Some brokers don’t like me raining on our parade

(Flickr photo by Mr. Jincks)

I get it, really I do.

Brokers receive enough bad press that the last thing we need is criticism from within.  So goes the conventional wisdom.

I respectfully disagree.

It’s not that anyone has confronted me, but I’ve seen posts on other blogs complaining about brokers who complain about brokers.  Also, a broker friend of mine has spoken disapprovingly of the practice in general terms.

Possibly the best evidence I have is the resounding silence from all but a couple of the many brokers who read my blog.

The fact is that two things motivate my approach.  One is my irrepressible (and not particularly desirable) willingness to find fault in others while, at the same time, recognizing that I am far from blameless in many respects.

Second and most important, I view our state regulators and broker organizations as essentially toothless, or at least casual, about enforcing ethical and lawful behavior.

When I was a broker in the Washington, D.C. area, there were regularly published the names, offenses and punishments of brokers who crossed the line.  Here, I can think of one instance (having to do with lapsed licenses) of the promulgation of broker lapses, and that was because a publication took the initiative to seek it out.

(A second instance that was a widely known involved a case of discrimination, but that was brought by federal authorities charged with enforcing the Fair Housing Act, which covers lenders, landlords and others besides real estate professionals.)

Perhaps I missed other enforcement actions or am unaware of notices, but I come down to believing that if we in real estate sales fail to police ourselves, no one else will.

Tomorrow: Poor “June” is drowning

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Malcolm Carter
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
Senior Vice President
Charles Rutenberg Realty
127 E. 56th Street
New York, NY 10022

M: 347-886-0248
F: 347-438-3201

Malcolm@ServiceYouCanTrust.com
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