Letters to the Editor

Re: 'Judge dismisses antitrust complaint against Realcomp MLS' (Dec. 13)

Dear Editor:

The "free rider" argument about exclusive agency is just real estate mumbo jumbo, and it appears this judge has been the victim of a massive con job.

Sellers are NOT getting a free ride by signing an exclusive-agency agreement or a limited-service agreement. They are promising to pay a fee to brokers who represent buyers, just as with an exclusive-right-to-sell agreement.

They are also trying to find buyers on their own, just as listing brokers do. The only difference is that it costs sellers $600 when we double-end our listings, as opposed to many times more than that for sellers who sign exclusive-right-to-sell agreements. Either way, brokers who represent buyers are paid the same, and the listings should be treated the same.

As the founder and president of our leading local multiple listing services has said, "Anyone who believes that the exclusive-agency agreement affects the marketability of a listing has a fundamental misunderstanding of the form and its role in current real estate practice." The legal counsel for that organization has also stated, "The selling licensee (the buy side) does not have any more duties to the seller in a limited-service listing than in other listings where the seller is fully represented."

For many people, exclusive-right-to-sell agreements are the best choice. For others, including thousands of our customers, exclusive agency is the best way to go. All we and our customers want is a level playing field. If left to stand, the judge's anticompetitive ruling will hurt consumers in Michigan as well as anywhere this backward thinking is allowed to creep.

Ken Whitney
General manager
MLS4owners.com

Re: 'Golden Retrievers and Shih Tzus' (Dec. 14)

Dear Editor:

Alison, I hope your point of view and your warm approach and reception with other brokers, no matter how legendary they are in their own minds, spreads among your colleagues. We assist people in finding or selling their homes. We are not saving lives here.

Liz Stevens
Windermere Real Estate
Berkeley, Calif.

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