http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/04/REG6MOEHFL1.DTL
Interesting!
I can see some pretty obvious lawyer verbiage in that article. Unsubstantiated, unsupported allegations that are being “perceived”.
Because the affiliate company charges more than anyone else, obviously someone else is pocketing the money?
I have seen a Coldwell Banker contract in court, and there are major amounts of notification of any affiliations with Caldwell Banker or perceived affiliations. There is sufficient notification (in this document), if read by the client would explain relationships between companies.
I would like to see the facts to support this allegation. There may be some hanky-panky going on in one brokerage, but it is unlikely it is a national conspiracy to defraud.
NACHI promotes association with other companies all the time. Are perks offered as part of the marketing? Most likely! Obviously! If these companies are not the best deal in town, does that open NACHI to litigation?
If NACHI home inspectors have higher rates than other associations, I guess this means Nick is pocketing all the extra money!
Are you getting any perks on this? 
http://www.nachi.org/homeheadstart2006.htm
“In the case of a broker-client relationship, fiduciary duty means that a real estate broker is bound to put a client’s best interests ahead of the broker’s and must not profit from the fiduciary relationship unless the client consents. A fiduciary is also supposed to disclose material facts that may affect the client’s best interests.”
It had been a known fact that many real estate companies have fees for inspectors to join there so called ellite club, and to be put on the inpsection list. This vilolates every ethical standard in the book. Not too long ago Arvida got sued for the same thing and lost.
dang agents…yep corrupt I say…thehehehe
Coldwell Banker is one of them.
We are on the cusp of a public backlash against the real estate community and the poor home inspectors found in their pockets will suffer, dearly, I believe.
Are these affiliates like HI’s. Did CB cheat the consumer out of a better deal because there were lower priced services available OR could they have got a better service?
Question - do low price HI’s provide better service than normal priced HI’s??
Here in california, when you buy a home the sellers side of the transaction normally picks all the escrow and title related services. You can bet the seller didn’t choose but rather went along with the listing agents recommendations. In this particular case sounds as though the real estate company, broker and or agents benefit by directing the clients to an associated company for profit which does not directly benefit the clients. It happens here in california everyday with every real estate company.
What is one’s perception is often another’s reality.
I’d been approached 3 or4 times by the local CB branch manager, these realtors just don’t know how to spell COLUSION. It all sounded like a payola skeem, but it was not just HI , it was cleaning services,lawn maintenance, blind companies, etc.People wiil sell their first born for a sales lead and CB knew it.
David:
As I’ve said many times on this message board, I don’t get compensated for my work at NACHI, I am not on NACHI’s payroll, I’ve never been on NACHI’s payroll, NACHI does not accept paid advertisement, NACHI has never accepted any paid ads from anyone, none of the vendors in www.InspectorMALL.com has ever paid a penny to anyone to be there (instead we require the vendors to give NACHI member discounts, so in effect, our members collect our advertising fees in the form discounts direct to the members), no vendor has ever paid me or NACHI a penny, not once ever, all the vendors have said and will confirm that they’ve never even been asked for money, not once ever. Ask them and confirm if you wish.
I don’t think a week goes by where some vendor, looking at our 16 million + hit/month website doesn’t offer us a big fat check. We always instruct them to instead give the money directly to our members in the form of NACHI member discounts. So who is pocketing all the money?.. you are David.
Thanks Nick!
This is my point. A lawyer can file suit against Coldwell Banker by making these acquisitions by assuming this scenario. They get all the way to court without a single bit of evidence or hard fact showing that nationally Coldwell Banker is taking money for referral services.
The fact (as you point out that you receive calls from vendors offering compensation) is what these lawyers are working off of. It happens, it exists but it’s not necessarily the fact.
To reiterate, this is not an accusation against you or NACHI!
Just an example of how bottom feeding lawyers come up with some of this stuff. They do it to home inspectors every day!
I have worked for about seven Coldwell Banker franchises. In 12 years, no one is ever approached me!
I don’t give out perks, and I don’t receive any.
This certainly explains your apparent need to defend them.:roll: In any event, prosecuting attorneys usually do not prefer charges until they feel they have ample evidence to convict.
More are coming. As the mortgage defaults continue to climb and more and more “vicitims” complain of the shady dealing…there will be more and more arrests, convictions and bad press.
Here in the midwest, the electronic media reporters are clamoring for these kind of stories and it isn’t even time for the May sweeps, yet.
As with any organization there are opportunities for those who somehow rise to the top who possess less moral turpitude than others within the organization… if they have a powerful enough personality, an entire group of normally good people can be tainted by the unethical mindset ‘pushed’ by the leadership…
or One Bad Apple…
David, good point. It’s just a suit filed as of yet.
