Tiffany Lewis helps renters and landlords find each other. Later this month, a jury in Platte County will consider the question of whether she needs a license to do the job.
Lewis is president of Kansas City Premier Apartments. Her company maintains a Web site that offers information about rental units. The apartment owners in the database pay a commission for referrals. "We don't charge the renter, ever," Lewis says.
In 2007, a Missouri state agency ordered Lewis to stop what she was
doing. A lawyer in the Division of Professional Registration said Kansas
City Premier Apartments was operating as a real-estate broker, a job
which requires a license.
Lewis is fighting the cease-and-desist order. Kansas City Premier Apartments filed a lawsuit against the state.
Lewis and her partner, Ryan Gran, also made a slick video. In the animated clip, a SWAT team from the Missouri Real Estate Commission descends on a coffee shop after a man offers to help a woman find a $700-a-month apartment.
The trial is scheduled to begin on June 23.
Showing 1-3 of 3
It amazes me how regulatory commissions like real estate commissions will try to bend any rule they can to try and bring legitimate, honest businesses down simply because they don�t get their piece of the pie. If it wasn�t for KCPA I would have probably wound up renting in an apartment community I wouldn�t be happy with in an area I also wouldn�t be happy with. They helped me find a place that fit my needs quickly. They gave a list of communities that fit my criteria and even helped provide me a map of how to get to those places. After seeing those places for myself, I finally found the perfect place for me. They didn�t pressure me to go any particular place, if nothing else, they were extremely helpful and friendly. It was just like talking to a friend that knows the area.
I don�t see the problem with their business. I do, however, see a problem with a wonderful, homegrown company being harassed by a regulatory commission for no reason. Come on MREC, why don�t you spend your time going after some of your crooked �brokers� instead of trying to hurt businesses that are honest and following the letter of the law. As Max says in his comment above, he knows there are �licensed realtors that can�t be tusted�. Doesn�t that tell you something about the MREC�s �regulatory� efforts? The MREC has their priorities way out of wack and it makes me wonder if a competitor doesn�t have someone in the MREC in their pocket and isn�t happy about the competition. All the MREC is doing is making life more difficult for those of us that have and can benefit from free, honest advice from services like KCPA�s, instead of doing what they are paid to do and that is to keep actual realtors in line and honest. Way to drop the ball MREC!
I hope KCPA wins, this will be a victory not only for them but anyone trying to run a small business and to those of us that respect and cherish our right to speak freely in the United States. If this goes the way of the MREC, it will be a sad day in which we see our legal system fail and completely disregard our constitutional rights. Where does it end from there? Look out Missourians, the common Jane/Joe will become suspect for sharing opinions and information as well if the MREC could have their way.
Hi Max,
Isn't Internet anonymity wonderful?
That said, KCPA does not solicit business from single unit apartment owners, we mostly work with large corporate complexes in the Greater Kansas City area.
In addition, we have written contracts with all the properties we represent -- not 15 second phone calls. :)
If you had read the article, you'd have noticed KCPA doesn't not charge (or as you incorrectly put it, "fleece") prospective renters. Our information to the renters is free, and KCPA is only paid by the property owner if the prospective tenant write's KCPA's name on the guest card.
KCPA does not use Craigslist to promote properties, rather KCPA's own #1 ranked website.
Therefor, assuming you did have an advertisement on KCPA's website -- just like Craigslist -- we would need to be notified that the apartment was rented in order to remove the advertisement.
Finally, assuming you had an advertisement on KCPA, both parties (you & the prospective renter) received truthful real estate information for free, without government intervention or impairment of your civil liberties, which is the more important position we are trying to make people aware of.
Regards,
Ryan
Kansas City Premier Apartments, Inc.
As a landlord I had Premiere Contact me, and without being very clear about who they were or how they got paid, asked me about my apartment. I was on the cell phone...in traffic...I answered the questions about the rent, etc. Took about 15 seconds. For weeks after the apartment was rented and my Craigslist ad was taken down I continued to get calls from highly unpromising would-be applicants. I didn't pay Premiere, so I assume they were fleecing these poor renters for their haphazard and outdated info.
Craigslist is rife with brokers and hawkers who have no legitimate claim to represent the properties they advertise. They have NO PRODUCT--but they try to sell someone else's.
Bottom line: there's a reason why markets get regulated. Hell the licensed realtors I know can't be trusted--hate to think what kind of hawkers might crop up without any regulation.
like
dislike
