yes..you are right..corporations do allowe their employees to accept gift from agents for selling their assets..but most companies will have a cap from 25.00 to 50.00 But you will be surprise in what other ways this agents are showing their appreciation outside the corporate hours, seminars,conferences,etc..from liquour to dinners, hotels stays in 5 stars resorts. I think there isnt enought regulations and enough ways to supervised what agents give out for refferals.....

Not sure about elsehwere, but in CA it's a crime to give or accept more than $25. No, I would NOT be okay with a big gift - regardless of the law. The bigger my gift, the more someone else was ripped-off.

In Florida you can not give ANY non-licensed person a referral gift. No movie tickets, no gas cards, etc. It would NOT be worth it to possibly lose my license and face criminal charges. I like my life happy and crime free!

i asked this ? because i see so little policing of this law. corporations do it all the time! very few get penalized. oh the hypocrisy! i see agents running ads offering $ to unlicensed people for leads. i dont know if theyre just ignorant of the law or if theyre openly flouting it! i think referral fees lower the public image of realtors, it cheapens them to offer cash to strangers for business. as an aside, i also think the cost cutting brokerages have hurt the industry. i agree with the government that kickbacks are bad. the kickback law protects consumer interests. it violates antitrust laws to give $ to lenders & settlement attorneys who are party to the transaction. im totally behind this. but im going to play devils advocate. i think the ban on referral fees to nonlicensed people goes too far. its purpose was meant to thwart people who want to bypass the respa kickback law by giving $ to the lenders' or attorneys' family members or spouses. it was also meant to keep the referral money amongst realtors and protect their fiscal interests. they lobbied hard for this! as far as i know there is no specific language in the respa law that bans referral fees to unlicensed people ~ it is only implied and accepted as law by the real estate community. i personally dont give referral fees per se to unlicensed people. but i do treat my good friends on occasion to concert tickets, meals, christmas/hanukkah gifts, etc. regardless of whether they refer business or not. if you wanted to be a hard ass about it, i guess that makes me a "criminal". also, i disregard the rule when it comes to family. if they refer me business, i make sure they share in the rewards. i love my family and ill be damned if ill let the government dictate whether or not i can give a gift to my family. thats sick! i pay taxes on my earnings and i should have the right to take care of my own family. they certainly dont.