Unearned Fees
Have you bought or sold a home in the past year using a real estate broker? Does your HUD-1 closing form show that you were charged an administrative fee, administrative commission, broker commission or broker fee? If your answer to both questions is "yes," you may be entitled to recovery money under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).
RESPA is a federal law that protects consumers in settling real estate transactions by prohibiting certain abusive practices by real estate companies. More specifically, it is illegal for real estate companies to collect an unearned "junk" fee from a real estate buyer or seller.
This kind of fee is listed separately and in addition to the real estate company's percentage commission, and is always a specific dollar amount such as $199, $300, $400, etc. The junk fee usually appears in the 700 series or 1300 series of line items on a HUD 1. These fees may also be listed by names such as additional commission, admin fee, administration fee, broker admin fee, broker administration fee, broker's admin. fee, broker's administration commission, broker's bonus fee, broker commission fee, broker compliance fee, buyer's additional realtor fee, commission, compliance fee, GARP fee, other sales agent charges, real estate admin fee, real estate broker admin fee, realtor admin fee, regulatory compliance fee, selling agent incentive fee, transaction fee, document retrieval fee, and others.
Junk fees violate RESPA because they are not charged in connection with any services performed by the real estate company. Instead, they are merely an additional unearned fee that real estate companies unfairly collect at the expense of the consumer. Under RESPA, this practice is against the law, and victims of such practices may be entitled to recover money.
Clark Perdue currently represents the plaintiffs in a class action against Coldwell Banker for charging unearned junk fees in connection with real estate transactions.
If you or someone you know has been charged an unearned junk fee as part of a real estate transaction, contact the Ohio unearned real estate fee attorneys at Clark, Perdue & List.
