A decision by federal and state authorities to take legal action against an alleged title insurance kickback scheme, in which cash and marketing services were traded for referrals, should give impetus to legislation that would ban such practices altogether.

In a complaint filed in federal court, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Maryland attorney general accused Genuine Title and its officers of exchanging valuable services with real estate agents and mortgage brokers in return for referring their clients to the company for closing services.

Among other things, the company purchased, analyzed and provided loan agents with data on consumers, then created and mailed letters on behalf of loan agents. It also funneled cash kickbacks through a network of other companies.

Such practices violate provisions of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which bars a "fee, kickback or thing of value" in exchange for a referral of business related to a real estate settlement.

A bill by Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., would remove any ambiguity in that law by prohibiting any agent or broker from receiving a financial benefit for referring clients to a title firm. It would require violators to pay restitution to clients and competitors, and extend the law's statute of limitations from one year to three.

In other words, the measure would protect buyers from what is now an opaque market with hidden commissions and reverse competition.

"When sellers or real estate agents refer buyers to a title insurance company, homebuyers assume they're getting the best deal," said Ellison, a member of the key House Financial Services Committee. "But agents may have a financial stake in the title insurance company they recommend to buyers."

No one is arguing about the need for title insurance, which assures both the lender and buyer that the seller actually has clear ownership and the legal standing to transfer the property. It is also a guarantee that the title agent has reviewed the relevant data to identify any problems. Premiums are based on the price of the house.

Theoretically, buyers have the ability to shop for coverage and negotiate the rate. But according to the Consumer Federation of America, the business is highly concentrated, with five insurer groups controlling about 92 percent of the market.

And as folks approach the end of the long, sometimes nervewracking homebuying journey, most don't have enough energy left to hunt for title insurance bargains. Instead, they follow their realty agent's suggestion to use this closing professional and the insurance he sells.

Kickbacks are the "primary reason" title insurance is so expensive, says J. Robert Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), an association of nearly 300 nonprofit consumer groups.

Insurers primarily compete with other real estate professionals for business, rather than appealing directly to consumers, says Hunter, a former federal insurance administrator under presidents Ford and Carter. Consequently, insurers offer costly considerations for referrals -- considerations like cash, lavish dinners, vacations and even tickets to special events -- that drive up the cost of insurance.

As it turns out, according to a report by the CFA, the Maryland case is hardly unique. Over the years, numerous actions have been taken against title insurers by the feds, the states and even individuals:

-- Just last month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), along with the state's financial services office, proposed new rules for the title insurance business, saying kickbacks and other improper expenditures have unnecessarily increased the cost of coverage.

The state said that an investigation found inducement arrangements, including meals and other considerations, to be "common and expensive to consumers."

-- The CFPB itself has fined several title companies and big national lenders thousands of dollars. Stonebridge Title in New Jersey was hit with a $30,000 fine, Lighthouse Title in Michigan was nailed for $200,000 and Wells Fargo and JPMorgan were dinged for $35.7 million in a precursor to the Maryland case.

-- Colorado has closed more than 10 title agencies created to receive kickbacks from insurers and pledged to shut down nearly 200 "sham" affiliated real estate businesses that took kickbacks. Similar cases have been settled in California, Michigan and Arizona.

Who says real estate professionals don't have a sense of humor?

A few weeks ago, members of the ActiveRain real estate community were asked what they thought would be a suitable neck tattoo for realty agents. And some of the responses were nothing short of brilliant.

Oh sure, there were the usual number of naysayers who were aghast that agents would even consider such a thing. Totally inappropriate, they moaned.

They are correct, of course. Such tattoos are absolutely out of keeping with professionalism.

But that didn't stop some folks from answering with wit and aplomb, in the joking spirit with which the question was posed in the first place. Here's a sampling of the suggested neck tats:

-- "I'm Gorgeous Inside" (Tracy Dowling, Holleran Real Estate, Raleigh, North Carolina)

-- "On Parole, Now Selling's My Goal" (Rich Bosselmann, Koa Realty, Kona, Hawaii)

-- "No Ragrets" (Christina Reid, RE/MAX Town & Country, West Grove, Pennsylvania)

-- "A Flesh-Colored Tattoo of a Neck" (James Lowenstern, Castles Unlimited, Newton, Massachusetts)

-- "This End Up" (Annette Lawrence, RE/MAX Realtec Group, Palm Harbor, Florida)

-- "A Noose" (Susan Emo, Sotheby's International, Kingston, Ontario)

-- "Blond But Pending" (Myrl Jeffcoat, GreatWest Realty, Sacramento, California)

-- "White Picket Fence With Daisies" (Jesse Castro, JK Realty, Gilbert, Arizona)

-- "Stickin' My Neck Out for Clients" (Victoria Marshall, Buyer's Edge, Bethesda, Maryland)

-- "Sold" (Ralph Gorgoglione, John Aaroe Group, Los Angeles)

-- "If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now" (Curt Warner, Kirkland, Washington)

-- "$" (Robert Hicks, United Country River City Realty, Savannah, Tennessee)

-- "Rent This Space" (Gene Riemenschneider, Home Point Real Estate, Brentwood, California)

-- "Cut Here" (Nathan Gesner, American West Realty, Cody, Wyoming)

-- "I'll Stick My Neck Out For You" (Gesner, again)

-- "Inquire Within" (Alex Piccirillo, Nest Seekers International, East Hampton, New York)

-- "Ask Me About My Tattoo" (Jerry Lucas, ABC Legal Documents, Colorado Springs)

-- "Make An Offer" (Andy Freeman, Parks Real Estate, Nashville, Tennessee)

-- "Sign Here" (Larry Lawfer, YourStories Real Estate, Westwood, Massachusetts)

-- "Career Killer" (Tammy Adams, Maricopa Real Estate, Maricopa, Arizona)

Streets in your neighborhood falling apart? Potholes blowing out your car's front end?

