Idaho is Forcing out Real Estate Brokers who Want to Give you a Break

Idaho is making it Mandatory that Realtors, Real Estate Brokers have an office and be available to write up offers at any given moment.

If not well then you don’t get to be a Real Estate Broker in Idaho. This, to me, is a sign that the Association of Realtors is pressuring the State Board that Regulates Real Estate licensing, into making it harder for non-Realtors and Realtors who have online brokerages, or are multi-state brokerages and give you the same or better service then you local Realtor, making it illegal - impossible for these folks to Stay in Business. Idaho is also a State that has mandatory E an O insurance which, to me is Real Estate Fraud at a very high level.

The E and O insurance is to protect the Realtor and is not “intended” to protect the Real Estate Consumer. So why in the world would your State Governing Body that regulates the Real Estate Licensee make it Mandatory for your “Realtor” to have E and O Insurance. To me, this is serious corruption and downright fraud. And many states are following suite. Your State Real Estate Board, or Real Estate Commission, whatever your State Calls it, they are pushed around, strong armed and well, in my opinion CONTROLLED by the Association of Realtors.
And they saying being a Realtor is not Mandatory.

The Only way to STOP all of this bad stuff happening to the Real Estate Consumer is to STOP using a Realtor to Sell your Real Estate.

Crystal L. Cox
Real Estate Broker Owner
Real Estate Industry Whistleblower
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REALTOR - good For Business.. bad For Consumers.
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What is the Real Difference between Selling without a Realtor and Selling as a FSBO.

Many Feel that using a Realtor, an NAR member, in their real estate transaction that they are offered more protection somehow. I am not sure exactly what this protection is. I do know why the public feels that way. Real Estate Consumers feel this way because of the ads, the propaganda and the literature the Realtors put out.

The Truth is you have more protection if you do not use a Realtor in Selling Your Home.
Why do I say this? Well, VERY long story short here, the Realtors have Ethics and Standards of Practice, so, in theory they are of a Higher Quality or High Standard then a non-Realtor member, however in the Real World of Real Estate they are not held to those Ethics and Standards of Practice so what good are they.

Realtors, in theory are trained in things about real estate that should help you through your real estate transaction, help you sell your home, help you write up your real estate contract and in this, be able to protect your interests along the way. However, we are not really taught this stuff. Realtor forms are very standard and given to Realtors by the Association of Realtors, they are perfected over years in all the ways that may come up that are needed to protect the Realtor.

I have seen For Sale by Owners go to closing with For Sale by Owner forms that are half a page and have very little information on them, there really is no need for Realtor forms to be so detailed. You may think that it is for your protection but when you have seen the lawsuits I have seen you know that these forms contain loophole after loophole in the event that you catch your Realtor lying, failing to disclose, or harming you financially.

Many do not believe me, many argue with me daily, however, I speak not from what all Realtors see, learn or believe to be true, but I speak from what I have personally seen as a Real Estate Broker Owner in several states, having belonged to several MLS, association of Realtors and having seen some pretty shocking lawsuits and situations that the Real Estate Consumer has been in.

Whereby the Realtor was flat out wrong, failed to disclose which the buyer had proof of, lied about the size or location of a property, lied about lake access and never had to be accountable in any way. And by “any way” I mean no financial compensation, no Ethics violations, no State Real Estate Commission punishment or warning of any kind, no legal action of any kind, no Standard of Practice Violation and certainly no local association reprimanding of any kind.

Many Realtor email me, and often telling me how wrong I am, the thing is folks, this is not some idea I have of how things are. This is not something I read or imagined the way it would be. This is what I have personally seen and experienced being a “Realtor”. Though many like to argue with me, it really is not up for debate, it is the Truth, I have seen it. It may not be this way in your world, and the Realtors in your Good Town, USA may not be like this.

