Real estate agent who sets house on fire has prior relationship with owner lolita, 26/08/2024 A real estate agent who accidentally burned down a multimillion-dollar home to the ground in one of Sydney, Australia’s most prestigious suburbs had previously been in a relationship with the owner, court documents have revealed. Sydney realtor Julie Bundock was preparing for an open house of a four-bed home on the northern beaches when she noticed the current renters of the house had left some bedding on the deck to dry. According to documents tendered to the New South Wales, Australia Supreme Court as part of a civil lawsuit brought by the owner and four tenants against her employer, Ms. Bundock removed the sheets and threw them in a downstairs room onto a shelf below a light, which she then switched on. About 20 minutes later a major fire broke out in the four-bedroom house on Riverview Road in Avalon Beach, believed to be caused by the shelf and bedding heating up and catching fire due to the wall-mounted light. Sydney realtor Julie Bundock accidentally sets a house on fire. Supplied This week, Ms Bundock’s employer, Domain Residential Northern Beaches, was ordered to pay property owner Peter Alan Bush $486,712.89 USD in damages. Mr Bush was planning to sell the … Continue Reading
How Realtors are compensating may change lolita, 16/08/2024 The way Realtors are paid may change if courts uphold an agreement the National Association of Realtors made March 15 to pay $418 million in damages to settle lawsuits. Homeowners said in a class action lawsuit against the real estate trade group that its rules forced them to pay large fees, according to The New York Times. Rory Dubin, president of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, said the industry is waiting on a federal court ruling. Dubin “It’s not guaranteed that it will be accepted, but it probably will the way it looks,” he said. If accepted, rules are expected to change in July. At the heart of the matter are Realtor commissions. Dubin said that if passed, brokers representing buyers will no longer be allowed to post their commission on the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, which lists available homes for sale in a region. Brokers representing buyers have used the information to help determine which homes to show prospective buyers. Most often, the selling broker splits the commission with the buyer’s broker. Those commission fees are usually paid by the seller. The commissions are added to the sale price of the home when it is listed. With … Continue Reading
Billings Realtor Association says $418M settlement creates opportunity lolita, 09/08/2024 Many questions regarding the real estate business loom following a recent massive, $418 million settlement, which will make it easier to negotiate commissions for real-estate agents and brokers. The settlement was reached between the National Association of Realtors and a group of home sellers frustrated with the association’s pricing rules, and it could cause significant changes in the business when it went into effect this summer. Even with those concerns, Amber Parish, the CEO of the Billings Realtors Association, an affiliate of the national association, said the changes will create opportunities for both real estate agents and their customers. “I think it’s just going to be different,” Parish said Tuesday morning. “The negotiation portion is what is changing, but we just really don’t know at this point what this is going to mean for the industry.” The settlement will change the protocol that has been in place for decades. For years, Americans have paid a standard commission of around 5 to 6 percent when selling a home, which is split between agents. Those commissions can be quite costly. A person selling a $500,000 home would expect to pay at least $25,000 toward commissions. The Justice Department said multiple listings have … Continue Reading
Real Estate Industry Settlement Has Experts Mixed On Predictions For Home Buyers – Forbes Advisor lolita, 06/08/2024 Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations. The size of real estate commissions—and who pays them—could change dramatically now that the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, has agreed to pay $418 million to settle a series of antitrust lawsuits. As part of the settlement, buyers will now negotiate their agents’ fees directly, contracting with them before the home search begins. The changes are expected to go into effect by mid-July, pending court approval. By settling these cases, NAR releases 1 million of its members across the US from liability. The settlement could cut real estate commissions by thousands of dollars and lower home prices overall, saving money for both buyers and sellers, according to some experts. For years, brokers who listed homes on the NAR’s multiple listing service (MLS) were expected to pay a set commission to the buyer’s agent. The two sides would split a fee, typically about 6% of the home price. This fee, usually paid by the seller, was baked into the sales price and thus the buyer’s mortgage. In 2019, several antitrust lawsuits were filed by groups of home sellers who … Continue Reading
BC realtor loses license after manipulating inexperienced sisters | iNFOnews lolita, 03/08/2024 FILE PHOTO Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK March 21, 2024 – 7:00 PM Lower Mainland realtor Gobinder Kaur Takhar has surrendered her real estate license and agreed to pay fines and fees of $57,000 after manipulating three sisters in a Chilliwack real estate deal. While she agreed to a BC Financial Services Authority order earlier this month, the real estate deal took place in 2017. Three sisters, who are identified only by their initials in the financial services report, received a small inheritance and wanted to grow that through a real estate investment in a rental property in early 2017. “All three sisters were in a position of financial hardship: PG was widowed and had a daughter to support; CJ was divorced and single with a son to support; and BA have three daughters, the youngest with special needs,” the report says. “They were inexperienced with real estate investments.” They initially worked with one realtor. Takhar filled in for that realtor for vacation coverage and had brief dealings with the sisters during that time. On July 31, 2017, the sisters, through the first realtor, submitted a bid of $350,000 for … Continue Reading