If your development is registered with the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, it seems you can bypass the local authorities and call on the feds to get the necessary repairs made.

In an unusual case, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has come down on a Florida land developer that failed to maintain the roads of a Tennessee lot sales project that was marketed across state lines. "In fact, the roads have not been maintained, and have not been accepted by the county," the CFPB found.

According to a Facebook page set up by one disgruntled buyer: "Our beautiful development has been abandoned by the developer. If you have not visited your property recently, I encourage you to do so and witness the deterioration of the roads. It looks nothing like it did when lots were being sold."

How can an agency created to protect people from financial harm ride herd over streets? Well, when the bureau was started five years ago, certain Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations were transferred to it for enforcement. Among them was the land act, which sets rules on how developments in which lots are sold across state lines must be marketed.

And since the Florida-based International Land Consultants made various representations about the roads in Hawks Bluff outside of Chattanooga -- namely, that it would maintain roads in the development until they were turned over to Van Buren County -- and since the roads had yet to be accepted by the county, the watchdog agency has ordered the company to live up to its promises.

On a recent tour with a potential buyer, agent Terri Vellios of Keller Williams Realty in Campbell, California, showed a $1.3 million house that had an addition to the original building.

The addition created an atrium in the middle of the house, with the bedrooms facing it. But none of the bedrooms could actually access the atrium; the only way into and out of it was through the sliding glass doors in the dining room.

About the same time, Gay Ashley of the Ashley Realty Group in Fairfax, Virgina, showed a house in which the sellers expanded their living space by turning a one-car garage into a bedroom and very small family room. But their contractor neglected to plan for heating and air conditioning. Consequently, the two spaces were extremely cramped, and only comfortable for a few months of the year.

Welcome to the real world of home "unimprovements" -- the part of the house makeover business that they fail to show on HGTV, the DIY network or even on "This Old House." The part in which changes to a house detract from its value rather than adding to it.

Every real estate professional has seen these miscues: everything from botched paint jobs obviously undertaken by Picassos who made no attempt to prepare the surface and dripped paint on the carpet, to building an addition around a huge oak tree.

Bad paint jobs can be corrected rather easily. But other mistakes, such as banging such long nails into a ceiling that they penetrate through the roof, are costly.

Former home inspector Glen Fisher once posted a photo on real estate site ActiveRain of nails protruding through a newly replaced roof. The homeowner's idea was sound: Put up a ceiling in the attic to create more living space. But the execution was poor: a calamity that led to hundreds of small leaks and required another entirely new roof.

"As a home inspector, I am continually amazed at what I observe," said Fisher. "Just when you believe you have seen it all, another property will show the worst results from a well-intentioned homeowner."

Take a house listed recently by Jan Green of RE/MAX Excalibur in Scottsdale, Arizona. The kitchen had been remodeled beautifully with a very expensive refrigerator, wine closet, double oven, cabinets and granite countertops. But the owner left the 20-year-old tile on the floor, and "every person who came through commented about how the old tile detracted from the gorgeous kitchen," the agent said.

If the seller had consulted Green beforehand, he might have been able to obtain a higher price. Green would have advised him to upgrade the flooring and spend less on the refrigerator.

"I'm constantly telling my clients to call, even if they are only remodeling for themselves," she said. "I see hundreds of homes each year, including brand-new ones. I can tell them areas to spend (on) and areas not to. This will benefit them if they ever sell. After all, another set of eyes at no cost is a bonus."

That's certainly sound home-improvement advice. And here's some more:

-- DIY: The desire to do the job yourself rests largely with saving money. If you have the know-how, it's fine to do the work. But if you are a novice who doesn't have a lot of time to correct your inevitable mistakes, hire a professional. It could be money well spent.

Ditto for full-scale remodeling projects. A qualified contractor can take your ideas and visions, tweak them where necessary, and turn them into reality.

-- Tools: Equipment is a big part of the equation. You need the right tools for the job. Don't try to make do with a hammer when the project calls for a saw. Again, professionals have whole toolboxes full of the right equipment.

-- Safety: Climbing up on your roof is dangerous. And so is tinkering with electrical or natural gas systems. Not only can you hurt yourself if you don't know what you're doing, you also can create safety hazards that could destroy your house -- and those in it. And if you don't handle water-related projects properly, the result could be leaks that cause costly damage.

-- Permits: Almost everything you do to your house these days requires a building permit -- even simply replacing one garage door with another. Don't try to avoid it.

Permits help ensure that the construction is safe and meets minimum standards (codes). When permits are issued, building inspectors will drop by to make sure the work has been done properly.

You may be able to get away without obtaining permission from the proper government agency, but if your potential buyer asks about a permit and you can't produce one -- or your town's or county's building department doesn't have one on file -- chances are, your buyer will lower his offer or walk away entirely.

Moreover, if it's obvious the house has been renovated but no permits were pulled, banks are likely to refuse to finance your buyer.