An Increase in Entry Barriers for Real Estate Agents will improve ethical behavior

There is no doubt that many buyers- first time or otherwise- lack the fundamental knowledge of basic finance. However, it is the moral, ethical and legal responsibility of the so called experts in transacting real estate to protect the rights of the stakeholders involved in the process. Yes, the lending institutions failed by placing their own economic interest ahead of their own shareholders and the borrowers. These lending institutions are the same that irresponsibly provided financing to developers and contractors to overbuild our communities. And, obviously, this same group provided the financing to many that should had never purchased to begin with.
Ah! and let us not forget our City Governments who so diligently approved many projects that should had never seen the light of the day. They were in a position to stop it but obviously that would have been an unpopular decision!
Bottom line, record number of foreclosures, record write-offs and hundreds of thousands employed in many industries associated with real estate will now join the ranks of the unemployed. Wow! The industry system of “checks and balances” totally crashed or maybe it never existed to begin with. Our “instant gratification mentality” fueled by an exuberant amount of “greed” has destroyed the American dream and many of our communities. Ms. Elia Ceniceros is totally right. She said “There’s a lot of unscrupulous and unethical agents out there that may have done that to clients, but the problem is that when the client turns around and needs the agent to help them, the agent is no longer in the business.” So true but why are we surprised? The entry and exit barriers in our industry are among the lowest in any industry. It is easy to get in and even easier to get out. And very few realtors have any skin in the game. Our industry has more part-timers and retirees that any other industry. These individuals are not committed to the long term prosperity of the industry. When the tide is high and easy money is to be made you will find them in herds but when the tide is low and they have to work hard for their so called “clients” they simply disappear. Most of these are there to make a quick buck and undoubtedly the means justify the ends. These individuals need to close in order to earn a commission and as such they have consistently manipulated the process to their advantage. We need to “professionalize” the realtors’ role. This in turn should result in a significantly better prepared realtor and among other things financially literate. I have met many agents that do not have the slightest idea about basic finances; and these are the first contact with the client. Immigrants are very vulnerable. Would not you think that an agent could play an instrumental role in protecting these people? It boils down to morals and ethics. It has nothing to do with legality. It is about time we- as an industry and individuals - become “socially responsible”.
Manuel J. Iraola is President and CEO of Homekeys.net