• Property Wars: The National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed that their policy has no resources to cover the cost of defending Realtor associations or their multiple listing services when confronted with lawsuits.
• Tweet-level Brevity: The information was thrown into the wild in starkly tweet-esque fashion by the trade group themselves.
• Not the Knight in Shining Armor: Followers of the real estate world might imagine NAR riding in on a white horse to save the day when their members are in legal jeopardy. Unfortunately, this assumption has been debunked.
• Defending the Defenders: Realtor associations and their multiple listing services, while playing a fundamental role in the labyrinth that is real estate, are on their own when it comes to footing the bill for legal defense.
• That Empty Doom Pouch: Essentially, the trade group has a “nope” policy when it comes to pulling out funds from their ammunition to help their members in the battleground of litigation.
Real Estate’s Not So Charming Bedtime Story: NAR Can’t Foot the Defense Bill
The Trade Group Says, “Sorry Members, You’re on Your Own!”
Defense Funds Drier than California’s Reservoirs
The recent news from the National Association of Realtors can be summarized like a rather dreary bed-time story for the real estate world. Once upon a time, there was an imaginary belief that the NAR was a knight in shining armor, ready to leap in and shield its members, the Realtor associations and their multiple listing services, in the battleground called ‘courtroom’. Unfortunately, this bed-time story, much like the plot of ‘Game of Thrones’, ends with dragons aflame and ‘winter’s here’. Meaning, the NAR has laid it on the table (or rather, tweeted it out) that its policy bag is arid when it comes to defending their members facing litigation. Cue the sound of millions of real estate hearts plummeting.
Hot Take: I guess the words “all for one, one for all” isn’t imprinted in the NAR handbook. It’s wild to think that these Realtor associations and their multiple listing services, who are the keystone species in the ecosystem of real estate, are left to fend for themselves by their own trade group when lawsuits come knocking. Not to be too rude, but jeez, talk about sibling love in the real estate family. Buckle up folks, it seems we are in for a wild ride in the soap opera that is real estate business. Or maybe Game of Thrones wasn’t fiction after all!
Original article: https://www.inman.com/2024/02/21/nar-commission-suit-insurance-coverage-ran-out-some-time-ago/
