'Shameless, dishonest ... it better not happen'
Letters to the Editor
By Inman News, Tuesday, November 18, 2008.Bookmarking Sites
Re: 'FSBO site channels listings to Realtor.com' (Nov. 14)
Dear Editor:
Speaking as a California licensed real estate broker, I find the following sentence quite telling in the controversy over whether ForSaleByOwner.com should be allowed to hijack the Realtor.com site for its self-serving and misleading agenda:
"ForSaleByOwner.com, a subsidiary of Chicago Tribune owner Tribune Co., informs clients in an online disclaimer that in order for their listings to appear on Realtor.com, 'you must indicate that you are willing to pay a buyer's agent 1 percent of the sale price of your home. However, by entering this agreement, you are not obligated to accept any offer or pay any commission.' "
This appears to be blatant and illegal price-fixing that we Realtors are well aware is off limits. We cannot conspire with fellow Realtors to agree on brokerage amounts to charge, so any action by the DOJ that allowed this opportunist law-breaker organization to do so would be very inconsistent and hypocritical, to say the least. They are merely trying to find a way to get away with representing themselves and their business model as something that it's not, for monetary gain. Shameless, dishonest and for the sale of all that is actually JUST, it better not happen.
Dick Hamer
Broker/owner
Regency Real Estate Brokers Inc.
Mission Viejo, Calif.
***
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Submitted by Peter Lake on November 18, 2008 - 5:55am.
Let's see: Trubune Company's telling it's users to lie in order to get their listings posted.
Great combination of a dishonest media company and dishonest customers.
They deserve one another.
Now, call the Justice Department.
Submitted by Lenn Harley on November 18, 2008 - 6:40am.
I don't believe that the statement by the Chicago Tribune advising consumers about commission violates any anti-anything. They are not real estate brokers, as far as I know. That said, I think the circuitous and deceptive manner in which FSBO sellers get their homes in the MLS and R.com are harmful to agents, brokers and consumers.
However, it must be understood by all, agents, brokers and the NAR that there is no one out there looking out for the interests of agents, brokers and NAR members.
The horse was let out of the barn and the barn door closed many years ago when the MLS feeds to Realtor.com commenced.
I don't fear ForSaleByOwner.com or any other FRINGE company in the real estate industry. They get good press, but still, after all these years are still FRINGE. Let the home owner do what he wishes. That have that right.
However, NAR and R.com should clean up the matter of EXCLUSIVE AGENCY listing being entered in our MLS. This is just another back door for FSBO sellers to get their home for sale in the MLSs.
Lenn Harley
Broker
Homefinders.com
http://www.homefinders.com
Submitted by Harry Mehlman on November 18, 2008 - 7:54am.
It's unbelieveable that REALTOR.com has been hijacked by ForSaleByOwner. It's for REALTORS. Period. Damn those lawyers!
Submitted by Robert A. Hulme on November 18, 2008 - 7:58am.
I continue to support having FSBO listings available to my home buyers. I have not had a problem negotiating a commission with FSBO's and I like the opportunity to have these homes available so that my clients can make an informed decision. As Lenn mentioned, they are a fringe company, given a proper presentation and helping seller to understand the value of using a Realtor, most of the FSBO's will continue to use Realtors to represent them.
Robert A. Hulme
Realtor, GRI, e-PRO
Prudential Utah Real Estate
robert@RobertHulme.com
www.UtahCountyRealEstate.us
www.UtahCountyHomes.ws
Blog : www.UtahHomes.ws
801-885-2586
Submitted by Bart Wilson on November 18, 2008 - 8:51am.
Showing FSBOs to potential home buyers is just another part of the what the top 10% agents do. Sure, some FSBOs will insist on working it alone or with an attorney, but at the end of the day let's face the facts.
Many REALTORS are starving. For many of us -- the Buyers Market sucks.
What's wrong with letting FSBOs get some exposure on Realtor.com or any other real estate portal?
Many FSBOs who go it alone alone will buy the 88 cent orange and black lettered FOR SALE sign, stick it to a vampire stake and put this in their yard and they run an ad in the local Thrifty Nickel or newspaper. This is no way to market or sell a home.
Most of these FSBOs become disenchanted within 60 days and then seek the help of a licensed REALTOR anyway.
I spoke to Move.com yesterday on the phone. He admitted there are FSBOs on Realtor.com but they are in fact represented by either a full service or a discount service broker.
Bart Wilson
Founder & CMO
Voyager International
Submitted by Joe Hildebrand on November 18, 2008 - 10:12am.
I am not sure there is a violation of the Sherman Anti Trust laws as these guys aren't brokers but I am also not sure that they have to be brokers for it to be a violation. That whole argument is moot as far as I am concerned.
What is of interest to me is why NAR and R.com allow it at all let alone a discussion. I just renewed my annual dues and paid a handsome price to do it. Part of the increase is to pay for the media campaign to "Trust a Realtor!" By allowing the FSBO's access they are implying it is fine not to trust a realtor in the market the public needs us most.
More importantly, I wonder how this infusion of cash will work out for R.com. Will it help lower my fees for showcase listings and what not next year? I highly doubt it! At some point NAR has to realize their Realtor base is their CLIENT NOT THE PUBLIC. The public is the Realtor base's CLIENT. NAR SHOULD be looking out for us. They should be advocating for us. It shouldn't be that hard to see.
As for the argument that people like seeing the FSBO's because it helps them better serve their client: BULL FECES! My experience has been 90% of those people listed in R.com as FSBO or entry only are a waste of time. Your calls go unreturned, it is impossible to gain access to show, and is in general a complete waste of time! I have better luck going off yard signs and Craigslist. Craigslist by the way has been a better avenue and appropriate resource for this kind of information. In fact, Craigslist and some of the other online sites are making it easier for some to simply walk away from R.com and their high fees.
joe hildebrand
Denver, CO
Submitted by Bruce Hahn on November 18, 2008 - 4:16pm.
American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance
The sentence regarding the 1% commission is totally unnecessary and should be ommitted (the second sentence is useful information and should be retained). Commissions are negotiable, so home sellers should be allowed to choose any percentage or amount they are willing to pay a buyers agent, including zero and TBD (to be determined). All you need is a box with "buyers broker commission, if any" next to it and let the seller put in whatever they want.
The only requirement is that the listing broker be a NAR member, and that requirement would be satisfied if they were a NAR list only broker only. If the eventual buyer is unrepresented, a buyers agent commission is irrelevant anyway. If the buyer has a contractual obligation to pay an exclusive buyers agent, the buyer can either propose in his offer that the seller pay his agent's commission, or else adjust the amount offered to compensate for the difference.
Submitted by Kristin Noll-Marsh on November 18, 2008 - 5:24pm.
These aren't "FSBOs" listed on Realtor.com.
They are sellers listed with a limited service contract.
They ARE listed with a broker. They just are paying a flat fee for one service - inclusion in the MLS - instead of a commission for "full" service.
Sellers should have a choice of the level of services they want to pay for and apparently this is the bare minimum they can get.
Guess the secret is out to sellers! We all know that the market is just like 5 years ago and all you have to do to sell your house is list it in the MLS, right?
And if you still believe that, then you're not worth your commission.
http://bestmilwaukeehomes.com