Legal and Regulatory - St Louis Real Estate News

Sitzer v National Association of Realtors: A Mid-Trial Summary

By Dennis Norman, on October 27th, 2023

I’ve been discussing and writing about the Sitzer v National Association of REALTORS®, et al, lawsuit since it was originally filed in 2019. My previous articles on this case, as well as the Moerhl suit—a similar lawsuit filed in Illinois—can be found at the links below, which are in chronological order with the most recent first:

Do Agents Steer Homebuyers? National Association of REALTORS and Big Brokerages Dealt Another Blow In The Moehrl Class Action Lawsuit Today How the real estate industry is going to be turned upside down and why sellers may no longer have to pay buyer agents Continue Reading →

Beware of Seller Impersonation Fraud: A Real-Life Example and How to Protect Yourself

By Dennis Norman, on October 27th, 2023

Seller impersonation fraud, also known as deed fraud, is a growing concern in the real estate industry. This type of fraud involves forging the property owner’s signature to illegally transfer ownership of the property. A recent case in the City of St. Louis serves as a cautionary tale for homeowners.

A Disturbing Case in St. Louis

Bernadette Brown, a member of the Royal Realty Group LLC, recently discovered that a property owned by the LLC at 1129 Penrose Street, St. Louis, MO 63107, was conveyed to Keith Brown via a Quit Claim deed. Bernadette Brown claims her name was forged Continue Reading →

Do Landlords Have to Allow Support Animals If They Have a No Pet Policy?

By Dennis Norman, on September 23rd, 2023

With changing regulations, subdivision restrictions, municipal ordinances, state and federal laws, landlords certainly have a lot to keep up with today to make sure they stay compliant in their rental business. I’ve been in the business over 40 years, have an interest-and a fair understanding of- laws that affect real estate, yet still find it challenging to stay updated. Given this, I can only imagine the challenge faced by someone with a full-time career who also owns rental properties as an investment. Perhaps, this might be a compelling reason to consider hiring a professional property manager for your rentals. However, Continue Reading →

National Association of REALTORS Faces More Challenges This Week

By Dennis Norman, on August 29th, 2023

As I’ve previously discussed, the National Association of REALTORS¬Æ (NAR) is grappling with a myriad of challenges. These range from multiple class-action lawsuits to scrutiny from the Department of Justice (DOJ). This past week, the organization faced two more setbacks.

First, a scandal erupted involving NAR’s President, Kenny Parcell. Reports suggest that Parcell was accused of sexually harassing women within the organization. While this news began circulating about a week ago, it gained significant momentum when the New York Times published an expos√© last Saturday. The report prompted industry-wide calls for Parcell’s resignation. Consequently, Kenny Parcell stepped down as President Continue Reading →

St. Louis City Considers New Ordinance Targeting Landlords

By Dennis Norman, on August 22nd, 2023

Last month, city of St Louis mayor, Tishaura Jones, signed into law a new ordinance which provides “access to legal representation for tenants facing eviction or equivalent proceedings”. Surprisingly, it does not appear that the tenant needs to show a final hardship or need for “full legal representation” to be provided at no cost as the bill defines a “covered individual” as “any residential tenant who occupies a dwelling located within the City under a claim of legal right, other than the legal property owner of the dwelling.” Another interesting thing in the ordinance is that it appears to include Continue Reading →

Two St Louis Metro Area Cities Make The “Safest Cities In The U.S.” List

By Dennis Norman, on July 15th, 2023

In Ridgefield, Connecticut you only have a 1 in 510 chance of being a victim of crime, according to recent FBI data. This makes Ridgefield, CT the safest city in the U.S.! This is based upon the crime rate for crimes of arson, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, murder, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault for cities with a population of at least 25,000 people. As the map below shows, the St Louis metro area has two cities that made the list, Ballwin, Missouri (#41) and Edwardsville, Illinois (#33).

See all homes for sale, and recently sold homes in Ballwin Continue Reading →

Are Homebuyers Today Grossly Overpaying for Homes and Making Decisions They’ll Regret?

By Dennis Norman, on June 2nd, 2023

I’ve been in the real estate business since I was 17, which means it has been 45 years of experiencing various market conditions, including recessions, inflation, 18% mortgage rates, the burst of the housing bubble, and a myriad of other good and bad things. However, I can confidently say that I have never witnessed a real estate market quite like the one we have been experiencing in the past couple of years.

