Anthony Lamacchia said threats of severe penalties for commission violations leveled by plaintiffs lawyer Michael Ketchmark and Consumer Advocates in American Real Estate are “unnecessary.”
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Over the past month, I’ve witnessed the vast majority of the real estate industry working extremely hard to comply with the NAR Settlement and ensure they’re doing everything correctly while serving their client’s best interests.
Despite this, two weeks ago, only a day or two after the settlement took effect, thousands of Realtors across the country, including myself, had to read threats on Inman from attorneys Michael Ketchmark and Doug Miller.
Ketchmark warns that “he is watching,” and “we’re going to look for the opportunity to make examples out of anyone who’s playing fast and loose with the law.” In a separate interview, Miller goes on to say, “Forms committees composed of competitors who design fee agreements that result in higher buyer brokerage fees are likely to be the target of future litigation.”
Rhetoric like that is unnecessary, and that’s why I filmed this video on my Crush It in Real Estate YouTube channel to substantively respond to not only their offensive talk but also many of their baseless claims and unnecessary threats.
These plaintiff lawyers, who are in this mainly for their payday and to disrupt our industry for no good reason, are flexing their muscles in an effort to project fear into Realtors who continue to work hard for their clients day in and day out. With the DOJ’s help, they’ve also made things more difficult for buyers and made homeownership even less accessible for first-time buyers.
They all continue to push their false narrative that Realtors collude — while completely disregarding the fiduciary duties that agents have to their clients.
It’s also amazing to watch Stephen Brobeck of the Consumer Federation of America undo work he did in the ’90s to push the need for buyers to have representation. His work today makes it harder for buyers to obtain representation and buy a home. I explain all of this and more in my latest video above.
Anthony Lamacchia broker-owner of Lamacchia Realty and Crush It in Real Estate. Lamacchia is a member of the NAR.