Real Estate From The Trenches

For Sale, But Not to You? The Fight Over Private Listings and Buyer Access

October 3, 2026

After the Sitzer/Burnett commission litigation, the DOJ scrutiny, the Clear Cooperation battles and all the other disruption the real estate industry has been through, you might think we would be running out of major fights. Apparently not. The next one may be over something even more fundamental: who actually gets access to homes that are for sale.

The latest battle is between Compass and California Regional MLS, or CRMLS, one of the largest MLS organizations in the country. Compass sent CRMLS a demand letter threatening federal antitrust litigation unless CRMLS changes rules that restrict the public marketing of certain listings that are being withheld from the MLS. CRMLS responded with a seven-page letter making it pretty clear it has no intention of backing down. In essence, CRMLS said it disagrees with Compass’s legal arguments, believes its rules are lawful and procompetitive, and if Compass decides to sue, CRMLS is prepared not only to defend itself but potentially pursue claims of its own.

The Real Estate Industry Has an Admin Fee Problem, but This Study Does Not Prove How Big It Is

July 29, 2026

A new report from the Consumer Policy Center , “Junk” Fees Charged to Both Home Sellers and Buyers: An Overview, is taking aim at the administrative, transaction, technology and brokerage fees charged by many real estate companies in addition to their regular commissions. The report, authored by Consumer Policy Center senior fellow Stephen Brobeck and fellow Wendy Gilch, says these fees generally range from $400 to $600, sometimes exceed $1,000 and are charged to most home buyers and sellers. The accompanying press release goes even further, reporting fees as high as $2,500 and estimating that consumers pay nearly $2 billion a year. Those claims are getting attention, as they should, but after reviewing the report, I think its strongest conclusion is considerably narrower than its headline suggests. Undisclosed or poorly explained fees deserve scrutiny, but this report does not establish how frequently they are actually being charged nationwide.To its credit, the report openly acknowledges its limitations. The authors say they could not find a publicly available source of national data on brokerage administrative fees and describe their work as more like an investigative report than the scholarly research they have published in the past. Much of the evidence comes from conversations with industry members and comments posted by agents, brokers and mortgage professionals on Reddit, Facebook, TikTok, Quora and other social media platforms. Hundreds of comments ...

The Real Story Behind Commissions, Pocket Listings, and Today’s Housing Market

April 20, 2026

The headlines around the NAR settlement made it sound like everything was about to change overnight. Lower commissions, more transparency, a more competitive market. A year later, the reality looks a lot different.

A new report from the Consumer Federation of America and National Urban League, based on a nationwide survey of 223 housing counselors, shows that while the rules changed, the market behavior largely hasn’t. If anything, it’s a good reminder that real estate doesn’t shift on headlines alone… it shifts slowly, and often unevenly.

Real Estate Wholesaling Under Pressure as States Move Toward Greater Regulation

April 17, 2026

New Laws Target Real Estate Wholesalers, and More States Could Be Next

According to an April 14, 2026 article by Dennis Norman, Missouri SB 1001 Targets Real Estate Wholesalers…Here’s What It Means for Investors in St. Louis Real Estate News, Missouri Senate Bill 1001 could significantly change how real estate wholesalers operate in the state, especially when it comes to contract assignment deals involving residential property. Norman reports that the bill has already passed the Missouri Senate, received its second reading in the House, and had not yet become law as of his article.

The part of the bill that matters most to investors is the disclosure requirement. As Norman explains, a wholesaler entering into a contract to purchase residential real estate would have to give the seller a written disclosure at least 14 days before the contract is signed. That disclosure must state that the buyer is a wholesaler, may assign the contract for a profit, and is not representing the seller.

Social Media Influencer Tyler Bossetti Convicted in Real Estate Investment Fraud Case

April 17, 2026

This isn’t just another fraud case. It’s a clear example of how real estate investing is being packaged and sold online, and where it can go wrong. A federal case out of Ohio put that into focus. Tyler Bossetti, a 31-year-old social media influencer, was sentenced to six years in prison after orchestrating what prosecutors say was a $20 million real estate Ponzi scheme. He brought in more than $23 million from investors across the U.S. and internationally, with losses exceeding $11 million. Bossetti promoted what he described as a real estate investment program through his company, Boss Lifestyle LLC, using platforms like Facebook and YouTube to build an audience. The pitch was aggressive but effective: short-term investments with returns of 30% or more. That kind of promise tends to get attention, especially from newer investors looking for faster ways into the market. It should also raise immediate skepticism. According to court documents, the operation went beyond exaggerated marketing. Bossetti filed fraudulent IRS forms to make it appear investors were earning interest income that didn’t exist, claiming he had reinvested those earnings when he had not. In reality, much of the money was used to fund a lifestyle that included luxury travel, a high-end SUV, and cryptocurrency speculation. From a real estate perspective, the bigger issue isn’t just the fraud itself. It’s how it was delivered. Social media has become a powerful tool for shaping perception around real estat...