Although we all know Coldwell Banker does get paid (even by Scumbag NAHI members) via their unethical preferred vendor schemes (outlawed by many states, NACHI, and ASHI). Many Coldwell Banker brokers have dropped preferred inspector schemes lately and I hope more do too. Some Coldwell Banker brokers correctly do not allow inspectors to participate in their Concierge programs and never have.
[quote=jbushart]
Coldwell Banker is one of them.
quote]
Some one is loosing the big picture here all of the way back up to Nick who started this thread by stating Coldwell Banker was being sued. Coldwell Banker Franchises just like all of the other Real estate franchises are independly owned and operated and office policy dictates.
Locally we have a franchise of an other name that is as corrupt as they get graft and gratuity flows rampid it is not the franchise policy as franchise can be pulled if graft is proven which is virtually impossible to do.
Its the same in Nachi if we have a bad inspector which there are many and that inspector is being sued should I make a post saying that Nachi is being sued I think not???
Coldwell Banker affiliates are “encouraged” to have an active consierge listing, and most in this area do. Around here, they want $500. Per year. It is telling that I have had 0, none, zilch, inspections scheduled by Coldwell Banker clients, though I have inspected a number of their listings via buyers using other firms. This leads me to believe that Coldwell Banker agents are pressured to steer clients only towards inspectors and other venders on their “list”.
There is another large firm in this area that wants $1,700 per year for prominent listing in their “information packet” that they supply to clients, though they did offer to discount it to $1,500. To their credit, this firm does at least allow their agents to act independently, so I have had the pleasure of working with several very ethical agents working with the firm.
Basically, anytime an inspector gets too chummy with an agent or agency, he or she creats a slippery slope, and this can be difficult to avoid when one considers an agent a friend. Other than asking to place my business cards somewhere in a firm where clients might see them and call me, I do not solicit them. Funny, though, how I never have any material left over at Coldwell Banker when I make the rounds, despite the fact that I get no business at all through them…hmmmm.
Jimmy;
I find it hard to swallow that a corprate franchise would have a traceable path back to their door of openly cohering their members to steer I am still of the opinion that it is a unstated individual office policy and a individual agent policy to steer or not to steer.
Those of us that have been around for a while understand, except or reject this policy as a way of life. You either deal with it or get out of the inspection business. I have all of the business I can handle with just the very small amount of agent referral but most of my business comes as the result of the quality of my inspections and client referrals. I don’t depend on real estate agents for my livelyhood even though I am married to one.
I have only one way to perform an inspection and that is to the best of my ability and yes there are a tremendous amount of real estate agents that don’t like or refer me. So be it. To make a blanket statement about a whole organization or group based on the bad apples in my opinion is dead wrong
Charlie,
You could be right. My observations aren’t scientific, just observations; but one would have a hard time changing my mind. At any rate, I have shifted my marketing strategy in the past few months away from depending on realtor referrals to internet marketing and good ol’ word of mouth. Since I’ve managed to get myself somewhere on the first page of an internet search for the majority of my targeted marketing area, which is pretty large, geographically, the realtors and agents can do as they please.
As for Coldwell Banker, I’m sure they take the position that they are protecting the consumer. So be it, but if that’s all they are interested in, why charge big bucks to put a vender in that neat little info packet they give their clients? If their only interest is in protecting consumers, they could compile a short list of venders, inspectors and all others, whom they know to be qualified and trustworthy, not charge the venders a dime, and be within their own code of ethics. Follow the money.
Jimmy;
I am not trying to get you to change your mind I’m sure what you observe is very much the way it is.
I observe a lot of hoop la on this board about realtors charging money to be on their preferred list as you are also indicating. Lets stand back and give this some real thought and I am on no realtors preferred list I pay no money to anyone.
You say you are devoting advertising to the internet is this free or are you paying someone some money. Are you in the yellow pages is this free or are you paying the telephone co. money. Do you advertise on the Radio,TV or any form of publications magazines do they want your money or is it free.
If and I say IF I was a just starting out HI and needed the business I see no difference in spending my advertising money with the business people (Realtors) that have more contact with the people that I do business with than any web site, yellow pages, or any form of printed or electronic advertising. That just makes business sense to me. I spent $1200 one year on yellow page advertising and received one phone call the whole year.
My advertising budget after 10 years in business is $0 but if I needed to advertise I think I would want to put my money where it does the most good.
I see almost everyday on this BB Hi’s stating how much they dislike Realtors and this kind of statement makes no business sense to me at all, its like a HVAC person stating they don’t like electricians or a plumber stating they don’t like the HVAC people. Sorry I’m on the soap box.