In today’s letter to MAR members updating them on pending legislation, note that HB 978 is not included at all. Oddly enough, they are still supporting a law that gives them immunity when concealing the knowledge of known sex offenders in the area of a house they sell (HB 324).
I guess by no longer supporting it, they can deny “defeat” when the bill dies.
Good work Jim,
It appears that you have gotten their mind right about home inspectors. Although it looks that they think you will let them off the hook in regards to supporting sex offenders, say it isn’t so. The editors of all the major newspapers in Missouri should be made aware of this travesty and breach of public trust. By keeping them busy fighting fires in their own backyard will maybe keep them out of ours.
A little birdie tells me that a top rated major city television station is putting together an investigative report as we speak…
It seems that last week, it was discovered that the National Sex Offender Registry neglected to include a child molester living next door to a Day Care Center.
Some nasty home inspector, allegedly, contacted the reporter that did that feature and let her know that her real estate agent’s lobbiest has a bill before the legislature that would allow her agent to intentionally conceal a known sex offender from a prospective buyer…and simply refer them to this registry.
Yes…the one with the errors allowing child molesters to live next door to day care centers.
I hear that she literally “freaked out”. This should be a doozy.
I think our new Missouri slogan for the next bill proposing licensing from real estate salesmen will be “Physician…heal thyself.”
It would be interesting if the media were to ask the other well known home inspector associations operating within Missouri their position in regards to the Realtors attempt to skirt disclosing that sexual predators may be living next door to a day care center.
Regardless of whatever anyone else does, it is good to know that there is at least one HI association operating in Missouri whose prime directive is public safety and does not ever have to consult its political compass before doing the honorable thing.
Can someone enlighten me a little bit here. Other than the “Registry” which is maintained by state/county, etc. employees, where else can someone find a listing of the residence of a sexual preditor?
I don’t blame the Realtors for not being held liable to this mismanaged system. I wouldn’t either if all I had to depend on was a “register”. Why would I want to be liable for someone else’s inadequacy?
The real estate salesmen wants the right to conceal and be immune from any duty to disclose the fact that there is a convicted rapist living next door as they show a home to a single mom and her three daughters. They want the fact that they had the knowledge of the existence of this threat made moot by this bill, should the unsuspecting home buyer later decide to sue for their failure to disclose this fact.
The selling agent who has been told by the seller “I gotta get out of here. A rapist just moved in next door” wants to be immune from their failure to disclose. There is nothing at all that is understandable, honorable, or otherwise justified in that.
“These folks want everyone else accountable for everything, and want to be accountable themselves for nothing.” That is what the weekend news anchor in one Missouri city who is preparing a story on this told me last night.
Melodramatic. Really stretching to make a point as far as I’m concerned.
This type of sensationalism must be a big city or Missouri thing, because here in smallville one of two things would normally apply.
**Heads up everyone! A public hearing (supposedly) has been scheduled for Thursday morning at 8:00 am in Jeff City. Room unknown. It will be decided whether to go forward or not. I just found out about this this morning. Nice that they decided to give everyone a little advanced notice. **
Paul
James, do you include a report of the neighborhood of any sexual offenders in your inspections?
Not answering for James, but I put a link to the web site in my report that can tell my client. RE Agents believe it or not go ballistic over this because I do, guess what, I don’t give a S**T about the RE Agent, client do appreciate it.
John, in smallville, KS it does matter and RE Agents are nortorious about keeping their clients misinformed as much as possible and some of them are strong church goers. Go figure…
Does everyone actually knock on the door and check the ID of the person in question? I would hate to be responsible if perhaps the individual moved recently.
Perhaps Inspectors and Realtors should begin checking and reporting on:
The local church.
The local schools.
The local Boy Scouts.
The local bingo parlors.
Perhaps the K-mart has a convicted felon on the payroll back in the warehouse. Do they have a sign warning all customers?
Where do you stop. I throughly understand the concern, but…it’s a community issue, not a home inspector or realtor.
Are pedafiles who are buying a home required to disclose their status to the seller, neighborhood, realtor, etc.?
Anyone know of a law?
The case is being made…that the Missouri Association of Realtors is out of control.
I am literally busting at the seams to tell you more, but I am sworn to secrecy on the details until they come out, publicly. It is going to be pretty big, I am told.
I can probably talk more about this after next week.
I accept emails.
Exactly…which makes it ridiculous for a real estate salesman to ask for a law to make him immune from any action taken against him for concealing information in this regard.
None of your links in Post #1 work, Jim. (Well, at least two that I checked. HB 364 and 914 did not work).
Just a thought guys. Remember the Tojan Horse. They snuck it in - they didn’t put a billboard on top saying “we’re coming”.
Everybody like a surprise - I bet agents are no different.
“Publically” is the key word.