Create an alternative to the NAR?

[Bigtoe]

You act as if this idea is your brainchild and blast us for not falling in line behind you. Not so. There are currently numerous attempts at establishing a national mls.

VCs have dumped untold millions into this venture and one anti nar zealot has even attempted to have one of our states mandate a state wide mls. For all we know, this person could be you as you have kept your identity a secret.

All of the proposals for a national mls have one thing in common. Profit.

You claim you are not in it for the profit and just want to create this system for our benefit. We are supposed to clamour to get in line behind an anonymous enigma and believe your proposal is the best one of the bunch. Prove it.

Why would any of us trust you to look out for our benefit when you won't even tell us who you are?

[over40]

BigToe,

Half of my posts have nothing to do with a national MLS. My original post was to try and bring agents together under a new AGENT OWNED AND MANAGED organization... however the conversation ALWAYS drifts to MLS. Nothing exists or has been attempted like what I had envisioned - nothing.

I was upfront in MY VERY FIRST POST about what was in it for me - to be part of developing a new organization and the opportunity that it entails.

The very nature of my original proposal is non-profit. Nothing, NADA, zip. Zero costs to the agent. I relayed that in many posts to many people and provided a way to see a mock-up of what I was proposing.

There are not numerous attempts out there to create a national MLS. You don't know what you are talking about. There are numerous national property portals.. that's all.

I don't want you or any other agent clamoring in line for anything. I've given people a way to contact me and how to learn who I am and what is together so far... numerous times. No one wants it bad enough so I'm not going to expend the effort to help others unless they expend some effort themselves.

One last thing - READ THE DAMN POSTS regarding the MLS concept that I made and you will see that it is AGENT OWNED and AGENTS PROFIT. How hard can that be to understand.

[svrpaul]

Oh c'mon... we need local, state and national associations so we can pay for positive spin ---> http://activerain.com/blogsview/8563...-Bob-Confesses

[svrpaul]

On another note... I don't think this is about a National MLS (which would certainly be a waste of time and money) since we don't need it..

The big question is why we have to pay seperate National, State and Local dues to be a Realtor AND seperate dues to be part of our local MLS?

I particularly don't care about the state association and I certainly don't care about the National Association at this point since SO MUCH money has been wasted on positive spin campaigns that has done FAR more harm then good in the past couple of years.

All Real Estate is Local.... Right?

I just paid over $500 for a magazine I never read, a website that I think is ill managed (Realtor.com) and who knows what else.

If it all went bye-bye would it hurt?

ABSOLUTELY NOT

[over40]

First - I would like to apologize to BigToe for flying off the handle and coming across as retalitory in response. My anger stems from the fact that I am trying to help agents and the industry and in return I get attacked and viewed as just someone else trying to take an agents money... when in fact that is not the case.

I had a good talk with a gentleman in his mid 60's and he brought up some good points. One being that if something is free, agents treat it as such and don't give it the respect that it deserves. Another is that agents can't possibly comprehend the depth and breadth of what can be accomplished through a new organization since they don't really understand all the cogs that go into making up the national real estate machine.

We need an organization like the NAR to represent the interest of the real estate industry in Washington. We DON"T need the NAR to tell us how to operate our business and that is partly what they have become. I came to the conclusion long ago that the NAR spends more money and resources convincing agents and brokers that they need them, then they do promoting the use of a Realtor to the public. The truth and sad fact is that most every consumer doesn't know the difference between a Realtor and a non-Realtor and most agent are only Realtors to be part of the MLS.

As a broker I want to be able to put my listings in the MLS and have a choice of being a Realtor or not. In my area I don't have that choice. An frankly I don't need anything else.

[svrpaul]

We need an organization like the NAR to represent the interest of the real estate industry in Washington. We DON"T need the NAR to tell us how to operate our business and that is partly what they have become. I came to the conclusion long ago that the NAR spends more money and resources convincing agents and brokers that they need them, then they do promoting the use of a Realtor to the public. The truth and sad fact is that most every consumer doesn't know the difference between a Realtor and a non-Realtor and most agent are only Realtors to be part of the MLS.

Interesting... Personally, my hang ups I have with the NAR is contributing RPAC money to the likes of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. (Among others... I have a hangup of any special interest group contributing campaign money to any candidate for that matter just so that they think about "US" the next time a real estate related matter comes up to vote on....)

As far as operating our business... National Standards are Fine with me..

BIG HANGUP is spending millions of our Dollars running Ad Campaigns that Are Salesy in Nature such as the big "It's Always a Good Time to Buy and Sell Real Estate" November of 2006 Ad Campaign.

Just my thoughts but the NAR should stick to reporting on current statistics and not making salesy predictions that do not take into account everything going on... Let the local salesy professionals stick their foot in their mouth.

The recent revelations of the former Economist for the NAR (David Lereah) confessing to "positive spin" for his employers (NAR) certainly suggests that something is wrong.

I'm not really interested in creating a new system... just changing the system and the who knows how much money is wasted...

Too Salesy for me.... Too much self interest going on with the push for Govt. Programs that are Highly Questionable and Socialist in Nature...

Just a couple of quick thoughts....