Useless checks enrage agents

Real estate agents with Liberty Realty in Las Vegas were left with unsigned commission checks that couldn't be cashed when the office shut down last week, one of the agents said.

In an April 22 memo to nearly 800 agents, Liberty Realty Chief Executive Officer Richard Bell said the agency is being acquired by Century 21 Aadvantage Gold.

"It is unfortunate, but in the market today, our company model cannot survive," Bell said. "I have weighed many options and talked with many companies and I feel that the best opportunity for all our agents to continue to grow their business is for Liberty Realty to roll into Century 21 Aadvantage Gold."

Liberty ended its administrative operations Thursday and transferred all listings to Century 21.

The Liberty agent, who requested anonymity, said police were called to Liberty's office Friday on Durango Drive to "calm the situation down" and escort Bell from the building.

"There's a lot of upset brokers," the agent said. "I'm carrying around a $3,600 check that's no good. They took the money out of escrow and arbitrarily passed it out to other agents."

The source did not know how many agents had not been paid, but estimated that $25,000 in commission checks were issued and not signed.

Rob Reinders, co-owner of Century 21 Aadvantage Gold, said he's talking to Liberty's staff about joining his agency, but he won't be paying commissions on transactions completed at Liberty. That's between Liberty Realty and Bell and has nothing to do with Aadvantage Gold, he said.

"I have no knowledge of checks going out," Reinders said. "The checks should not have gone out unsigned. That's very questionable ethics there."

Bell, who started Liberty Realty in 1988 and once had 1,600 agents, said he was transferring his real estate license to Century 21 "because of all the value I saw during my talks with the owners."

However, Reinders said Bell had not transferred his license as of Monday. Liberty's Web site has already been converted to Century 21 Aadvantage Gold. A receptionist in the office said Bell would not be returning to the office.

"Nobody's happy with the situation," Reinders said. "Century 21 is here to help agents get beyond it."

Liberty agents' contracts will remain the same except for the 6 percent franchise fee for training, advertising and business tools that come with Century 21, Reinders said. An administration fee of $100 a month and transaction fee of $500 for each closing side is also deducted from the commission.

Transactions in escrow and listings belonging to Liberty agents will transfer to Century 21 Aadvantage Gold. If the broker joins another company, those escrows will be paid, Reinders said.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.