Shocking Things In The Works Facing Realtors and Home Seller-Buyers

One of my friends, an old dude like me who's been involved in real esate for eons, called the other day.  Here's what he told me:

• Bank lobbyist are pushing for legislation which will prohibit a person who owns a home from selling it and taking back the mortgage.  The buyer will have to get his financing through a commercial, licensed lender.
• Soon it will be impossible for mortgage brokers to remain in business; all or the majority of the loans will be required to be made through a borrower's commercial banking relationship.
• The new rules requiring appraisers to be retained from a pool that is controlledby a third-party "appointment service" has a) raised the cost of the appraisals to the buyer and b) lowered the amount the appraiser nets.  For an example, Wells Fargo owns a company that is one of the newly required appraisal "booking agencies."  They charge upwards of $500 for an appraisal for which they pay the appraiser $200 to $300. It's projected Wells Fargo will net $500,000,000 the first year from this riskless venture.

Whether or not I have reported this precisely and totally accurately isn't the point.  That banks and their lobbyist continue to tinker with the real estate business is the point.  Taking free enterprises out of the components of loans is a bad idea.  Making the rules more complex and the time to close a transaction longer is not to the public's benefit, much less Realtors.'

There are an enormous number of people -- Realtors -- paying dues to local, state and national associations.  Do those groups not understand that their most important charge is to represent us as a group before lawmakers?

 

BILL CHERRY, REALTORS

DALLAS - PARK CITIES

Our 45th Year

214 503-8563

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