The National Association of Realtors has petitioned key government officials to block banks from owning real estate brokerages. This is a worthy request as the division of responsibility in the real estate industry makes all parties more accountable.
It does make me chuckle that there is so much concern over the banks owning brokerages yet no one is bothered that the Federal government is the majority owner in Bank of America.
Or that banks seeming to be the only homeowners that have properties selling in parts of the country. Would the banks be allowed to list the properties they own in foreclosure as FSBO’s? I bet that would not pass the sniff test of the NAR.
I fear the whole government intervention is going to create a can of worms we will be digging through for a long time.
Some national banks had petitioned the federal government for the power to own and operate local real estate brokerage or property management companies. Since 2003 language has been included in annual appropriations bills to temporarily block implementation of these actions. The Community Choice in Real Estate Act would make the prohibition permanent.
“Imagine how much worse the crisis in the financial sector and our overall economy would be if banks had been permitted to enter into commercial activities such as real estate,” McMillan said. “We hope that Congress will work quickly to close any loopholes and pass laws that maintain the separation of banking and real estate and protect our nation’s economy from unnecessary and avoidable risks.” via MSNBC
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The banks are so stupid, how can they run brokerage companies across the country when they can't even get a handle on their own business. Look at how they handle their current business. 1. Their short sale and loan mod process it ridicules 2. It takes 30-45 days to purchase a bank owned property, we buy cash and can close quick and they still can't streamline the process. 3. The current inventory they have is unfiinancable under current policy, so the only way to purchase is through FHA, 203K or cash. 4. They continue to penalize investors, example: we have a doctor with a 800+ credit score with documented income that can't purchase/finance an investment property under Fannie and Freddie's current 4 property rule. How stupid! I hope the NAR wins this battle; the next battle will be the appraisal management companies that will control all appraisers’ starting in May if the bill is passed. Yikes
How can the Government really make a decision on this when they have ownership interest of the banks they bailed out? The Government cannot make an unbiased decision on this very important topic!