It’s getting ugly out there. Ray Pepper, one of the founders of $500 Realty, faxed over two nasty letters yesterday that are being sent out on his behalf but that he says he most certainly did not pen.

It is a bit difficult to quote from the letters, this being a blog for a family newspaper, because they are littered with profanity. But here goes: “If you get up to Tacoma you can check out our boiler room operation. It’s a dump but people go for this c--p in the real-estate business.” And: “Don’t you agree that only a f---ing idiot would pay five or seven percent to buy or sell a house or business?”

Pepper said he finds the letters funny and not a potential harm to the Tacoma business, which opened in August. $500 Realty, a discount brokerage, charges $500 for a listing and refunds 75 percent of the commission to buyers.

At least one of the two letters came to Pepper as “Return to Sender” – whoever mailed it used $500 Realty’s return address. Others have gone to another partner in the company. Pepper said he assumes if real estate companies are receiving the letters, they’re throwing them away.

Pepper said whoever’s writing the letters could have at least tried for a tad more cleverness and done a better job on the writing.

“Is this something we take seriously? I don’t know. He looks like an idiot.”