Bugs, I’m sorry, but I don’t get it. What you call mortgage fraud is being done big time by Buyside right now. Are they being prosecuted?

I can see fraud if the seller was kicking back money to the buyer after the transactions closes. But how is a sharing of commission by the buyer’s agent with his client fraud? The house is worth what it is worth, and the appraiser should be identifying that amount. Why is the sharing of a commission paid pursuant to a listing agreement fraud?

And regarding negotiating a lower commission…huh? The seller identifies the compensation amount when the house is listed. What exactly would the buyer be negotiating, and with whom? A rewrite of the MLS posting?

Anyway, really, I think this whole thing is like a cat chasing its tale. The system and the 6% commission structure has inflated everything by that much, and created the opportunity for all kinds of behind the secenes nonsense for a long time. It has been like an anchor around the neck of the RE marketplace, and its all the worse now with house prices in SD county for decent SFRs between $600k and a mill. However, I have to think with the internet, the wall is starting to crumble, slowly.