What I Learned By Sitting In The Room

A lifetime ago, I was a brand-new licensee working in property management, and my broker gave me an assignment that was not in any textbook: Go to the courthouse. Sit through the eviction docket and take notes. So I did. I listened to the questions the judge kept asking, what landlords could not answer, what tenants said that actually mattered, and which paragraph of the lease kept getting read aloud. Then I went back to the office and rebuilt our lease, procedures, and training around what ...

A Seller Impersonation Attempt, Start to Finish

In August 2026 a licensed Arizona agent took an unsolicited call from a man claiming to own a vacant parcel in a county he did not live near. The caller wanted a fast cash close and proposed meeting in a third state to sign paperwork and collect his proceeds. He was not the owner. It was the second impersonation attempt directed at the same licensee in under ten months. One led to an arrest and multiple convictions, the second led to the real owner notified of ID theft and wire account ...

Federal Appeals Court Affirms Sitzer-Burnett Settlements

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed final approval of nationwide settlements resolving antitrust claims involving real estate broker commissions, rejecting challenges brought by seven groups of objectors and intervenors.

The August 19 decision represents the latest development in the Sitzer-Burnett litigation, which challenged rules and practices involving offers of compensation to buyer brokers through multiple listing services. A Missouri ...

New York Private-Listing Bill Emphasizes Disclosure and Consumer Choice

New York lawmakers have approved legislation that would establish new requirements for how residential real estate listings are marketed, while preserving the ability of sellers and landlords to choose limited or private marketing.

The Fair and Transparent Real Estate Listings Act, A10679-B, passed the New York Assembly on May 29 and the Senate on June 1. The measure is awaiting action by Governor Kathy Hochul.

Under the legislation, ...

Montana Supreme Court Reverses Licensing Board Discipline Based on Unwritten Standard

The Montana Supreme Court has reversed disciplinary action against a licensed cosmetology school, finding that a state licensing board improperly relied on an unwritten professional standard to establish unprofessional conduct.

In Montana Academy of Salons v. Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, the dispute arose from the school's handling of student complaints involving inappropriate conduct by an instructor between 2014 and 2016. ...