REALTORs are tasked with helping families make the biggest financial decision of their lives. To that end, NAR wants to preserve the idea of a REALTOR as an intelligent professional. And when an agent engages in conduct unbecoming of a realtor (like posting racial slurs on social media, having sex in an empty listing, or threatening the life of a broker who takes a job at Zillow), the association can and should protect the REALTOR brand and let that agent go.

On this episode of the podcast, Rob and Greg are discussing the series of speech code proposals made by the NAR Professional Standards Committee to prevent realtors from discriminating against the protected classes and using harassing or hate speech, epithets, or slurs in both their personal and professional lives. 

Rob and Greg go on to explore the problems with the committee’s proposal, explaining why it’s difficult to define what qualifies as harassing or hate speech and how the rules don’t address other kinds of unprofessional behavior. Listen in for insight on how a Conduct Unbecoming Clause would work as an alternative to protect the realtor brand from behavior that is ‘disgraceful, unprofessional, and unbecoming’ of an agent.

What’s Discussed: 

An overview of the series of proposals made by the NAR Professional Standards Committee

–Policy Statement 29 applies NAR Code of Ethics to conduct outside of real estate

–Standard of Practice 10-5 prohibits harassing/hate speech, epithets, or slurs of protected classes

–Definition of ‘public trust’ expanded to include all discrimination against protected classes

The problems Rob sees with the committee’s proposal

–Difficult to define what qualifies as harassing or hate speech

–Leaves out threats, harassment of unprotected classes

–Many conservative realtors feel targeted by changes

The benefits of Rob’s alternative Conduct Unbecoming Clause

How the history of race in America informs the way NAR is approaching the proposed changes

The value in protecting the realtor brand from conduct that is disgraceful, unprofessional, and unbecoming of an agent

Connect with Rob and Greg:

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources:

NAR’s Proposed Speech Code Regulations

Rob’s Post on the Proposed Speech Code Regs

The NAR Professional Standards Committee

‘NAR Proposes Ethics Changes to Crack Down on Social Media Harassment’ in Inman

‘NAR’s Proposed Ethics Changes Miss the Mark’ in Inman

Raise the Bar in Real Estate Facebook Group

Canadian Real Estate Association

CREA’s Conduct Unbecoming Clause

Rob’s Post on the Reputation of Realtors

Racism in Real Estate on Industry Relations EP052

Our Sponsors:

Cloud Agent Suite

Notorious VIP

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day for REALTORS in the New York Senate

“So posts like this must get written, because somebody has to alert the industry as to what is going on. Somehow, I get to be that guy, that voice in the wilderness sometimes. So be it. I am not a media company, this labor of love costs me money, and it takes time to put some of this content together. If that’s how I can serve the industry best, then I’m happy to do it… even if the topic and what I actually have to say about it is… unpleasant, and I wish I didn’t have to say them.

Here we go then.”

If you haven’t already you need to go read, watch and listen to this post now. And then share it…widely.

This is Rob Hahn at his best. Having lived in Long Island gives Rob a personal edge to his writing. He has done a great job of breaking out the video testimony into digestible bites and including his own commentary.

Rob is holding up a mirror to the entire industry and it’s not a pretty picture. You would hope these practices were a thing of the past, but sadly they are not.

Owning a second home can be an enriching experience, allowing us to make priceless memories with friends and family. But many can’t afford to buy a vacation home, nor does it make much sense to leave a house sitting empty for ten-plus months, even if you can afford it. So, what if you could buy a share of a second home and enjoy true ownership for a fraction of the cost and hassle?

***MAKE SURE YOU CONSULT WITH A CPA.  THIS PODCAST AND ITS CONTENT ARE NOT INTENDED TO GIVE TAX/INVESTMENT ADVICE ON LOSS/GAIN OF PASSIVE INCOME*****

Austin Allison is the Cofounder and CEO of Pacaso, a startup designed to make the dream of second homeownership a reality for more people. The platform allows up to eight people to buy a share of a vacation home for much less—in a way that is seamless, hassle-free, and without risk. Austin’s first venture was Dotloop, the real estate transaction management solution he built in 2008 and sold to Zillow in 2015.

On this episode of Listing Bits, Austin introduces us to the benefits of co-owning a second home through Pacaso over the DIY model, explaining what differentiates a Pacaso from a resort or hotel timeshare. He describes how the platform’s scheduling feature works and why it can actually be better to own a property with people you don’t know versus friends and family. Listen in for Austin’s insight on how his company makes money and learn how you might use Pacaso as a second home buyer, seller, or real estate agent.

