How do you feel about “Affiliated Business Relationships” in San Diego Real Estate?
Every professional in San Diego Real Estate is familiar with “In-House” Real Estate services. If you are a Buyer or Seller of Real Estate in Southern California reading this blog, you may not be. Here’s the short and sweet version of it: It’s basically an “affiliated business” which is partially owned, operated or in some way intertwined with the Managing Broker and Owners of a Real Estate Firm. These in-house services (Title Insurance, Escrow, Mortgage and Lending and Homeowners Insurance) appear to be a “convenient” way to help you close your transaction. They tout “superior” service and “value”. Is this practice and set-up the best thing for Buyers and Sellers of Real Estate in San Diego? I’ll leave that for you to decide.
By law the Brokerage is obligated to disclose to the Buyers and Sellers of a Real Estate transaction that their closing services are affiliated with the company helping you buy or sell your home. They even disclose that it may be in the “Financial Interests” of the principals in those brokerages to refer business to those affiliated services. This raises a very interesting topic of conversation. Who really benefits in this relationship? Should the client take it upon themselves to seek out their choice for those services? Are there inherent benefits to choosing those services? As a consumer or as a Realtor, the choice is yours.
Corinthian Title and Greg Ives are very proud that we are not affiliated with any brokerage in San Diego or in Southern California. I transact a significant amount of business with Brokerages with these Affiliated Business Relationships because their Realtors understand and believe in the value, knowledge and expertise I bring to their transaction.
I encourage you to read about a recent case that is being heard by a Federal District Court regarding an In-House Title Insurance Relationship with a large Real Estate Brokerage.
Click the blue link to read this article about a Top Producing Brokerage Facing Class Action RESPA Lawsuit for Alleged Kickbacks
