when real estate agents go over the line

Luxury Real EstateAlthough not listed in this year’s Careercast’s annual Top 10 Most Stressful Jobs, “real estate agent” has been included in previous years’ lists. Supposedly, real estate is one of those industries where “frequent or difficult interactions with the public or clients” along with high levels of stress may also be responsible for high levels of depression, as described by Wulsin, Alterman, Bushnell, Li, & Shen in their 2014 study (Prevalence rates for depression by industry: A claims database analysis. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatric Epidemiology, 49,1805-1821). Results suggested that the real estate industry has the second highest rate of depression, second only to bus drivers and transit workers. Certainly to be included in such lists is not an achievement. However, it may explain the erratic behavior of the few agents who are willing to go over the line to gain an edge over their competitors; such as in this recent account…

In their November 2nd Miami Herald article (Secret tapes, blackmail threat: Luxe real-estate rivalry turns nasty in Miami; miamiherald.com), David Ovalle and Nicholas Nehamas gives us insight to the highly competitive Miami uber-luxury real estate market. What seems to be the plot of a TV crime drama is the real life story that will soon conclude in a court room. Having pleaded not guilty, a middle aged real estate agent is now awaiting trial for “felony extortion, resisting arrest with violence and attempting to deprive an officer of his weapon.”

The story’s main characters are the agent duo known as “the Jills” and Kevin Tomlinson. The Jills have been recognized as being a top producing team in Miami’s luxury real estate market for some time. Tomlinson is no slouch either. He has also been recognized as a top Miami luxury agent, and in the past served on the board for the Miami Association of Realtors®. And although Ovalle and Nehamas’ report suggested that the Jills garnered jealousy from other agents; others have also questioned their business practices.

At the heart of the matter was the allegation that the Jills hid expired listings so the properties would not be solicited from their competition. The allegation is that MLS listing data (such as address, city, and neighborhood) were changed to “hide” expired listings. In an attempt to end the practice, Tomlinson filed a complaint of listing manipulation in April of this year. And that’s when things got interesting.

Rather than waiting for the ethics complaint to process through the system, Tomlinson allegedly asked the Jills on several occasions for large sums of money (up to $800,000), to rescind the complaint. Tomlinson supposedly also threatened to go public if they didn’t pay up.

The combination of high end real estate, allegations of unethical behavior, extortion claims, a police sting operation, may already be the basis for a night’s entertainment. However, the ending sounds like a “take down” scene from Hawaii Five-0: no one expected that Tomlinson would be also charged for going for a policeman’s gun while charged for resisting arrest.

Although the public details may seem incriminating, it appears that there’s more to the story; and maybe each is a “villain protagonist.” Many in the Miami real estate community have rallied around Tomlinson, and some “have petitioned the Miami Association of Realtors® to take ‘disciplinary action of the highest severity’ against the Jills.” For the thrilling account details, please read Ovalle and Nehamas’ story at (miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article42178872.html).

Original published at https://dankrell.com/blog/2015/11/05/when-real-estate-agents-go-over-the-line-to-gain-edge/

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