Letters to the editor
Posted on Monday, July. 07, 2008


Realtor rejects writer's
'poison pen' accusations

On June 23, Business Monday published a poison-pen letter written by a bitter person who wishes to blame all of America's current real-estate discomforts on collusion between mortgage brokers, appraisers, and especially Realtors, who apparently convinced millions of buyers to pay too much for their homes.

His letter must not go unanswered. For about 15 years, I've served on both the grievance and professional standards committees for the South Broward Board of Realtors, and in all that time, I never saw one complaint from buyers stating that their Realtor caused them to overpay.

And, as an expert witness in disputes and lawsuits involving Realtor ethics and malpractice, I received only one inquiry over the years on this issue, and I referred the attorney to a forensic appraiser for help.

Despite the writer's dark claims, nearly all Realtors are very concerned about maintaining ethical and honest standards in our conduct. After all, we have reputations to protect.

As for those few Realtors who put their personal interests above duty, Florida statutes, and the Code of Ethics that we are all sworn to uphold, well, there are established procedures to confront and discipline them. It's not pretty when the Board of Realtors, the Real Estate Commission, and a jury all find against a Realtor.

Finally, the writer was correct in stating that home prices are returning to normal market levels, which seem to be prices found in 2004.


Larry Lowenthal