by Mandatory Marcus

Created on: June 11, 2009

Of all the monikers, titles, designations and certifications of which I am aware; the one that stands as the greatest beacon of meaninglessness is this: Realtor.

Problem number one is that to become a Realtor, you first need to get a real estate license; which isn't worth the paper it's printed on. A well trained monkey can get this license. I know because I have one....a license that is; not a monkey.

From there all you have to do is join the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and adhere to their "strict code of Ethics" and you have earned the right to call yourself a Realtor...provided of course you pay your annual dues.

Never mind that the "strict code of Ethics" is really just a list of common sense business practices that if transgressed, would probably get you sued anyway.

But boy do those Realtors like to tout that "code of Ethics" in all their ads. I assume they are banking on you (the consumer) thinking..."hey wait a minute; these 'non-Realtors' don't have any code of Ethics so they must be crooks. Quick...somebody find me a Realtor...!"

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for having your own little club where you can make up your own rules, play your own games and have your own secret handshakes. But when you pass it along to the consumer as a benefit to them...when it's really just for your own benefit...it rubs me the wrong way.

Far from being an organization that is working to drive down the consumer costs of buying/selling real estate, or from encouraging free market competition; NAR works diligently through its political action committee (RPAC) to accomplish consumer friendly goals like attempting to squash discount brokerage models and preventing banks from being able to sell real estate.

Oh wait a second...that doesn't help consumers. That helps Realtors at the expense of consumers.

Here's a quick math lesson to demonstrate how we are victimized by a pricing model largely insulated from any real competition:

Realtors will try to get a seller to agree to "the customary commission" of 6% of the sale price of a home; though in 2008 the average commission was 5.2%. Now imagine you paid $400K for a home and two years later are selling it for $500K. You will pay a commission in the amount of 5.2% of $500K or $26K.

But wait a second...you already paid $400K when you bought the house. All that money from the sale is going to pay off your existing mortgage and recoup your down payment (if you had one). Which means that you are paying a commission on money you already

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