Durham and others speaking to this issue vis a vis the public and the interpretation(s) by the public:

First, let us remember that these forums are "open to the public" so let's keep the conversation respectable so as not to sound unprofessional, each in our chosen field of endeavor.
Remember: There are Wal-Mart customers and Nordstrom customers "for a reason" and water seeks its own level. Its all about choice in the marketplace. The market is what the market is. If the public has had an unpleasant experience using either system, they will each and all tell at least twelve other people not to use such and such a service or business.

But often what is not understood by the buying or selling public is what exactly a REALTOR does for a living. Much of what we do is administrative in nature. By "law" REALTORS are governed under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act and must adhere to a strict Code of Ethics (others report to no one and can pretty much do and say what they like). We must keep multitudes of records that are in an auditable format. Every written and/or spoken word can be, and often is, monitored, and must be recorded and be able to be produced upon request.

The government (in reality), although now an industry self-regulating council in many trading areas, oversees every word we write in the form advertising among other jurisdictions (and advertising comes in many forms: your business card, just as an example, is a form of advertising) along with how we market our listings (known as truth in advertising)... there is plenty of misleading material out there, and someone has a full-time job trying to monitor us, the "professionals," at all times.

REALTORS and non-REALTORS functioning within the real estate industry (even those who must report to no one), along with members of the public who have been following this thread, may find it useful and or interesting to read some of the other articles on my corporate real estate site (I wrote them all) as well as these specific links (one is U.S. related, one Canadian).

This will provide for you an overview of the costs related to running a real estate business, whether you are a sole operator or a major corporation, and discusses how it is that the "salesperson/registrant" does not get to keep all the fees actually paid by the public.

Many members of the public have read these articles and have contacted me saying that they previously had no idea... and now they understand why so many of the non-REALTOR companies have come and gone by charging low fees. Not that they didn't do a good job necessarily, marketing the property, but that the fees charged did not enable the company to earn enough in the end to survive. Everyone deserves to earn a profit.

Feel free to contact me off list, also, if you wish, at:

bramptonhomes@carolyne.com

http://www.carolyne.com/bramptonhomes/costs_usa.html

http://www.carolyne.com/bramptonhomes/costs.html

We take this business very seriously, and wish everyone would just stop bashing one another. It makes us look like naughty children in a school playground. Honest discussion is the purpose of this forum. Kindly govern yourselves accordingly.
Carolyne ~ Moderator

http://www.epowerorganizeIT.com
www.Carolyne.com