TheREALTYgram Blogger

Maybe If I Can Master An Artful Demi-PliéI Can Call Myself A Real Estate 'Consultant'

I am getting ready to take a class in real estate consultancy. There is growing consumer demand for real estate services that are "unbundled" and consultancy is clearly an option that we need to review and develop as a business model. There's only one small problem. In Pennsylvania it is ILLEGAL for a real estate agent who is not a broker to use the dirty "C" word. Seems the PA State Real Estate Commission says real estate consultancy is an "art", according to attorney Ray J. Michalowski, Esq:

"The Commission recently ruled on whether licensed real estate salespersons may refer to themselves as real estate 'consultants' in an advertisement. Although there is little doubt that salespersons routinely provide services to their clients that constitute 'consulting' as that word is defined in plain English, the Commission has held that 'consultant' is a term of art in real estate and may only be used by licensed real estate brokers.

"The Commission’s view is based on the definition of 'Broker' found in the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act (RELRA), which defines a 'Broker' as someone who 'represents himself to be a real estate consultant, counselor, agent or finder.' An important question is raised by this definition; does this also mean that salespersons can no longer refer to themselves as 'agents'?

"Don’t panic, because while the terms 'consultant,' 'counselor' and 'finder' are off limits for salesperson advertising, the term agent is probably still safe to use.

"This is because the definition of 'Broker' is repeated in the Commission’s regulations and contains a minor, but significant difference stating that a 'Broker' is someone who 'represents himself or itself as a real estate consultant, counsellor or finder.' The word “agent” is absent from this version of the definition of “Broker”. In addition, the common use of the term “agent” to identify both brokers and salespersons in the real estate industry, and if fact throughout RELRA itself, make it very unlikely that any salespersons will be prosecuted for calling themselves 'agents'."

Well, it's resassuring to know we're not headed to the hoosegow if we call ourselves agents!

Don't Those Guys At The DOJ Have Better Things To DoThan Surf The Web Like Peeping Toms?

Booby-trapped online by a  REALTOR....betcha the DOJ won't like that! Scanning my web stats this morning I noticed that I had a visitor from the U.S. Dept. of Justice. That came as no surprise since the DOJ is here regularly. What was interesting this time is that they were visiting The Fat Lady Blog and landed there via a Google search for Boobs!!! 

"Domain Name usdoj.gov ^? (United States Government) IP Address 149.101.1.# (US Dept of Justice) ISP US Dept of Justice...Time of Visit May 5 2006 11:17:42 am ...Referring URL http://images.google...%3Fq%3Dboobs%26start Search Engine images.google.com Search Words boobs Visit Entry Page http://therealtygram...fatladyblog/2005/07/"

That's our taxpayer dollars at work! I wonder if they're doing their real estate research between boobs? Nobody can say the DOJ doesn't have its share of boobs!

Capitol Hill Ponders Katrina Relief Legislation;'Shall We Throw Them A Lifeline Or Let Them Drown?'

Mississippi and Louisiana lawmakers in Congress are drafting Katrina relief legislation that would offer hurricane victims additional protection when new bankruptcy laws go into effect next month.

Katrina victims recently fell prey to mighty credit card champion and Judiciary chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), who refused to hold hearings to address relief for Katrina victims. Thirty-one Congressional Democrats had voiced support for waiving the more onerous provisions of the new law for Katrina victims "to insure that we do not compound a natural disaster with a man made financial disaster."

Under the new bankruptcy legislation, homeowners' exemptions from liability are much more limited than in the past. As previously reported, many homeowners who have refinanced their homes will be shocked to find that under the new bankruptcy act, they are liable for the full value of their home if it is destroyed.

The bankruptcy "reform" law restricts home equity protection to $125,000, if the buyer bought the house within four years of filing for bankruptcy.

The measure Sensenbrenner blocked would "prevent new bankruptcy provisions from having adverse and unintended consequences for the hundreds of thousands now facing financial catastrophe by providing needed flexibility for victims of natural disasters in bankruptcy proceedings," Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), Mel Watt (D-NC), and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said in a joint statement.

Gay, Single Man Prevails In Discrimination CaseAgainst Long and Foster Real Estate In Virginia

  "In the first case of its kind, the Alexandria [VA] Human Rights Commission unanimously agreed Monday night that Long & Foster Real Estate Co. discriminated against a single gay man who wanted to buy a home in a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood," reports the Washington Post. The commission's decision was unanimous, although it remains unclear whether the ruling was made based upon the city's human rights code violations relating to family status or sexual orientation. The basis for the decision will be made public in 30 days. Thanks to Inman Blog for the story.

