Consumer Protection Information For Home Buyers and Sellers

WASHINGTON (February 6, 2006) – To mark National Consumer Protection Week, the National Association of Realtors®(NAR) has compiled guidance and advice to help consumers navigate the complex waters of the real estate transaction and protect themselves and their investment along the way.

“While homeowners across the country, and along with them, the nation’s economy, have benefited from the recent real estate boom, the market has also seen an increase in the incidence of mortgage fraud and lending practices that put many consumers at risk,” said 2006 NAR President Thomas M. Stevens, senior vice president of NRT Inc., from Vienna, Va. “Our Realtor® members subscribe to a Code of Ethics that requires them to eliminate practices that may damage the public or that might discredit or dishonor the real estate profession. NAR is committed to helping consumers protect themselves and their housing investment.”

Guidance and recommendations to help home buyers and sellers identify and protect themselves from harmful practices is available, click here to access. Home buyers can learn how to protect their credit history, use online resources without falling victim to predators, and educate themselves about mortgages and lending practices that might put them at financial risk. Home sellers can glean safety tips for showing a home and advice regarding the fine print of a purchase contract. Materials also explain how Realtors can help protect both buyers and sellers in any real estate transaction.

This is the eighth annual National Consumer Protection Week. NCPW empowers consumers by highlighting current consumer protection and education efforts in the fight against fraud in communities across the nation. Tips on a wide range of consumer protection issues are available at www.consumer.gov/ncpw. National organizers of this year’s NCPW are the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Citizen’s Information Center, the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Communications Commission, the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators, the National Consumers League, AARP, the Better Business Bureau, Call for Action, the Consumer Federation of America, and the National Association of Attorneys General.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Source: NAR

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