Links to Realtors

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Question:

I recently attended a compliance workshop. During the workshop there was an internet compliance discussion regarding weblinking to realtors. It was stated that this practice could be considered a violation of Sec 8 of RESPA. I am in the process of doing some research on this subject but need further clarification. We do provide links to all local realtors on our website and if we are indeed in violation, would like to get that taken care of before we are cited.

Answer:

The web link could have several types of risk associated with it. One is a Section 8 referral violation. To my knowledge this has yet to be tested. If there are reciprocal links you may be able to call it a marketing offset but then you may have to ask the question of hits on your site vs. hits on their site. If they are not comparable, you are back to square one and Section 8 possibilities.

I requested an official opinion on this several years ago but I fear it fell into a black hole at HUD.

First published on BankersOnline.com 12/1/03