Posted by 101livescan on 8/10/09 8:13am
Msg #299401

Loan Modification Advice from Active Rain

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1188125/attention-real-estate-licensees-how-to-lose-your-license-

This RE Agent blogger advises licensees not to give loan modification counseling and services to troubled homeowners.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 8/10/09 11:11am
Msg #299416

this may not be the popular resonse and it's not personal

but as a longtime real estate agent I dropped Active Rain as have a number of my colleagues. Active rain sees to have become populated by a lot of new agents who are trying desperately to make a name for themselves in an otherwise slow market. those of us who have 30 or more years in the biz have weathered sever similar slumps and those who are desperate rarely make it. A lot of the information I have seen on Active Rain is either misinformation or simply attempts at promoting oneself. I prefer to promote myself where there are customers and not competition.

Reply by Gary Boehm on 8/10/09 12:26pm
Msg #299423

this may not be the popular resonse and it's not personal

I was a little put off by the article too. I was a real estate agent and also a Realtor (tm) but dropped my "membership" when the fees were more than the small amount of work I was doing, but I continued at a non-Realtor Agency Many people don't know that you do not have to be a Realtor in order to be a licensed agent and do business as an agent (hmmm... don't have to be a member of the NNa to be a Notary?). Realtors do nothing to dispel that idea either.
This article read through making a good point directed to 'real estate agents', and used that term throughout. But then it ended with quotes from the Realtor Code of Ethics as if EVERYONE had to follow those "rules". If someone is making an honest living at one job there should be no reason that they can't work another one - as long as they make it clear that they are not acting in the capacity of the former one, which in this case might not easy to do I agree. But not every real estate agent MUST follow the rules layed down by Realtors as the article seemed to imply.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 8/10/09 2:38pm
Msg #299437

I'd be willing to bet Gary that most REALTORS can't tell you

what is in the Realtor Code of Ethics. But then its not surprising most Americans can't tell you what is in the Constitution. I have worked both ways and as in the commercial end there are probably as many who belong as thse who don't. I belong because it helps my loan brokerage business more than my real estate business. I just don't find Active Rain useless. Good luck, I hope things pick up for you in real estate. I've been doing it for over 30 years and it seems that every 1- to 12 years the bototom falls out: you just have to be prepared. When things are good I have not found a better business.

Reply by Gary Boehm on 8/10/09 4:48pm
Msg #299446

I'd be willing to bet Gary that most REALTORS can't tell you

Thanks for your reply Charles. Oh I don't have the agents license now. I was referring to many years ago when I took the test and was licensed. At that time, there were over 500 agents in a town of about 40,000 people. It was hard to get listings or clients because every time you talked to someone it was "Oh I have a sister-in-law who is an agent". And experienced several times of working with someone for a month or so, finally finding a house for them and then when they tell their family, suddenly Uncle pipes up that he has a license and "we have to work with him". And then when my sister-in-law and her husband were buying I did find the perfect house for them, and did they "have to" work with me? Nooo - made the offer through the listing agent. So much for "family" (now my EX sister in law LOL). But I moved out of state for six years so my license lapsed. I've also done rehabs and rentals, been in and out. Now doing the signings which I enjoy doing. I checked on renewing my old license but the state told me they didn't keep records so far back and I'd have to start over. I think not at the moment!

Reply by MW/VA on 8/10/09 12:38pm
Msg #299426

Re: this may not be the popular resonse and it's not personal

I'm not a RE Agent, but I don't see how that would threaten a RE license. IMO ActiveRain is a networking site made popular by the current love of blogs (another word for bs, as far as I'm concerned). I listed there as a notary & have never seen any action from it. I prefer this site over all others for keeping tabs on what's going on in the industry.

Reply by Yoli/CA on 8/10/09 3:05pm
Msg #299438

Re: this may not be the popular resonse and it's not personal

Agree with Marilynn 100%. I, too, haven't reaped any rewards from AR.

Reply by 101livescan on 8/10/09 2:29pm
Msg #299435

Re: this may not be the popular resonse and it's not personal

Not taken personally at all. Myself, I think there is nothing like working a room at a cocktail gathering, doing volunteer work, being involved in philanthropic activities and community fellowship to network rather than blogging. I'm glad to have your feedback. I do find some interesting info however on this site.

Reply by Pat/IL on 8/10/09 3:39pm
Msg #299441

Okay, but what about the article?

There are hundreds of blog posts entered daily on AR. Many are worthless, many are worth-while reads. The author of the post in question here is a blogger who has earned the respect of many on that site - including mine.

Lenn's post questions whether Realtors or real estate agents should be involved in loan modification counseling. Her reasoned opinion is that the expertise required to sell real estate is not the same as that which would qualify someone to counsel home owners on avoiding foreclosure. Her reasoning makes perfect sense to me.

The article linked to the blogs offers the opinion that helping a homeowner in distress is always a good thing, whether you are compensated for your efforts or not (paraphrasing). I disagree. While the intentions may be admirable, it is better to refer the distressed borrower to a reputable source of assistance. You can further imperil the borrower by posing as an expert when, in fact, you are not.

This is not to say that someone who is licensed to sell real eastate cannot also be an expert in loan modifications. It is just to say that the two have little to do with each other. A person is not a loan modification by virtue of his real estate license any more than is the dry cleaner down the street.

As to the posting of the Realtors' Code of Ethics, I think the intended audience of Realtors and real estate agents are aware of the difference between the two.

Reply by LKT/CA on 8/10/09 6:21pm
Msg #299450

Re: Okay, but what about the article?

Realtors are just real estate agents that have paid hundreds of dollars in membership fees to belong to the R.E. boards...N.A.R. and in California, C.A.R. There's no other difference between them other than the title. Sames duties and responsibilities.

If an agent has not paid the hundreds of dollars for membership to the R.E. boards, they should not be using the term "Realtor", as technically, they are not Realtors.

Reply by Philip Johnson on 8/10/09 7:57pm
Msg #299465

Will you be Xeroxing this definition?

Oops, look how easy words can pick up meanings, beyond their origin? The proper term should be copying.