Major Win for Real Estate Investors as Court Vacates FinCEN Reporting Rule

March 20, 2026

A recent federal court decision out of Texas just handed real estate investors a significant win, striking down the Treasury Department’s FinCEN rule that would have required nationwide reporting of many all-cash residential real estate transactions.

In Flowers Title Companies, LLC v. U.S. Treasury, the court vacated the 2024 FinCEN rule that targeted non-financed residential real estate transfers involving entities and trusts. The rule, which had taken effect December 1, 2025, would have required reporting on an estimated 800,000 to 850,000 transactions annually, with compliance costs projected between $428 million and $690 million in the first year alone.

The 40% Referral Fee You Didn’t Know You Were Paying

February 25, 2026

The Hidden Cost of Referral Fees - Who Really Pays the Price?

If you’re a homebuyer, there’s a good chance you’ve clicked “Contact Agent” on a portal and assumed you were simply being connected to a local professional. What many consumers don’t realize is that behind that click, there is often a 30% to 40% referral fee being paid out of the agent’s commission.

According to a February 2026 report from the Consumer Policy Center titled Commission-Based Home Referral Services: Consumer Impacts and Proposed Reforms , these referral fees have become a major revenue source for portals and referral platforms. In many cases, the buyer’s agent is paying 30% to 40% of their commission to the company that supplied the lead. Zillow, for example, commonly charges 40% on many transactions. Redfin’s partner fees range into the 30% to 40% range as well.

Hard Money Loans and FinCEN Reporting: Why Many “Non-Financed” Deals Still Trigger Reports

February 8, 2026

a new nationwide rule from Financial Crimes Enforcement Network changes how many residential real estate transactions are reported to the federal government

Starting March 1, 2026, a new nationwide rule from Financial Crimes Enforcement Network changes how many residential real estate transactions are reported to the federal government. If you are an investor buying in an LLC or trust, or a private or hard money lender funding those deals, this rule is going to touch your transactions more often than you may expect. The key risk is not penalties. It is delays, deal friction, and misunderstanding who triggers reporting and why.

The rule targets a very specific category of transactions: residential property, bought by a legal entity or trust, when the deal is considered non-financed. That last phrase is where many investors and lenders get tripped up. Non-financed does not simply mean all cash. Many private and hard money loans still fall into the non-financed bucket because the lender is not subject to federal anti-money laundering programs and Suspicious Activity Report requirements. In those cases, the transaction is treated much like a cash deal for reporting purposes.

Rocket Mortgage Sued Over Steering Scheme That May Have Cost Buyers Thousands

January 27, 2026

Rocket Mortgage Sued Over Alleged Steering That Cost Buyers Money

A newly filed class action lawsuit accuses Rocket Mortgage and its affiliated companies of steering homebuyers toward Rocket loans in ways that may have violated federal law and increased costs for consumers.

According to the complaint, Rocket used its Rocket Homes referral network to pressure real estate agents to direct buyers to Rocket Mortgage. Agents who complied were rewarded with more leads. Agents who did not risked losing business. A CFPB investigation found that buyers who came through Rocket’s referral network often paid higher interest rates and fees than buyers who did not.

Trump Takes Aim at Wall Street Homebuyers…But Will It Really Help Families Compete?

January 21, 2026

President Trump’s executive order targeting institutional investors in single-family housing is making headlines, but the actual impact, at least in the short term, may be more symbolic than structural. While the order sets a firm tone against large firms competing with families for homes, the devil is in the definitions and implementation. It gives the Treasury Department 30 days to define what qualifies as a “large institutional investor,” and until those guidelines are clear, there’s a lot of room for interpretation. For now, the order primarily restricts federal agencies from selling or facilitating the sale of government-held single-family homes to large investors that could be purchased by owner-occupants instead. That’s a relatively narrow slice of the market.Big players, hedge funds and REITs with thousands of homes under management, are the clear targets here, especially those scooping up distressed or foreclosed homes in bulk from government sources. But most of the private acquisitions of single-family homes by large investors aren’t coming directly from the government anymore. Much of that happened in the post-2008 era. These days, institutional investors are buying on the open market like everyone else, often competing with families, but also paying retail. The executive order doesn’t restrict that. It also includes exceptions for build-to-rent communities, which have been a major area of growth for institutional capital and are excluded as long as they’re dev...

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