or centuries, the common law of agency-with its requirement that the agent/firm put the interests of the client ahead of all others, including their own-was the standard to which all agents, inside or outside the world of real estate, had to rise. For better than a century, this was also the standard to which the National Association of Realtors and-when it was formed-the Wisconsin Realtors Association, WRA, adhered and promoted.

Suddenly, in the early 1990's, all that changed. No longer were the large and mega-large brokerage houses content to adhere to the standards of common law agency. Sensing a threat from a small subsection within their ranks known as buyer brokers, the WRA began to move silently, but aggressively, to protect their "in-house" deal market share from these upstart buyer brokers, by changing the laws that gave Wisconsin home buyer and seller clients the highest level of protection available...that which is only found under the common law of agency.

In fact, with their Agency "Reform" Act of 1994, the Wisconsin Realtors Association effectively robbed every home buyer and seller client in the State of Wisconsin of the right to receive agency-level services in a transaction by silently turning all Wisconsin licensees into facilitators...yet, to this day, all clients still pay for agency- level services. Now, the WRA comes with yet another attempt at robbing/deceiving Wisconsin's home buyers and sellers...Designated Agency.

Under Designated Agency, the Managing Broker of the firm can appoint one licensee from the firm to represent a buyer's best interests and another to represent the seller's best interests...IN THE SAME TRANSACTION. Yes...clients are expected to believe that the firm is going to negotiate against its own best interests of seeing a transaction come together, to get each of them the best deal...when the firm has the opportunity to exercise influence and, ostensibly, control over two parties in the same transaction. Can you say, "Conflict of Interest"?

Would you hire an attorney from a law firm that is suing you, to represent you in that same matter? Why on earth would it be any different when seeking representation from a realty firm...except that the dollar amounts involved are probably going to be the highest you are likely to deal with in your life!

Please join with REAL-Reform as we chronicle the WRA's past decade of deception, and work to undo their confusion by returning the common law of agency to the citizens of the State of Wisconsin and by fighting to oppose the WRA's latest scheme...Designated Agency.