Interest rates to drop, 6% realtor commission elimination expected to help home buyers lolita, 27/07/2024 Commission drop for realtors expected to help home buyers Briyana Jordan is a relator with Arterra Luxe. She says commissions won’t exactly be done with, but will be offered on the backend of a sale in a separate contract between parties. FOX 2 (WJBK) – As spring arrives, the housing market begins to blossom. That’s why buyers — like Kevin McIntosh — are trying to find a new home by May. “It’s beginning to show signs that it’s getting competitive,” he said. “But we’re just trying to get out there and stay on the search as often as possible.” A few elements may make 2024 more competitive. One, is reports of interest rates dropping which will increase more prospective buyers. The other is the National Association of Realtors announcement to eliminate its rule on the standard six percent commission for real estate agents. “I think it is going to affect the industry,” said Briyana Jordan. “It’s going to change the industry. I think it’s going to actually bring realtors who work full time. it’s going to bring them more to the forefront, and the people who only do this part time, they might fall off.” Jordan is a relator with … Continue Reading
The way Americans buy and sell homes is about getting turned on its head lolita, 23/07/2024 CNN — The way Americans buy and sell homes is about getting turned on its head. An earth-shattering, multibillion-dollar antitrust ruling against the National Association of Realtors late last year led to a settlement on Friday that will loosen the powerful trade group’s stranglehold on America’s housing market. The $418 million settlement with a group of homebuyers is expected to take effect sometime around July, pending a judge’s approval. It would change a number of rules and guidelines set by the NAR that critics say have kept housing prices artificially inflated. The TL;DR: 6% commissions, split between the buyer’s and seller’s brokers, will no longer be the norm. Agent commissions are expected to fall — in some cases, dramatically — because they will be competitive and negotiable, and sellers will be able to shop around for better rates. And other broker tactics that critics say are anticompetitive, such as a rule that makes sellers’ agents set compensation for buyers’ agents, will be prohibited. It’s not all good news: Buyers may have to pay their broker directly in the future, which could be tough for buyers accustomed to financing that commission as part of their mortgage. And some buyers could choose … Continue Reading
Realtor reacts to possible changes to homebuying process lolita, 15/07/2024 When it comes to buying a home, there seems to be a common misconception among buyers that there’s a standard six percent buyer’s commission. TYLER, Texas — If you’re in the market to buy a new home, the National Association of Realtors warns that changes are likely coming to your budget. When it comes to buying a home, there seems to be a common misconception among buyers that there’s a standard six percent buyer’s commission. David Kurtz, broker and owner at Dwell Realty in Tyler, said “there is no fixed fee, there is no fixed 6%.” “It’s always been negotiable. You know, my fee might be 6% that I charge. Another person, could be a discount broker and charge a flat fee. You can sell it for sale by owner,” Kurtz said. After July, you can still talk with your agent about the commission, but you won’t see the percentages on sites like Zillow. “The MLS (multiple listing service) is now going to remove the field where you offer buyer compensation and the reason for that is a decoupling of the commissions,” Kurtz said. The National Association of Realtors is changing how the fees work. Instead of the seller paying … Continue Reading
Realtors’ settlement could alter Asheville’s home buying, selling scenario lolita, 11/07/2024 ASHEVILLE, NC (WLOS) — A recent settlement by the National Association of Realtors could save home buyers and sellers in Asheville hundreds of thousands of dollars. But it could also cost them. The National Association of Realtors agreed to pay more than $400 million in damages to a group of home sellers. If the court signs off on the settlement, the NAR would likely implement the changes in July. Those changes could help lower the costs for sellers who typically cover the commission for their agent as well as that of the buyer, meaning more homebuyers would be paying for their agent’s commission. “I think the whole industry could be affected in some way shape or form,” Town and Mountain Realty broker-owner Leah Miller said. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS REVISES COMMISSION POLICIES IN $418M LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT Typically, when looking to sell a home, the owner would have to pay a non-negotiable 5 to 6 percent commission fee for a listing on a multiple listing service, or MLS. That fee would then be split between the buyer’s and seller’s agents. In recent years, there have been accusations of agencies leading buyers of more expensive homes. “Buyers’ agents work for buyers, and … Continue Reading
Gallatin Association of Realtors sees positives in landmark NAR settlement lolita, 10/07/2024 BOZEMAN — Last Friday, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced a settlement agreement to end landmark antitrust lawsuits. They also passed a set of new rules that will change the home buying and selling business model forever. “So the settlement is a good thing for us overall. It is getting things put to bed in a more settled manner,” said Cindi Siggs, the CEO of the Gallatin Association of Realtors (GAR). Siggs explains that GAR has been involved in some of the antitrust lawsuits since October and that the $418 million settlement will have positive effects. She also has high hopes for some of the new rules. “Something we’ve always advocated for is signing buyer agency agreements. Now that’s going to be required every time they go to show a home and they’re working with a buyer,” she says. That’s just one of the new rules adopted by NAR. But the rule that has most people in question? The end of the 6% commission. “There has never been a 6% or a standard. “I’ve seen commission rates way lower, I’ve seen commission rates higher than that,” said Siggs. According to Scripps News, the 6% commission is most likely gone. … Continue Reading