Tighter Credit -- For Realtors, Too

"Put it on my Marketing Account -- Not"

It's not just borrowers getting pinched by tightening lending standards -- Realtors are, too.

For years, Edina Realty and other brokers have basically extended credit to their Realtors through company marketing accounts. Print ads, mailings, Web site and technology fees -- all the day-to-day expenses Realtors typically incur could be charged to their marketing account. As deals closed, the broker would subtract the debit balance in the marketing account from the realtor's commission.

No more.

With deals fewer and far between -- and at lower prices -- brokers are getting stuck with their Realtors' IOU's for longer. And with more Realtors exiting the business, brokers have been increasingly stiffed with large, unpaid balances.

So prospectively, it's increasingly "pay as you go."