Business As Usual
Is there anybody out there that is not familiar with the collapse of the real estate market over the last three years? Significant reasons for the industry collapse have been revealed, including: no dock mortgages, financial instruments designed to fail yet make money for the banks, and greedy banks and financial institutions across the country yet, on a person to person level has anyone identified the pitfalls, snares, booby traps and 
bear traps which have cost consumers billions of dollars in the real estate market, forfeiting their future earnings and corrupting their credit? An investigation into real estate business practices reveals the short comings in the industry and how they are designed to snare consumers. As the economy begins to recover most in the industry are demanding conformance to a “business as usual” attitude in an economy that demands a new paradigm.
There are no lawyers on the staff at Tomacor yet we believe every home buyer deserves a full and complete inspection including all common areas. We believe every home buyer deserves a sense of what a reasonable budget for repair is regarding all of the problems and deficiencies associated with their purchase. Finally, we believe that critical information regarding housing stock should be available to all home buyers. This information should include how long the property has really been on the market, the specific insurance claims made against the property, the official architectural drawings and permits due to build or rehab the building, and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the contractors architects and subcontractors used to build or renovate the property including those hired to repair it after major flooding or fire events. This information is routinely withheld, obscured, or not delivered to consumers until after their options to negotiate or walk away from the property have expired!
Real estate professionals including appraisers, brokers, inspectors, and attorneys are expected to plead ignorance regarding commonly known deficiencies and practices which expose fires and their investments into 30 year mortgages at significant risk. In less than a decade we have experienced significant country wide failures leading to multiple collapses in the commercial and residential real estate industry regarding inflated real estate investment appraisals, unregulated and unprofessional mortgage lending practices, and real estate sales techniques that hide the real risk, financial and personal, for consumers who are investing their life savings in real estate.
Upton Sinclair wrote “The Jungle” 
a little over 100 years ago. It completely transformed the meat packing and meat preparation business located in Chicago and sold throughout the world. Similar practices are waiting to be revealed on a large scale within the boundaries of the real estate sales community. As the details of covered over, sloppy work, hidden environmental hazards, inflated appraisals, and insincere relationships emerge within the contexts of residential and commercial real estate there may or may not be discipline or fines for those involved on a day by day basis in confusing and misrepresenting consumer interests. What will happen is the quality of the construction work will improve. This fact and a strong intention on the part of the real estate community and all of its aspects to improve on their obligation to consumers will once again raise the quality of housing and life across the United States.