Texas real estate commissioners decided to postpone their decision about a rule change that would limit fee-for-brokerage business models after receiving a letter from the Department of Justice Antitrust Division urging them to reject the proposed regulation. The National Assn. of REALTORS®, emboldened by the fact that the DOJ issued a letter rather than a lawsuit, said this week that the "warning" constitutes de facto lobbying for limited service brokers. Says Laurie Janik, counsel for NAR:
"So why would a powerful organization like the DOJ resort to lobbying instead of flat-out threatening the state commissions with a lawsuit? Because that's all they can do. If the state commission is clarifying a rule already passed by the state legislature, the DOJ has no power to sue.
"They absolutely can not, and if you read the
letters to the commission, they are lobbying their opinions -- they can not sue the state. The limited service brokers are getting free lobbying at taxpayer's expense."
Will NAR's "double dare ya" approach work? Stay tuned.
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