On August 9th Inman News reported that Zillow Group and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were in settlement talks and that changes in the company’s agent and lender co-marketing program could be forthcoming. Yesterday WFG National Title Company reported that an investor alleges that Zillow lied about its’ co-marketing program. According to the article, “The shareholder filed a lawsuit alleging the company and its top two executives defrauded investors by misrepresenting its co-marketing program’s compliance with an anti-kickback law, thereby artificially inflating the real estate giant’s stock price.” The lawsuit, brought by famed lawyer Laurence M. Rosen of Los Angles, seeks class action status.
Why does this matter to you? I think these two paragraphs in the article set it out pretty clear.
“The co-marketing program in question, launched in June 2013, allows “Premier Agents” who pay for advertising on Zillow Group’s apps and websites to invite lenders to share marketing costs by paying Zillow Group to appear as “Premier Lenders” in advertising alongside the agent.
RESPA experts say portal co-marketing programs such as Zillow Group’s could expose agents to legal liability under state and federal laws if regulators find that agents are not paying their fair share of advertising spend.”
The entire article may be found here: https://national.wfgnationaltitle.com/2017/08/31/investor-alleges-zillow-lied-about-co-marketing-program/
Photo by surreynews 