I'm sorry, but don't realtors have to take an ethics class, and swear to this code of ethical behaviour, to get their license? I guess if it's not a law, nobody cares.
If Beazer is paying 13% of the BUYER'S money to the agent (must be true - the President of the realtors association admits to this "bribery"), this is not only unethical if not disclosed, but if I was a buyer who found out ex post facto, I'd sue. In addition, I call on Linda Rheinberger, president of the GLVRA, to put out an urgent note to her membership requiring this bribery to be disclosed by her members to all prospective buyers.
Here's the ugliness from Vegas, the gem about the commissions, and a new ticking time bomb - investors who bought crappy condo conversions, held them for 12 months for tax reasons and are now dumping them on the market:
The number of homes for sale in Las Vegas topped 20,000 in June, an all-time high and up 32 percent from the same month a year ago, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Thursday.
"I actually thought the stats would be worse because home builders have gone crazy with their incentives," said Linda Rheinberger, president of the Realtors association. She said Beazer Homes was "bribing" brokers with commissions of 11 percent to 13 percent on standing inventory.
"You're certainly not going to pooh-pooh the new-home market. You're going to show your clients everything," she said.
Smith said a lot of the condos and townhomes that have come up for sale are apartment conversions that have been held by investors for a 12-month period to get capital gains treatment and have never been inhabited.
July 08, 2006
Now THIS should be illegal: Beazer Homes in Vegas bribing realtors with 11% to 13% commissions
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I hear the Realtwhore commercial several times a day, on radio and TV, telling me how ethical realtors are. If you have to keep reminding me over and over of something, I am not going to believe it. Sounds like People's Republic Of China. Sure.
I don't see any reason this 'should be illegal'.
It's a free market and Beazer can pay any commission it wants!
There is a Housing Bubble but Realtors are salespeople and 11% and 13% commission, compared with other salespeople, is quite reasonable. On top of that, they could offer 50% commission but no one is going to buy a condo in Vegas at this time so the commission is meaningless.
Being from Vegas, I should point that Linda Rheinberger has been touted as a gubernatorial candidate for Nevada. No, I'm serious, this is no joke! Could you imagine Lereah for president? Uhh.. nevermind.
It's only unethical if say you have the Beazer home paying 11% and you have 4 other homes that are of equal comparison offering 3% to the buyers broker, and one home comparable paying only 1%... If you (as and agent) choose not to show your client the home that pays you only 1%. Especially if the buyers are aware of that listing and want to be shown that home.
Now if a buyer says to a realtor show me 5 homes today that fit this criteria but has no idea of the homes available on the market, guess which home probably doesnt' make the list?? It's human nature.
It's not anyone else here would do anything different. You wouldn't go to your boss and tell them to pay you minimum wage for the last two weeks, would you?? If your boss offered you a pay cut or a pay increase for doing the very same job, which choice do you make??
If a realtor says they won't show you a home that you want to see because it does not pay enough commission, then he/she is being unethical and you should file a complaint against him/her with the department of real estate.
If you really like that Beazer home and want to negotiate a better price, do it. Then ask your realtor to make their own agreement with Beazer for say 6% and have Beazer reduce the price again 5%. I can't think of a realtor that wouldn't be thrilled with that idea. To be honest, it's what I'd do as a realtor.
The commission is a write off to the home builder and it's a last gasp before they'll HAVE to slice prices.
If I wanted that Beazer home or even any other new home in that area, I'd take a copy of that article and negotiate directly with the builder. Why split the savings with some greedy realtor?
Thank God for the internet. I don't need a realtor anymore.
Beazer should attempt to bribe buyers with another 13% price reduction.
It is 12 noon AZ (and CA) time on Saturday, check out the awful people touting the wonderful Phoenix real estate investment market on this radio station right now. It runs for 2 hours. I promise that you will feel ill.
http://www.kknt960.com/
click the thread header - I fixed the broken link
here's my beef. you assume as the buyer that your realtor will work for you and will get their 3%. If they're getting a spiff from a builder to sucker you into their place vs. something else, that's unethical if they don't disclose their conflict of interest
but hey, realtors (in general) are the scum of the earth when it comes to ethics. the fact that the president of the las vegas realtor's association readily admits to the press that her people are being bribed (and she's doing nothing to stop it) shows how deeply wrong this is.
period. full stop.
It is 12 noon AZ (and CA) time on Saturday, check out the awful people touting the wonderful Phoenix real estate investment market on this radio station right now. It runs for 2 hours. I promise that you will feel ill.
I almost threw up when one of the asshats said "I don't know why you would ever pay off a 30 year loan, because of the tax benefits"
Would you rather have a house free and clear, or a mortgage with a tax benefit???
Serenity Now!!
Sometimes you make the stupidist statements.
Illegal? lol
Don't use a realtor and you know you can offer Beazer 20% off and probably get a response.
Would you rather have a house free and clear, or a mortgage with a tax benefit???
Serenity Now!!
There would never be any talk of a bubble if we lived in a society that did not reward debt.
The tax benifit needs to be taken away, or at least cut in half (Most morons don't know but it actually has been - the standard deduction is so large that the tax benifits don't exist for most people until after the first $80,000 of debt). But the pumping of tax benifits just keeps going on and on and on.
Keith... It's in the press, it's hardly a secret. It is not a conflict of interest, unless the buyers agent only shows them beazer homes while the buyer wants to see other homes of similar comparision that don't pay 11% or whatever.
Again, if you have the chance to do a job that normally pays you $300 and you are given a choice of doing the same job for either $100, $300, or $1000... which do you choose??
I'm in favor of filing complaints against realtors for being unethical. All anyone has to do is find a comparable home to a beazer home that isn't paying 11%. Ask a realtor to show both properties, if the realtor won't show you the normal commissioned property they are being unethical. File a complaint.
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