Posted on 11/30/2020 7:23:10 AM PST by SJackson
Say the wrong thing on Facebook and lose your license and your business.
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism.
The National Association of Realtors claims to have 1.4 million members. There will be fewer members before long as the association begins purging conservative real estate agents.
At the center of the storm was an addition to Article 10 which covers various forms of discrimination. But unlike all the previous sections which addressed how real estate professionals interacted with customers, Article 10-5 is catchall cancel culture that controls what real estate agents say on social media on their own private accounts and in their free time.
This goes far beyond being made to bake a cake. Even if you’re at home and you post something opposed to gay marriage or illegal migration, you can lose your business.
As the NAR claims, a realtor's "speech and conduct reflect on the REALTOR® organization whether said publicly on a business social media profile, or privately on a personal one."
When you’re a real estate agent, you no longer have the right to personal opinions.
Article 10-5 immediately transformed 1.4 million people into subordinates at the mercy of NAR brass who have the authority to determine what political or religious views they can hold.
"It means that we never take our hands off, no matter where we are, no matter what we do, we are always licensed and we are always a member of the National Association of Realtors,” New York State Association of Realtors President Jennifer Stevenson warned.
Never taking your “hands off” is endemic to socialist tyrannies and has no place in America.
Jennifer is a Democrat donor. The NAR’s PAC directs a majority of its cash to Democrats. That included $3,000 to subsidize the bigotry of Rep. Ilhan Omar and $5,000 to Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
But that’s the kind of hatred that the National Association of Realtors is comfortable subsidizing.
“No matter where we are,” means never being able to say anything that offends someone like Jennifer without fear of being sanctioned, fired, or losing your business. Jennifer, an NAR board member, and others will be looking over your shoulder every time you post anything on Facebook. Any leftist offended by anything an NAR member posts has an easy recourse.
"Doesn’t this mean that if I post my opinion online and someone doesn’t agree with it, that I can lose my membership and be forced out of the business?" the NAR FAQ asks.
The answer is yes. Anyone can bring an “ethics” complaint which will lead to a “hearing” with “witnesses” and “counsel”. Posting that illegal migration is wrong or that Islamic terrorism is a threat can now lead to a real estate agent facing a hearing. And if they lose that hearing, then not only will they be expelled from the NAR, but the state real estate licensing authority will be told that the agent violated the "public trust" which can lead to the loss of their license.
Say the wrong thing on Facebook and lose your license, your business, and your livelihood.
The NAR is wrongly characterizing personal views that are privately expressed as “discriminating”, treating it as a violation of “ethics” in a commercial enterprise, and then reporting it to state licensing authorities as a violation of the “public trust”.
This is cancel culture on a national level by one of the country’s most abusive organizations which had already been sued by the Department of Justice for multiple antitrust violations.
What constitutes saying the wrong thing?
Article 10-5 bans “harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”
In an era when supporting President Trump is considered “hate speech”, how are these terms going to be defined? Exhibit 2 of Appendix XIII to Part Four of Article 10-5 of the NAR has an easy answer. Everything that some leftist doesn’t like now violates the NAR’s rules.
Hate speech is any speech that is "intended to insult, offend" because of "some trait". Any remarks that can be seen as "disparaging" or "shaming", or can be characterized as a form of "innuendo", about a protected group is covered under "epithets". That would cover the use of the term “illegal alien”, any discussion about Islamic terrorism, or transgender compulsion.
Harassment, for example, includes "inappropriate conduct, comment, display, action, or gesture based on another person’s sex, color, race, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and any other protected characteristic." And that in turn includes, "negative stereotyping" and "the display or circulation of written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility toward an individual or group."
That would, as a practical matter, include the Bible. And certainly particular Bible verses.
The National Association of Realtors has, for all intents and purposes, made quoting Bible verses on a private Facebook profile into an ethical violation leading to a hearing and expulsion.
The NAR board falsely claimed that these speech codes stem from fair housing legal obligations. They do not. Worse still, the NAR’s insistence that, “disparaging a particular protected class is evidence of one’s inability to treat them equally” is a troubling argument that would bar traditional Christians and Jews from membership in the National Association of Realtors. Likewise, Americans who oppose illegal migration, would also be banned.
Article 10-5 claims to be fighting discrimination, but is actually licensing discrimination against 200 million Americans, a much larger class than the ones the NAR claims to be protecting.
