Sacramento Real Estate

As a Broker and Realtor licensed in the State of California I am hereby, requesting that the good State of California begin to revamp their system for tracking predators especially those that are Realtors. Checking with finger printing only once when a Realtor first obtains their real estate license is not adequate. It must be done at a minimum of once per year. And in my opinion should be continually checked. In this age of automation, there is no excuse for the system to allow predators access to a homeowner's place of residence. Once a teacher has been labeled a predator, their license is removed and NEVER reinstated.

I am taking a stand whether popular or not and hope that each Realtor takes his or her stand in the State that they received their license in as well. This is an important issue and if we won't do it, who will? It's time to let our collective voices be heard. We may not be able to make a difference in all arenas where predators lay in wait but at least in the Real Estate field, we should let our resounding voices be heard. A defeatist attitude did not get us where we are today nor should it be something that we tolerate.

The ease of licensing in the State of California is appalling and needs revamping on all levels. I firmly stand on these issues and will continue to look out after the consumer's best interest. Recent media coverage in Sacramento concerning a seller who listed her home for sale with a sexual predator has prompted my involvement in speaking out on this issue. The public is not aware, for the most part who the entitiy is that currently handles investigating whether a Realtor is or has been a criminal. Nor is the public aware of the guidelines that the State uses to determine the waiting period for relicensing if a criminal background is found.  

Although, websites have sexual predators listed, such as Megan's Law sites, it is not conclusive. It is time to shout and let the State know that we won't stand for this and demand to have access to fully documented, up-to-date information.

Recently, our news station, KCRA has posted an excellent link on their website for tracking criminal activity in your given area, it is called Crime Tracker. However, the information is only for the City of Sacramento not the County of Sacramento. It's a good starting point and I hope in the near future the surrounding cities within the Sacramento County area will feed into this data base of valuable information. Information is knowledge, it's what we do with the information that counts!

As a member of the National Association of Realtors, I would like to see an Article added Under Duties to the Public in our Code of Ethics; wherein as a Realtor we guarantee the public that we have not engaged in criminal activities. The public deserves the best from us and we deserve to demand that our fellow Realtors uphold the highest moral and ethical standards.