So, what makes the current real estate market so unique? First and foremost, I’ve pondered this question extensively, and I honestly can’t recall a time in this industry Continue Reading →

How the real estate industry is going to be turned upside down and why sellers may no longer have to pay buyer agents

By Dennis Norman, on April 1st, 2023

Let me begin by saying that I’m not a sensationalist, nor am I an advocate for everything I write about. Additionally, I am not an attorney, so this not a legal opinion. I am simply a real estate broker that has been very active in the profession and industry for over 40 years now. I strive to stay on top of industry and market changes so that the agents in our firm, MORE, REALTORS®, and their clients can avoid surprises and be prepared. Another reason I do this is to share what I have learned with consumers. I believe that Continue Reading →

Think Twice Before Using a Marital Waiver Without an Attorney

By Dennis Norman, on March 16th, 2023

Don't use marital waivers without legal counsel

In Missouri real estate transactions, a “marital waiver” may come into play when one spouse is not on title but still has legally protected property rights. While it may sound like a simple workaround, it’s anything but. A marital waiver is a legal document that can significantly impact a person’s rights and should never be handled casually.

For homeowners, signing a marital waiver without proper legal counsel can be risky. These waivers often release homestead or marital rights in real estate and are typically required to complete a sale when only one spouse is on the title. However, in Continue Reading →

CFPB Orders Wells Fargo To Pay $3.7 Billion…Includes more than $2 B in redress to consumers

By Dennis Norman, on December 20th, 2022

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released details of a Consent Order they reached with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. in which Wells Fargo is ordered to pay “more than $2 billion in redress to consumers and a $1.7 billion civil penalty for legal violations across several of its largest product lines.” According to a press release issued by the CFPB, Wells Fargo’s “..illegal conduct led to billions of dollars in financial harm to its customers and, for thousands of customers, the loss of their vehicles and homes.” Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, stated “Wells Continue Reading →

Lawsuit Filed Against Zillow With Accusations of Wiretapping and Invasion of Privacy

By Dennis Norman, on September 15th, 2022

On Monday of this week, a federal lawsuit was filed in the United Status District Court for the Western District of Washington by Natalie Perkins and Kenneth Hasson against Zillow Group, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation. The suit was filed as a class action complaint on behalf of “All natural persons in the United States and its territories whose Website Communications were captured through the use of Session Replay Code embedded in Zillow’s website”.

In the complaint, the plaintiff’s allege that the defendants, Zillow and Microsoft, violated the Washington Wiretapping Statute (Wash. Rev. Code §9.73.030, et. seq.) through the use of Continue Reading →

Most Consumers Who Sold to Opendoor Lost Money According to FTC Complaint

By Sandie Hea, on August 3rd, 2022

Maybe you’ve received an unsolicited offer recently to buy your home via email or postcard from Opendoor, a home buying firm. OpenDoor will make an offer on your house, bypassing the traditional method of selling your home via a REALTOR® using the MLS (which reaches 13,000+ REALTORS®) and entices you with catchy phrases on their website like “Get an instant offer and get paid” and “Skip showings and repairs”. It can sound good and SIMPLE but, according to the FTC complaint against OPENDOOR LABS, Inc. (Opendoor) and the agreement and consent order, “…consumers who sold to Opendoor have lost money Continue Reading →

Sitzer vs NAR (National Association of REALTORS) – Good or bad for consumers?

By Dennis Norman, on April 28th, 2022

In an article published yesterday, I referenced the Sitzer vs National Association of REALTORS law suit and said I would have a more in-depth discussion about that suit and here it is. The lawsuit was filed by Joshua Sitzer, Amy Winger, Scott and Rhonda Burnett and Ryan Hendrickson on June 21, 2019 against the National Association of REALTORS® and the parent companies of major real estate companies and franchises including Coldwell Banker, ReMax, Keller Williams and Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices.

The Sitzer lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri sought to be certified Continue Reading →

Eviction Moratorium Extended To July 31st But Is The Last Extension

By Dennis Norman, on June 24th, 2021

The Director for the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky, signed an extension to the eviction moratorium extending its expiration from June 30, 2021 to July 31, 2021. The CDC has indicated that “this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium.”