The NAR argues that, “bias against protected classes revealed through the public posting of hate speech could result in REALTORS® not taking clients from certain protected classes or not treating them equally, which would lead to violations of the Fair Housing Act.” What this really means is that real estate agents are being sanctioned for discrimination that never actually took place while assuming, for example, that because a traditional Christian or Jew opposes gay marriage that they would be presumed to discriminate against gay or lesbian customers.
Barring traditional religious people from a profession because they are presumed to biased is a bias and a much more egregious form of discrimination than the one it claims to be remedying.
The National Association of Realtors is imposing a political and religious test on members. It has moved the bar from policing interactions with customers to policing personal beliefs.
This is fundamentally un-American. Article 10-5 is McCarthyism wrapped in buzzwords.
Around the same time that the NAR was rolling out its speech codes, the Justice Department sued the group for multiple antitrust violations accusing it of anti-competitive behavior.
This isn’t the first time that the NAR has been sued over antitrust violations, but it should lead to action, if not at a federal level, then at a state level. In some states, not being a member of the NAR makes being a real estate agent all but impossible. In many, it makes it difficult.
As a socialist oligarchy squeezes conservatives out of public life, elected officials should fight back before it’s too late against the powerful institutions which have taken over American life. These institutions, financial, academic, corporate, and trade associations are engaging in a sustained campaign of political and religious suppression under the guise of fighting against discrimination. This campaign is the greatest form of discrimination in America in generations.
The only way to stop the squeeze is to squeeze the squeezers. If there’s no room for conservatives in the NAR, there should be no room for the NAR in conservative states.
If you understand contract law, agency law, and can navigate through the state, federal, and local legal disclosures that, if not done properly can get you sued, yes, you are capable of doing it yourself. If there is an owner carryback involved, what is the usury law in your state? If a seller violates that law in your state, you could be forced to return ALL interest paid on the note. Possibly provide a title policy? Who would ever buy any property without one? What do you tell the buyer about the condition of title if a reconveyance of an old loan was not recorded or you were unaware of an easement that shows up on title?
If you fail to disclose something about the property, in most states the statute of limitations is three or four years from the time of discovery of the problem.
I am not a realtor but I am a real estate broker who has specialized in exchanges, acquisitions, problem solving and consulting since 1977, mostly in commercial property. And I taught RE law and econ in college for ten years. Even I would at least pay a realtor a consulting fee to handle the legally required documents. They have error and omission insurance if something goes terribly wrong. In most states, the statute of limitations is typically three or four years from the time of discovery.
All that having been said, they are many in the real estate industry who are totally incompetent. And I will say whatever the hell I want on my Twitter because I will never be part of the NAR.
That was my plan as well.
I have talked to a lot of “Realtor's” and many if not most do not seem very knowledgeable about various subjects that you would think might be relevant. It feels like many acquired their knowledge from watching popular TV shows.
Human Rights Commission wants unelected tribunals to persecute businesses and churches that do not bow to their religious beliefs.
Used a realtor to buy my first house 40 years ago. Bought and sold twice since without using a realtor. Just used one to sell my last house because it was unusual and I thought he’d increase traffic/price. I was happy with the sale but he brought nothing of value to the table — in other words, I wouldn’t have been any worse for not using him and likely would have come out several thousand ahead.
Never again. They’re worthless and are waaaaaay overpaid for what they do. And at the end of the day, whether you’re a buyer or a seller, they’re only interested in their commission.
National Association of realtors caught lying about home sales
That is why I interviewed realtors. One of the questions was to provide a written outline of the sale process since we had owned the house for more than 20 years and so many things had become more complicated and potentially contentious or litigious.
You want a pretty one to do the selling but an old experienced one to be the lead agent if you do hire one. The one I got last time was both and she made a LOT of money at it in her business.
We were in a falling market that I expected to get worse, it did, and I wanted to get the place sold and move on with our lives into retirement. While other properties languished we put some money and effort into it, priced it realistically and sold it in just over 30 days. I was irritated with the offer but didn’t quibble over a few grand.
That was my wife’s dream house and I am sorry she had to leave it. Circumstances have left her with a nice nest but not nearly as nice as the one she had and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for that.
