Posted on 05/03/2009 7:23:31 AM PDT by narses
David Stevens, the administration's pick for an assistant secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development failed to pass muster and his confirmation delayed as it was disclosed that the real estate brokerage he operates as chief is facing several class action lawsuits.
The charges against Long & Foster, a Virginia real estate brokerage, allege that their agents steered homebuyers to affiliated mortgage and title companies, which then shared their profits with the real estate brokerage.
We often advise our readers to contact a Realtor as their best source of information. Regularly we Realtors are asked for referrals to title companies, lenders, insurance agents, inspectors, appraisers, painters, plumbers, mechanics, electricians, concrete finishers, framers, roofers, carpet layers, tile setters, etc., etc.
Most Realtors who have been around awhile are aware of professionals in many areas of specialty and so we are glad to refer you to folks we know will protect our reputation by providing the service you need at a fair price. The problem as we have seen this week on a national level is when Realtors accept gratuities or profit from the providers of those services.
Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Realtors are prohibited from receiving kickbacks or rebates for directing any transaction to any individual for financing. Further, we are restricted from receiving any compensation with regard to a transaction without disclosing to both buyer and seller in writing that we are being paid.
Likewise, we are prohibited from paying any person not licensed in real estate for referrals. Referral fees are customarily paid to licensed colleagues outside our area who refer clients to us that they may have a relationship with but cannot serve here. Those referral fees are usually a percentage of the commission earned by the agent who represents that buyer or seller and are paid directly to the referring agent's broker.
Unlike some industries who traditionally pay citizens for referrals we are strictly regulated by our states and the federal government in our activities. Members of the Association of Realtors are also regulated by the Realtor Code of Ethics. Although most of us are not at risk of losing a government appointment, violation of these rules means that we may lose our ability to earn income. You can be reasonably certain that we have nothing to gain financially by our recommendations, but we give them because you ask and because we want to help you. Remember, when it comes to title companies and financial institutions it is always your choice. If you feel you have been directed to a specific provider to benefit the Realtor, you may have grounds for a grievance. As with any unsatisfactory experience with an agent, your first call should be to their broker. If the broker is unable to provide you satisfaction, contact the Association of Realtors and you will be given guidance through the grievance process. We are a self policing association and we are here to support our membership and protect our community. Visit www.cdarealtors.com to search the Multiple Listing Service or to find a Realtor member who will represent your best interests.
Kim Cooper is the spokesman for the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors. Kim and the Association invite your feedback and input for this column. You may contact them by writing to the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors, 409 W. Neider, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815 or by calling (208) 667-0664 with your questions or commentary.
Surprised to hear that there is any speculation going on anymore, but...
If you know of anything unethical or illegal being done by any Realtor, contact both the local Realtor association as well as your states department of Real Estate or Consumer Affairs Division.
It isn’t in the interest of the public or of other Realtors to have somebody acting illegally or unethically and ruining the reputation of an entire profession (sounds like you generally think Realtors are generally criminals from your tone).
actually, it was ACORN, Barney Frank and Fannie/Freddie who were pushing for that.
The National Association of Realtors promoted incentives for first time home buyers but they didn’t ask anybody to approval ‘no credit check’ loans. They were certainly in favor of more home buying but the fraudulent loans, credit default swaps and loan bundling wasn’t something the NAR or any Realtor organization was promoting or involved in. That was the banks. The NAR and the banks aren’t exactly close friends since the banks want to get into the actual real estate transaction business which would essentially gut the NAR.
How does Hussein Osama FIND all these gangsters?
... realtors in VA...
I don’t have to believe the spin. I’m at ground zero. I see all of it firsthand. I have to PAY the NAR. I know what they are promoting because they brag about it to me all the time.
They had one of the most singularly douchebaggy ‘economists’ Lawrence Yew during much of the last decade who would just spin and spin and spin even as the market got worse and worse. But he was just doing a Gibbsy but not actually lobbying.
The worst of these loans were pushed primarily by interest groups in the inner city and in Congress. And the investment houses who were never, ever in the lending biz were happy to lend money as long as Fannie & Freddie were gonna back them up. We didn’t get Option ARMs and NINJA loans until years into the boom. Those came once Wall Street got addicted to the commissions from selling CDOs.
By that time, it was already spinning out of control but you couldn’t tell unless you were on Wall Street or at Treasury (and apparently, they were all busy doing something else.)
Bush isn’t innocent. He practiced a Laissez Faire capitalism which is like saying ‘the ref is going to step out for a smoke so you guys keep score yourselves for a few minutes’. Bush put Chris Cox into the SEC. Chris is a great guy personally but he don’t know jack about Wall Street and they boned us not just on loans but on bond and commodity trading which went out of control in 2007/8.
dude, ‘corrupt Realtors’. Am I one of those? I’m a Realtor. Am I corrupt?
Ease off on the generalities. I KNOW who the NAR gave money to because they come to me to get the money in order to GIVE it to critters in Congress. Most of the money was not about loans - it was about keeping banks from taking over real estate transactions.
I don’t want to be mean. But I’m not the person to talk trash to about this. I’m losing hundreds of thousands of dollars because Bush/Obama screwed up our real estate and financing markets. And I know the FBI Financial Crimes agents personally because I’ve been turning in the criminals who’ve tried to exploit consumers, lenders and taxpayers.
....ALL of them?? Not my favorite place or even close but its because all the laws are based on old NY practices where consumers never had rights. In the West, we are all about disclosure, disclosure, disclosure. It’s far closer to how things should be but those older states are hard to change.
(I admit myself that around the Beltway consumers have just been abused when one agent represented both sides of the transaction and neither side really gets represented. We’ve lobbied nationally to get better disclosure for the N.E. states and change ‘dual agency’ because consumers have no idea what their rights are since they don’t speak lawyer)
And if the shoe fits!!!
All of them... since the “good” ones turn a blind eye to the poor behaviour of the “bad” ones. And I am referring to SWVA.
what the hell are you talking about?
If somebody is price fixing, I want them busted by the FTC. Show me anything and I’ll refer it to them myself.
Let’s say theoretically, that the sweeping statement you are making is factually true.
You send me evidence of any wrong doing and I will personally report it even though I’m not in VA. I’ve turned Realtors in to the FBI before along with corrupt lenders. I got no love for crooks in my industry cuz they make people like you refer to people like me as corrupt. If there is something behind your opinions other than just opinion, I’ll be happy to pick up the fight even from here.
Western States Realtor Reps at the NAR are pushing for the NE states to be forced to adopt the latest generation of disclosure and conflict of interest standards. Biggest hurdle - getting state legislatures above the Mason Dixon line to adopt language to update consumer protections. They usually claim ‘if people disclose things, lawyers will sue them more’ and therefore we don’t like consumer notifications.
Long & Foster is way too close to a monopoly in VA for my liking. If I were operating there, I’d be filing charges from my own company to break up their offices and prevent them from buying more small companies and making them part of The Borg.
OK. I will dig up that information for you. Is two years too long ago? I’m sure they are still doing it though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.