[xyz-ips snippet=”Homes-For-Sale”]

Federal Court Overturns the CDC Ordered Eviction Moratorium

By Dennis Norman, on May 5th, 2021

UPDATE: After the decision by to overturn the eviction moratorium was decided upon by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich on May 5th, at 6:54pm that evening the U.S. Government filed a notice of appeal as well as a motion for an emergency stay to not have the eviction moratorium lifted until after the appeal. Judge Dabney L. Friedrich through a Minute Order, granted the stay, thereby leaving the eviction moratorium in place for now but noting that “This Minute Order should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of the defendants’ motion.” The judge allowed the Continue Reading →

CFPB Proposes Banning Foreclosures Through The End Of This Year

By Dennis Norman, on April 7th, 2021

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) earlier this week proposed rule changes that would help prevent “avoidable foreclosures” that will come about when the current foreclosure ban expires June 30th. According to the CFPB, nearly 3 million homeowners are delinquent on their mortgages as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the economic issues that have come about as a result.

The CFPB’s proposed rule changes include:

Require a pre-foreclosure review period that would generally prohibit loan servicers from starting foreclosure until after December 31, 2021 on loans secured by a borrower’s principal residence. Permit loan servicers to Continue Reading →

Transparency in the home buying process including buyer’s agent commissions

By Dennis Norman, on February 13th, 2021

In December I wrote about multiple class-action lawsuits filed against the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), as well as some of the largest real estate brokerages, like ReMax and Keller Williams as well as a Department of Justice (DOJ) complaint filed again NAR over issues related to the lack of transparency in the home buying process.

The aforementioned complaints claim, among other things, that there has been an effort by the defendants to force buyers to pay an “inflated” price for a home as a result of the buyer not realizing the seller was forced to offer a commission to Continue Reading →

Remembering Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Dennis Norman, on January 18th, 2021

Today, as we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who is best known as a leader in the Civil Rights movement, I wanted to look at how his efforts also ultimately resulted in the Fair Housing Act, which sought to end discrimination in housing.

Through the efforts of the civil rights movement, Dr. King and others were able to get the attention of our nation resulting in President John F. Kennedy, in a nationally televised address on June 6, 1963, urging the nation to ” take action toward guaranteeing equal treatment of every American regardless of Continue Reading →

Coming Soon To A REALTOR® Near You – Commission Transparency

By Dennis Norman, on December 1st, 2020

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has come under attack over the past few months as a defendant in two class-action lawsuits, Christopher Moehrl v The National Association of REALTORS® and Joshua A. Sitzer and Amy Winger v The National Association of REALTORS® filed in March and April of 2019 respectively, and, most recently, a complaint brought by the Department of Justice, United States v National Association of REALTORS® filed this month. The latter came with a pre-arranged proposed settlement with NAR. I should also mention the two class-action lawsuits have as additional defendants Realogy Holdings Corp (the own and Continue Reading →

Ten Years Later…Update On The Homeowner Sentenced To Jail For Yard Art (Updated Photos Too)

By Dennis Norman, on February 26th, 2020

Nearly ten years ago I first wrote about the owner of a property in Ballwin that was sentenced to 20 days in jail after he had refused to make changes to the art displayed in his yard that officials for the city of Ballwin had deemed to be dangerous. The property owner, Lewis Greenberg, had decorated his home and filled his yard with a variety of items he referred to as “art” that was to make a statement about the Holocaust.

After hearing of this back in May 2010, I decided to check out his home at 977 Morena Court, Continue Reading →

Housing Markets Benefit From Opportunity Zones In Some Areas Of St Louis

By Dennis Norman, on February 20th, 2020

Opportunity Zones were created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that President Donald J. Trump signed into law on December 22, 2017. Opportunity zones were established to help communities that are economically-distressed and work by promoting private investment and development through the use of tax incentives. There are a total of 8.760 designated Qualified Opportunity Zones in the U.S. and there are 140 Opportunity Zones in Missouri.