“The Money Pit” was an accurate portrayal. We remodeled a small house that was only about 20 years old but poorly built as we found out while doing the remodel. I could have just about built a new one for the money we spent. Additions, yes. Remodel, never again.
I guess people can get their money out of a restoration but I’ve not seen it in our neck of the woods.
You had to work your butt off to accomplish that much house in five years.
Our neighbors were selling their house, went on vacation, and we couldn’t figure out why lights were on all night...so we texted them...they got listing realtor in...someone had turned every light on AND disconnected a water line in kitchen, which caused flooding...cost them a lot to fix. ALWAYS be there (or close) when house is being shown.
We either sat in the back yard or went to the barn in inclement weather but made it clear we were still there.
Risk management is a product of consequence and probability. How many people are trustworthy or competent and how much can they screw up?
We also would not allow showings when we were out of town.
” how effective do you think the realtor is at screening? When we sold a house four years ago I interviewed realtors. Two out of the the four I felt were not trustworthy and a third was unprofessional if not incompetent.”
As a building contractor put it to me years ago, What kind of people do you think are going to be attracted to an industry where they can make the same kind of money as doctors and lawyers and only have to graduate high school and pass a test?
No one who has not tried to “restore” a large 120 year old house by himself has any idea the amount of work that it takes. I reproduced many hundreds of feet of woodwork by hand using a tablesaw and router. There wasn't a square corner or level floor in the entire house. 90% of the original woodwork had been torn out. The windows had been replaced with ugly single pane sliders in the late 1950s. Most of the original windows had rotted completely. There was not a room in the house that did not have severe water damage. The house should obviously have been leveled.
Even with the market which has doubled in just the last 3 years... we still would have done better if we had torn it down because it sits on 16,000 sq. ft. that could have been divided for little expense into five lots that are 30,000 sq ft lots that are currently selling for approximately $200,000 a piece.
The problem 5 years ago was that the property was worth a fraction of what it is now. 5000 sq ft. lots were selling for about $70,000 a piece. We had already planned on rerouting the driveway to fit the current plat and selling the house separately from the driveway. If we had gone to the trouble of tearing down the large old house we still would have had to pay to get rid of the debris. At that time the property was worth more with the house on it. I had no clue when I started that it would take me as long as I did, partially because I had to divide my time between two properties and partially because I ran into one challenge after another that took me several times longer than originally planned. And I grossly overestimated my abilities to get things done in a timely manner.
At this time there is no point crying over spilled milk. We have just about completed what is now a beautiful home. It is the oldest home standing on the street going by it NOrth or South. Hopefully it will still be standing long after I am gone.
And don’t even get me started on the plumbing and wiring that I had to replace basically everywhere. And the nonexistent insulation? Oh my! It just went on and on... every time I tore into anything two, three or four other projects presented themselves, each usually more involved than the original.
In another disturbing fact of life, stock brokers are about the very same.
The leading producer in a Merrill office in Houston had been selling at a discount jewelry place after he was no longer a house painter.
BTW, one realtor painted a picture of a desperate market, low balled the proposed asking price by about a third and had a reputation for buying distressed property and flipping them. He called me to see why I had not replied to his offer and I told him to get lost.
Agree completely. 6% commissions? Even other industries like online stock brokers now have zero commissions putting buyers and sellers together. I think there are online real estate services that have low commissions.
I think they are trying to push the country into a shooting war.
Request that all serious buyers provide a pre-approval letter from their lending institution.
Yes you can, the realtor does not do any of that. The lending institution for the buyer along with the title company does ALL of the paperwork. You can get a generic real estate sells contract off of the internet. All the lending institution needs is name/address of seller. name/address of buyer. Who is going to pay the next installment of property taxes, if there are any things you are leaving ( blinds, appliances etc), sell price, closing date and deposit. Freddie Mac loans are all the same. I worked in the mortgage industry for 18 years.
Depending on where the buying persons get their loan and if the title company is known, the title policy is usually very easy to get. Usually there is a mortgage and the sellers lending institution will have a copy of the title policy on file that they will provide to the new lending institution to update. Again the lending institution and title company does all of the leg and paper work. Let’s put it this way, in Indiana and Kentucky it is that way. We sold our first home by ourselves. My son just sold his house mentioning on FB that he was going to sell. Mentioned on Wednesday evening and had three people message him. The first ones bought it the next night after they looked at it.
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