What’s Discussed: 

How Austin’s frustration with creating and signing documents as an agent inspired the creation of Dotloop

How Pacaso’s mission around second home ownership inspired the company name

The broad range of people Pacaso serves and the potential market for second homes in the US and Europe

What differentiates a Pacaso from a resort or hotel timeshare

–True ownership vs. rights to use

–Single-family home

–Easy to resell

Why Pacaso prohibits short-term rental activity in its properties

How Pacaso’s scheduling feature allows users to reserve dates in a way that corresponds with their ownership level

How Pacaso makes money through a markup on the real estate and asset management fees

What happens if a Pacaso home increases in value

The benefits of owning a home with people you don’t know through Pacaso over the DIY model

The potential tax benefits of owning a second home with Pacaso

How the Pacaso process works for buyers, sellers, and real estate agents

Connect with Austin:

Pacaso

Austin on LinkedIn

Resources:

Dotloop

California Association of Realtors’ Partnership with zipLogix

The a16z Podcast

The a16z Podcast on Joint Home Ownership

Sponsor:

Cloud CMA

Vista Equity Partners sells stake in Lone Wolf

“For Lone Wolf, the new investment partner comes at a time when many of the industry’s heavyweights are bringing the development of technology for agents and brokerages in-house. Companies including Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Realogy and Compass are launching their own CRMs and transaction management solutions.
But despite the prevalence of that trend, Kelly doesn’t exactly see these well-funded industry giants at competitors. Rather, he sees them as partners.

Lone Wolf isn’t necessarily trying to be the end-to-end platform for those companies, rather individual pieces of technology that can be integrated into their own platforms.

Lone Wolf, however, can be the end-to-end platform for brokerages that aren’t focusing on developing their own technology.

Kelly also praised the long-term vision of his company’s new investor, telling Inman that Stone Point Capital is aligned with Lone Wolf’s vision of being an industry partner, rather than a disruptor.”

Smart.

**** NOTICE:  We recorded this pod using Zoom audio but had a few technical issues. The audio quality wasn’t great and at some point, Zoom stopped recording altogether.  We were able to piece together a good episode but not the whole conversation.  I’m super bummed, but we all agreed, even if it’s not the full conversation, it’s still something we wanted to put out there. ****

Systemic racism has its roots in housing. Government policies deliberately disadvantaged Black and Brown people, and that’s led to segregated communities, educational inequalities, and a substantial wealth gap. So, what can we do as an industry to address these disparities and better serve ALL of our clients?

On this episode of Industry Relations, Emily Chenevert, CEO of the Austin Board of Realtors, and Kenya Burrell-VanWormer, SVP of Diversity Solutions at T3 Sixty, join Rob and Greg to discuss the history of race discrimination in real estate, explaining how practices like redlining have stunted the Black community’s capacity to build generational wealth and why industry organizations need to recognize and publicly denounce the racism of the past.

Emily and Kenya share how the industry has improved, describing NAR’s shift to prioritize diversity and inclusion and exploring what organized real estate might do to further educate association members around equity moving forward. Listen in for insight on tackling homeownership disparities and learn what is (and what isn’t) our responsibility to do as an industry to address racial inequality in America.

What’s Discussed: 

The history of race discrimination in real estate (i.e.: redlining, racist land-use patterns)

How racism around housing has stunted the Black community’s ability to build generational wealth 

The government’s role in creating a wealth gap in the US

Why organizations like NAREB exist independently from NAR

Greg’s call for industry organizations to recognize and denounce the racism of the past (and what that might look like)

The shift from diversity and inclusion as an afterthought to a need within NAR

How we might educate association members around issues of equity

The lack of diversity among the leadership in real estate associations and MLSs

Why 25 of the 26 agents caught steering on Long Island are still working

Kenya’s insight on tackling homeownership disparity by way of education, opportunity, and resources

Emily’s experience with difficult conversations on race as Austin overhauls its land development code

What it’s our responsibility to do as an industry to address racial inequality (and what’s not in our lane)

Connect with Emily:

Austin Board of Realtors

Emily on LinkedIn

Scratch That Podcast

Connect with Kenya:

T3 Sixty

Kenya on LinkedIn

Connect with Rob and Greg:

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources:

Michelle Mills Clement

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

How the GI Bill’s Promise Was Denied to a Million Black WWII Veterans’ in History

Discrimination in Levittown

National Association of Real Estate Brokers

Richard Rothstein

Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

NAR Leadership Summit 2020

Bob Goldberg

The Chicago Association of Realtors’ Apology & Recommitment to Fair Housing

The Newsday Investigation on Steering

Fair Housing Act

M. Ryan Gorman

HAR Diversity and Inclusion Task Force

Austin’s Land Development Code Revision

NAR’s Code of Ethics

Our Sponsors:

Cloud Agent Suite

Notorious VIP