But in my opinion it does not matter, if the Association of Realtors is what the problem is and if they are the ones making those forms, fighting for mandatory E and O, failing to hold members to Ethics and Standards of Practice, well then this issue is global. It is everywhere that “Realtor” is and they are International.

Good Realtors have a very tough time protecting you from the System that is in place.
Really I see no reason at all not to find a buyer online, without a Realtor, get your local Title Company to close the deal and your done. Yes you need to make sure your contracts are done right, you need to double check things on the contract. However, you should look over and double check EVERY detail whether you have a Realtor or not. So why Pay More?

It does not matter what the Real Estate Buy Sell says, for example if a stove is to be left in the sale, you better make sure it is there the day of closing. If the buy sell says you have lake access, for example, this is by no means proof that there really is lake access. I have seen Realtors put this on a buy sell, put it on advertising and even show the access and come to find out it never existed and the Realtor was NEVER held accountable, oh well the Buyer Should have known right.

Things like this must be proven, you must have a legal recorded document proving this. I would also talk to your future neighbors, talk to the person whose land the easement is across. If a conflict is going to come up it is better to come up before they have your money right. This is just one example, truly many things can come up and the Realtor is not looking out for your best interest, many don’t know how. It is always best that you are looking out for your best interest whether you have a Realtor or not.

You have to Pay for Title Work anyway, you have to pay for your closing agent and title insurance whether you use a Realtor or not, so why ad this on to what your already giving away of your hard earned equity.

Many use a Realtor because they say, hey that’s what they do, leave it up to the professionals. This is so not true and this is not the best way to go. What if you can get the same price without a Realtor, and not have to go through that stress and have more protection in the long run. Many folks make good money using a Realtor, many of my clients did. However, I did not have their back as I thought I did when I joined the Association of Realtors.

I could not protect my clients, I could not count on other Realtors really following those Ethics I was so excited about. And the Association of Realtors certainly did not make them follow the Ethics, so I quickly learned that being a Realtor, and NAR member was nothing more then a come on to get membership so we could pay for accreditations, pay for dues, pay for classes and be part of the Realtor Army fighting and Lobbying AGAINST the Real estate consumer while making a living from the sweat equity of the real estate consumer.

All this and it was ILLEGAL for me to give cash back to my buyers and sellers. It was illegal to give big gifts. A deliberate campaign to KEEP consumers down, and it continues.

So to end this post, I just want to say, I too, once believed in using Realtors, I believed it was best for you and I really believed I was providing a service of a “Higher Standard” but truly it was and still is impossible to do so. But you still pay those high commissions for a quality, professional service that you don't really get.

Consumers still believe Realtor is the way to go, Realtors continue to put BIG money in to making sure you think this and in lobbying Government agencies to FORCE their way into your lives, but for those looking for a different way, I have this blog to help you understand what really goes on behind the closed doors of your real estate transaction.

Knowledge is Power.

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Is it Worth It to Pay for Title Insurance ?

I believe title insurance is just another way to get your money and provide no real service. I have seen properties change hands with a different legal then the Seller was Selling.
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Title Reports cover a Legal Description supposedly and not an address, property type or certain acreage.
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I have seen the Title Report / Title Insurance Miss huge debt / liens on a property. I had to bring it to their attention, Shocking But True.
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And some Realtors PUSH for you to buy an additional title insurance for the time of escrow, apparently some Title Companies are too lazy or don't include in their HUGE fees to check for debt more then once, so they check in the begining, and hope for the best. If you want them to check before the Actual closing then you have to pay more. Kind of makes a good case for a quick closing.
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If this is NOT true then why sell an additional Title Insurance for the time of escrow in case there is other debt. Seriously I had a Seller that was buying in Washington, the Listing Realtor was in Idaho but the property was in Washington, she, the Realtor tried to make the buyer pay for additional Title Insurance to cover the escrow period.
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Talk about Scams. And why was the Realtor even involved in pushing MORE Title Insurance on to the Real Estate Consumer.

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