Washington, D.C. -- March 31, 2005 -- In a move destined to cause howls of protest from the National Association of Realtors, and real estate agents at large, the Senate yesterday passed SB9678, containing a requirement for all licensed U.S. real estate agents to post a consumer "Quality Rating" (QR) number immediately after their name on all business cards, letterheads, websites, video, and more.

The QR Rating number, (from 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest) is the average of ratings given to that agent by consumers over the past ten transactions the agent has made. An agent named, say, John Doe, will have to publish his name as John Doe, CR8 (or CR5, CR10, or whatever). The new law takes effect July 1, 2005.

It works this way: After April 1, 2005, and after a given agent has completed ten transactions, he is required to add a QR rating, which is based on the average quality rating number given him by each consumer for those first ten transactions. Whatever that average numerical quality rating is, agents must maintain it on their materials immediately after their name for the next 12 months. Otherwise, severe penalties, including loss of license, may apply.

The new law is rife with caveats, but the gist is this: each time a consumer completes a transaction with an agent, the consumer fills out and submits a rating sheet, online or through a mailer, to the Federal Housing Authority. The rating sheet evaluates the agent's performance primarily in terms of:

• Overall Real Estate Knowledge

• Negotiating Skills

• Organizational Ability

• Marketing/Networking skills

• Quality of Promotional Materials

• Punctuality

• Warm Personality

• Website Quality

• Appearance/Tidiness

• Willingness To Cut Commission To The Bone

The senior Senator from Delaware, Nolo T. Contendere, co-sponsor of the bill, along with Sen. Tim Byrd of Wyoming, said, "This rating system finally gives consumers some protection from perhaps losing thousands of dollars due to blindly selecting a real estate agent who is wholly or partially incompetent. Because the agent is now required by law to place a rating directly after his name wherever his name appears in business, homebuyers and sellers can now choose an agent based on something other than a pretty face and a lot of advertising hooey. It'll also not only identify, but ultimately weed out the bad agents."

Firing back, at a news conference yesterday, Angelica Michaels, Executive Director, of the Associated Sales Society of America (ASSA), said, "This is plain stupid and an invasion of privacy. What if an agent has buyers or sellers who lie, or give poor ratings just to be malicious? What protection does the agent have under this bill? Just because Sen. Contendere had a bad experience with an agent last year does not mean that everyone does. We're taking this law to the Supreme Court, which, I am confident, will strike it down."

Meanwhile, some four million persons holding real estate licenses in the United States are under the gun to publish the ratings given them by their clients.

After a rating has been submitted, by a property buyer or seller, to the FHA, it is then sent to the agent's own state department of real estate, where it is posted alongside his name and license number.

ASSA Executive Director, Michaels says, "Just imagine the additional cost that an agent will suffer in printed materials alone under this bill, just to change that stupid rating number every 12 months!"

"A bill this absurd would never have passed except that it was hidden in an omnibus bill that was voted on late in the evening when opponents had already left the Senate floor."

The opponents of the bill admit that it will take at least a year for the new Quality Rating law to be overturned or modified. Meanwhile, after July 1, 2005, agents will have to start counting their way to ten transactions, after which they are required to post the new QR number after their name. Let's hope everyone can be a QR10.

Just kidding... APRIL FOOLS!!!!!