<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>518795-00361</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>Received Date:</b></TD> <TD>11/17/2005 1:45:01 PM</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>Organization:</b></TD> <TD>Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>Commenter:</b></TD> <TD>Mitchell, Nancy</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><b>State:</b></TD> <TD>CA</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/> To: The Department of Justice I have been a realtor for over 20 years and have found our industry to be one of the most competitive fields. It doesn't require a lot of education so that almost everybody at one time or another wants to become a realtor. One of the problems with this is that many people get licensed and only sell one or two properties and can't make it in the business because it is so competitive. They end up with lots of credit card debt and find that they have to leave the field after working for 6-8 months and earning poverty level income. In addition to getting in debt, they never become really knowledgeable in the real estate industry and make some critical mistakes with their customers suffering the consequences of their lack of knowledge. It is not a complicated business but it does require attention to detail and there are a lot of rules, regulations, and procedures to follow. In such a short time, they are unable to acquire these abilities. And they take away income from really qualified realtors who make a living listing and selling property. And not to minimize how it affects the industry, we tend to lose our professional impression on clients and the general public when everybody and anybody can become a realtor. If the banking industry is allowed to participate in this business, I believe it will be a real dis-service to homebuyers and homesellers. In my opinion, It is a conflict of interest to both represent the buyer in getting a loan and in obtaining a home. Because they would have the ability to make a commission on both the mortgage and home purchase, they could offer to do it for less and push out the realtors who only focus on servicing their clients in the sale or purchase of a home. Thank you for your consideration </body> </HTML>