Opportunity zones appear to have had a positive impact on the housing market in several opportunity zones in the St Louis area. According to data just released by ATTOM Date Solutions, Continue Reading →

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s Life Work Led To Fair Housing In America

By Dennis Norman, on January 20th, 2020

No Cap On No Money Down VA Loan After January 1st

By Dennis Norman, on December 28th, 2019

Buying a home for veterans will get a little easier come January 1, 2020, especially those veterans moving up to a more expensive home, as a result of the Blue Water Navy Veterans Act of 2019 signed into law by President Trump in June 2019. The primary focus of the Act was to provide disability benefits to veterans who served in Vietnam, it also made significant changes to the VA Home Loan benefit available to all veterans. The VA home loan changes go into effect on January 1, 2020. Below are highlights of the changes to the VA home loan Continue Reading →

REALTORS® Adopt New MLS Rule Aimed To Eliminate “Off-MLS” Listings

By Dennis Norman, on November 12th, 2019

Yesterday, the board of directors for the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) approved a new policy dubbed the “Clear Cooperation Policy” which goes into effect January 1, 2020, and Multiple Listing Service’s (MLS) have until May 1, 2020, to adopt and implement.

While the vote by the board of directors, 729 in favor of it to 70 opposed, may not reflect it, there is a lot of controversy about this policy among real estate agents and brokers that are members of NAR. The two main changes this new policy bring about are that agents would be mandated to put, for Continue Reading →

REALTORS® Association Considers New Rule Requiring All Listings Be In MLS

By Dennis Norman, on October 3rd, 2019

The MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board, of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), proposed a rule change that is sparking some controversy among its’ members. The proposed “Clear Cooperation Policy” requires that all listings be put in the MLS within 24 hours of “marketing a property to the public“. The policy defines “public marketing” as including, but not limited to, “flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, digital marketing on public-facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public”.

But, isn’t that how Continue Reading →

Meth Labs and Real Estate

By Dennis Norman, on September 24th, 2019

Yesterday, someone shared with me an article that appeared on CBS News online about a couple, Tyler and Elisha Hessel, that discovered the house they purchased had previously been the subject of a meth lab seizure. The home, at 7218 Valley Drive in Barnhart, Missouri, was purchased by the Hessel’s in January of 2018. According to the article, Elisha is expecting a baby and, earlier this year, the results of some standard pregnancy-related tests showed the baby tested positive for amphetamines. This led to the Hessel’s discovering that the home they purchased was on a list of Meth Lab Seizures Continue Reading →

President Trump Signs Bill To Eliminate Cap On VA Loans

By Dennis Norman, on June 27th, 2019

This past Tuesday night, President Trump signed into law H.R. 299, the “Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act” was signed into law by President Trump on Tuesday night. H.R. 299, which, among other things good for veterans, eliminates the cap on VA Loans. Currently, the VA can only “guarantee” (they insure 25% of the loan amount for lenders, which is why lenders are willing to make 100% loans to veterans) loans up to the limit established by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act (FHLMCA). Currently, the loan limit is $484,350 however, after the new law goes into effect on Continue Reading →

Who Pays The Buyers Agent?

By Dennis Norman, on March 22nd, 2019

I saw an article recently about the results of a survey done of home sellers that found that nearly half of them didn’t realize they pay the buyers’ agent commission when they sell their home.

Sellers pay the buyers’ agent in almost all home sales in St Louis…

While I don’t know for sure, I would guess that the people surveyed were homeowners that planned to sell their homes, rather than sellers that already had their homes listed for sale. I say this because the standard listing agreement used by St Louis REALTORS® spells out the total commission being charged Continue Reading →

Is The St Louis Housing Inventory Down 25 Percent Or Up 10 Percent? The Importance Of Understanding The Data.

By Dennis Norman, on February 23rd, 2019

I promise not to turn this article into one of my boring, lengthy diatribes that only a data nerd could enjoy, however, I do want to discuss something that I think is very important for all home buyers, sellers and investors. Given that today there is a plethora of “data” and “information” available to us thanks, in large part, to the internet, and that home buyer, sellers, and investors (as well as the real estate agents working with them) make decisions based, at least in part, to those things, it is imperative to know you have the right data and Continue Reading →

Is The Listing Agent Required To Inform Your Buyers Agent Of Multiple Offers?

By Dennis Norman, on March 18th, 2018

In today’s low-inventory real estate market here in St Louis, it’s common for would-be buyers to miss out on a house they want even when they make a strong offer only to find out they got beat out by another buyer offering a higher price or better terms. This is particularly true for people trying to buy a foreclosure with increasing demand and decreasing supply, it is not uncommon to have 5, 10 or even more offers for the newly listed foreclosed property.

Does the listing agent have to inform you of multiple offers?

No one Continue Reading →