'Stop Soliciting Or We'll Take Your License',Empire State Warns Real Estate Agents

A special Cease and Desist list in New York lets owners of one- to four-unit dwellings register to avoid unsolicited calls, mail and all solicitation by real estate agents, according to The New York Times. Offending agents risk fines and license revocation. The ban also covers all fliers, mailings, and door hangers.

"No other states have active non-solicitation laws like this one, aimed squarely at real estate brokers, said Bruce Stuart, the program counsel for the state's Division of Licensing Services. A similar law was passed in Illinois but was struck down as unconstitutional.

"New York's list faced the same challenges. Almost immediately after it was passed, the New York State Assn. of REALTORS^® sued to quash it, arguing it violated brokers' free-speech rights. They called the restrictions draconian, and said the rules forced them to pull name after name painstakingly from their mass-mailing lists.

" 'Precluding real estate brokers from making information available was a failed attempt at keeping the status quo,' said Charles M. Staro, executive director, NYSAR. 'Insurance companies and cable companies could mail in, but we couldn't.'

"But in 2002, the state Court of Appeals ruled against the real estate agents, and there have been no substantive legal challenges since." -- The New York Times

Some People's Old News Is Still News To Me

Great site! The Electronic Frontier Foundation says: "If you're a blogger, this website is for you. EFF's goal is to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues you may confront as a blogger, to let you know you have rights, and to encourage you to blog freely with the knowledge that your legitimate speech is protected. To that end, we have created the Legal Guide for Bloggers, a collection of blogger-specific FAQs addressing everything from fair use to defamation law to workplace whistle-blowing."

Hot Property Chicago Edition Hires Legal EaglesTo Pow Wow With Telelvision Execs About Title

When will that Hot Property title ever get a rest? The Chicago REALTOR® and owner of HotPropertyOnline sent his attorneys to complain to ABC about their new television show with the same name, according to Inman Blog. In the meantime, there's nary a peep from McGraw Hill about returning the Hot Property blog title to the blogger who coined the phrase and used it for over a year before they appropriated it.

NAR Pushing Dangerous Health Care Bill

I'm puzzled that The National Assn. of REALTORS^® continues to support legislation that so clearly endangers the well being of its ranks and file and consumers. Here's information the "Bill of the Week" that NAR supports.

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Is David Barry Losing Steam In His Quest? Are Those Windmills Or MLS's In His Path?

Attorney David Barry has a web site with facts about his Open MLS Project. Barry's recent legal setbacks in California and Florida are not reflected on the web site. Will he return to the legal arena to face a new foe? Will we be asking, "Will the world be better for this, that one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove...?"

Portly Citizenry Enjoys Equal Rights By StatuteIn Michigan, California, District of Columbia

I have been a REALTOR^®  in Bethlehem, PA for some 21 years. I have worked on local and state committees dealing with Fair Housing and I have been an outspoken advocate of fair housing and civil rights for many years. Do you know that Weight is a "protected class" in certain areas of the country? The following are Discrimination Factoids:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 declares that all persons within the United States have a right to employment free from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It has been used in weight discrimination cases where weight standards are applied differently to different protected classes (e.g. women and men), and where weight standards have an adverse impact on a protected class.
• The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against an otherwise qualified individual with handicaps, solely on the basis of that handicap, in any program which receives federal assistance.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) extends the protection against discrimination on the basis of disability to the private sector.
• State of Michigan: Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act, Act 453 of 1976, Sec. 209, bans discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, age sex, height, weight, or marital status. (Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 37.2102 (1985 & Supp. 1993).
• Santa Cruz, CA (July 1992), defines unlawful discrimination as "differential treatment as a result of that person's race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sex gender, sexual orientation, height, weight, or physical characteristic".
• District of Columbia, Human Rights Law Subchapter II, Sec. 1-2512, outlaws discrimination in employment based upon "race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, physical handicap, matriculation, or political affiliation". (D.C. Code Ann. § 1-2501 (1987 & Supp. 1993).
• San Francisco, CA (June, 2000) passed a law specifically outlawing discrimination against people based on their weight.