<HTML> <HEAD> <title>WebForm1</title> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 7.1"> <meta name="CODE_LANGUAGE" content="Visual Basic .NET 7.1"> <meta name="vs_defaultClientScript" content="JavaScript"> <meta name="vs_targetSchema" content="http://schemas.microsoft.com/intellisense/ie5"> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content='text/html; charset=UTF-8'> </HEAD> <body > <TABLE id="Table1" cellSpacing="1" cellPadding="1" width="100%" border="0"> <TR> <TD><b>Comment Number:</b></TD> <TD>518795-00339</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>Received Date:</b></TD> <TD>11/15/2005 2:51:39 PM</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>Organization:</b></TD> <TD>Semonin Realtors</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>Commenter:</b></TD> <TD>Lynch, David</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>State:</b></TD> <TD>KY</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>Agency:</b></TD> <TD>Federal Trade Commission</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>Rule:</b></TD> <TD>Competition Policy and the Real Estate Industry</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>Docket ID:</b></TD> <TD>To Be Added</TD> </TR> <TR> <td colspan='2'>No Attachments</td> </TR> </TABLE> <hr/> <b>Comments:</b><br/><br/> Not only do we have to compete with third party companies, Real Estate Companies, Corporations, we have to compete with For Sale By Owners. Everyone is interested in cutting cost, so we must be competitive. More and More companies, Corporations and Relo's are offering kickbacks to clients if you will use their services or let them provide you the agent. Lending Tree.com is trying to be the middle contact to provide the agent. All of these appear to promise reduced cost or money discount back to the purchaser or seller. In our location there is one agent for every two hundred homes. There is no medical, no retirement, no hearing and vision, no paycheck every week, bi-weekly, monthly. No security. All expenses are paid by the agent. There are no guarantees or unions. No security. How about showing us how the industry is not competitive. The real estate industry is a model of competition that works. In an economy in which large, national corporations -- such as Wal-Mart and Microsoft -- dominate the marketplace, real estate stands apart. We are an industry made up predominantly of small businesses and independent contractors who represent the entrepreneurial spirit this country was founded on. All of us serve localized markets where we compete for business every day. Fierce competition is fueled largely by the uniquely intense and personalized nature of the service we provide to our clients -- which, in turn, determines our future success through referrals and return business. Barriers to entry are low. If you are willing to take the time to learn the business in your local market, pass the state license examination and adhere to the REALTOR&reg; code of ethics, there is nothing to stand in the way of success in this industry. I had to learn the business and pass the state licensing examination, but it is my own work ethic, commitment to professional standards and dedication to client satisfaction that determine my success. Even through the economic downturns our country has experienced in the past few years, our industry has continued to provide opportunity -- something I would say is confirmed by the thousands of new agents that join our profession every year and the over 2 million Americans who are now licensed to provide professional real estate services in communities across the country. Nothing encourages a competitive business environment more than providing consumers with choice. In the residential real estate marketplace, consumers not only are able to choose from more than 76,000 brokerage firms and more than 1.2 million REALTORS®, but also from a variety of business models. </body> </HTML>