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chaz, if it means that people living in the "areas" we are discussing can have improved home values and therefore improved living values, then I guess my license doesn't mean much to me. It's about time all Realtors stop living in fear of Big Brother and start taking the risks to make all people truly equal in every way. People who may read my attempt to correct a wrong as a illegal act chill my heart. My family is mixed race and I want my cousin's adopted child to have every opportunity possible without regard to his mixed racial genetics.
When people are afraid to think, talk, and debate, governments have and are taking charge.
Actually to be more accurate...Realtors were a BIG cause of the demise of many cities, especially in NYC. Anyone that has their licence knows why "Blockbusting" is now illegal....as well as "Churning." The fact is not that it is in Realtor's best interest to have black property values at parity with their white counterparts...having black neighborhoods increase in property value by 20% is not nearly as lucrative as scaring white people into selling their homes and having a cut of the sales activity...rather than simply keeping neighborhoods stable and increasing property values for black neighborhoods.
Realtors would have you buy and sell 25x a year if it were up to them because that is the ONLY way they make money....they make no money when property values go up (or down for that matter). However they do know that creating sales activity, either by real or preceived threats to the community, will cause activity to occur where there was none before..so whether prices are high or lower....is irrelevant...as the ONLY way they make money is on people selling (and of course people buying..even at lower prices.)
Selling a home for $200,000 x 6% commission = 12,000.
Selling a home for $150,000 x 6% commission = 9,000. Not much of a differnence!! The only difference is that although prices were lower...they would rather have lots of people sell and decrease prices because they still get paid..just a little less(like buying in bulk at Costco versus paying retail at the supermarket).
It is in Realtors best interest for people to sell at just about every price...because they will get paid marginally less as the price goes down while you (the owner) gets ALOT less. They want to close a deal and that's about it...and they have worked hard at destroying communities.
chaz, if it means that people living in the "areas" we are discussing can have improved home values and therefore improved living values, then I guess my license doesn't mean much to me. It's about time all Realtors stop living in fear of Big Brother and start taking the risks to make all people truly equal in every way. People who may read my attempt to correct a wrong as a illegal act chill my heart. My family is mixed race and I want my cousin's adopted child to have every opportunity possible without regard to his mixed racial genetics.
When people are afraid to think, talk, and debate, governments have and are taking charge.
Tom - I regret the words I posted were read to make it seem you and I disagree about much. We likely don't. We both work hard every day to defend and support both the letter and the spirit of the fair housing statutes...and to support equal housing opportunity.
Warm that heart back up!
In VT quite recently, every single licensee was required to attend special fair housing training, which seems to me a very good thing. My State government doesn't seem to be over-reaching to require careful and thorough training on the part of those allowed to hold real estate licenses. The fact that not every RE licensee in the state was, prior to the training, acting in accordance with the fair housing laws chills MY heart. So in light of our history as a nation, and as imperfect professionals, I may be willing to endure extra scrutiny in order that we accept no less than ideal standards of fairness and so forth.
I'm more likely to see big brother at work when individual citizens are constrained in some way than when the State of VT requires certain standards of those it issues professional licenses to. And I'll happily accept the much more strict standards and practices the NAR imposes too - it's a voluntary organization after all, and a pretty good one as these things go...
Thanks for being willing to raise this important issue here.
Guy, while in effect, your thesis may hold some truth, I don't know of one Realtor anywhere whose intention was to destroy. We, as an industry, may have unintentionally destroyed a few areas as you describe, but we have created far more demand. It is this demand that created millions of jobs for craftspeople who bought cars, clothes, tv's, games, electricity, gas and all the other stuff that drives our economies. Many of these jobs offered the incomes that would have lifted many of the residents out of the poverty described in earlier responses on this blog, but we didn't properly train and assist people to escape the horrible cycle of poverty, drugs, gangs, crime and hopelessness. All we need do is to look back at Jesse Jackson's speech to the 1996 Democratic Convention where he effectively excused black men for choosing "three hots and a cot" in prison rather than to be responsible for their illigitimate offspring, social responsibilities, and addictions to drugs and the public dole.
Homeownership offers hope, but hope is greatly challenged in many zip codes of American cities. I don't want to look back, but I have hope we can all begin to look forward with accountability, education, and most importantly true investments.
Guy, while in effect, your thesis may hold truth, I don't know of one Realtor anywhere whose intention was to destroy. .
Oh - I do. A number as a matter of fact
And, in the post 9/11 era, one, who was also owned a rental property, was charged with a hate crime - when he started swinging a sledge hammer at his tenants - muslims - and called the G.D. Terrorists.
And, in the post 9/11 era, one, who was also owned a rental property, was charged with a hate crime - when he started swinging a sledge hammer at his tenants - muslims - and called the G.D. Terrorists.
So, are you convicting all Realtors because of one? Did you actually know the person? What was the cause of their anger? Did they possibly loose a loved one?
I am sorry that you seem to have chosen to use the exception and not the rule to base your conclusions and now possibly your hatred.
I personally think its funny but im sure if the older black folk don't see it as funny as the younger ones (myself included) think but it is what it is.
It's not a "black and white" issue (double entendre intended). It's a GREEN($) issue. And when it's green, it's not funny whether you are young or old.
So, are you convicting all Realtors because of one? Did you actually know the person? What was the cause of their anger?
Yes, I knew him (he is currently in prision)
The cause: 9/11
I have served on NAR's Equal opp cmt for many years. I have worked directly with the Secretary of HUD as a liason to the RE industy. I have worked directly with HUD enforcement as well as civil rights divisions is several states. And, I'm a REALTOR.
No, I don't condemn all REALTORS for the actions of a few.
But, I have to tell you, from personal experencies over many, many years, that there are many REALTORS who have used their positions to damage neigborhoods - and then try to profit from it.
There are REALTORS who, today, still try to steer
There are REALTORS who, today, are involved with Blockbusting
There are REALTORS who, today, are being investigated for discrimination in housing and lending practices - and for predatory lending
No, most REALTORS try to uphold the standards needed in our industry
However, these few bad apples in the barrel are an on going problem
What's really funny is when you read the Saturday real estate section in papers like the Washington Post you always see black models in the ads for housing developments in Prince Georges County and whites in the ads for Montgomery and Fairfax counties.
Also when whites left Prince Georges County Maryland in large numbers, blacks moving in said 'who cares, good riddens' because the blacks moving in were far wealthier and educated than the whites they replaced.
Tomocox if you are in fact a licensed Realtor you are then well aware of the deliberate and calculating "Blockbusting" that has occured in numerous cities, expecially NYC in the 60s and 70s. Read up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbusting ...if the link does not work you owe it to yourself to look up Blockbusting on wikipedia.
This practice was horredndous and one of the principal reasons for the demise of many of our great cities. So to answer your question Tomocox..there WERE plenty of realtors deliberately destroying neighborhoods and the fabric of our society by exploiting and promoting fear and racial sterotypes to line their own pockets. The remnants of their actions lives on in just about every city in this country.
And there are still MANY unscrupulous realtors who are STILL using this practice..only more subtly. As a licensed realtor yourself...you may not KNOW anyone admitting to this practice..but it is still occurring in other subtle forms...so what you call "creating demand" the rest of society terms destruction, greed, and a perversion of our society.
Realtors have no incentive to maintain stable communities..if they did they would never get paid and hence not exist..so yes they created demand.....FOR THEMSELVES! And they continue to do so....so please do not assert anything different.
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