so would help clarify whether there is a genuine interest in establishing the facts, or whether the objective is instead to protect the interests of the real estate industry and preserve endorsements, particularly given that approximately 80% of Florida lawmakers received endorsements from the Florida Realtors® Political Action Committee (PAC) during the 2024 election.

If nothing is wrong or questionable with the existing framework under §475.278, then a straightforward explanation should be easy to provide. Continued silence reasonably suggests that such a defense cannot be made.

Please be advised that copies of this correspondence, along with all related communications, will be published on a dedicated website (link to be provided within the next 48 hours) and shared with Florida and national news outlets. This action is taken in the interest of transparency, so that Florida home buyers and sellers may independently evaluate how the current system operates and determine whether it prioritizes consumer protection or instead preserves advantages for business interests and lawmakers involved in shaping the regulatory framework.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your response.

Respectfully,

Werner Heidbuechel
Florida Lic. Real Estate Broker