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Lenders Must Serve Buyers, Not Agents

The warning light flashed in my head the other day when the third person in a week said they "were just going to contact the lender suggested by my real estate agent."

Contacting the loan representative suggested by the agent selling you a house is a great place to start accumulating mortgage rate information, but check with family, friends and business associates for their recommendations, too.

The various people whose services you need in the home buying process depend upon each other. Just think of the number of steps that must be taken - appraisal, credit report, title report, escrow company, mortgage company, etc. Obviously, competent representatives will ship their business to the company that can get the job done. But the enticements for sending business to only one place are not always in the best interest of the consumer.

"I don't think the abuses are as rampant as they used to be," one title insurance executive said, "but it's impossible to monitor everything that's going on. Everyone accuses the other guy, but there really are no white hats out there."

A few years ago a title insurance company offered to furnish a real estate brokers' office if all of the agents in that office wrote in the title insurance company's name in the appropriate spot in the earnest-money agreement. Another company offered a broker the use of billboards in public places for carrying the company's name atop preprinted earnest-money agreements. A third company offered all-expenses-paid fishing trips.

As a result, the state passed a law in an attempt to curtail gifts to people who have considerable control over the selection of persons involved in a real estate transaction. The total value of allowable annual gifts to "producers" was raised from $12.50 to $25 two years ago - probably to keep pace with the bump in price of local football tickets.

Dwight Bickle, house counsel for Transamerica Title Insurance Company, said some clarity was brought to the services title companies could render for free. This has reduced conflict-of-interest charges while supplying needed information to real-estate agents.

"Title companies can give out copies of recorded documents, including the last deed of trust," Bickle said, "but more comprehensive packages require the agent or broker to be billed."

It's the billing practices that are sometimes questioned. Does the provider really care if a top producer pays the tab as long as the producer keeps bringing in business?

"The complaints seem to come and go," said Jim Tompkins, state insurance regulations analyst. "You'll see quite a few complaints and then it will quiet down for awhile."

Although the insurance commissioner's office is supposed to oversee the value of gifts exchanged by real estate representatives, it is powerless to regulate advertising.

For example, say a lavish deli tray, paid for by a title company, is brought to a Sunday open house by a real estate agent. Is that tray a gift to the agent for past and future business, or an advertisement to induce business from potential buyers attending the open house?

The intent of the regulation was not to raise questions about deli trays and football tickets. And, I don't think we needed a regulation to tell us it's wrong to send an agent on a fishing trip if that agent sends a certain amount of business our way.

The intent of the regulation is to safeguard choice for consumers and housing representatives. Consumers have a right to choose escrow and title companies and to know why lenders prefer certain appraisers and credit companies. And all reps - agents, loan, escrow, title - should choose services in the best interests of their customers and not themselves.

Tom Kelly is a private real-estate consultant. His column runs Sundays in the Home/Real Estate section of The Times. Send questions and comments to Tom Kelly, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA, 98111.