I just finished a new promo video for Cloud CMA. Hope you like!
Pro Tip: Seating 101
Thought my Vendor compadres might appreciate this one.
Musical Chairs (Choosing the right seat)
“These 45 seconds determine how enjoyable your next 2 hours will be. Once the pieces start to fall into place and people take their seats, your choices narrow. People sit, seemingly at random, and if you don’t take the appropriate measures, you’re inevitably stuck at the least interesting end of the table.”
If you think this is about YOU getting the best seat, you’re doing it wrong.
Via Kottke.
Agent gets sued, for someones else’s listing on his IDX site.
This is making the rounds and I thought it was interesting enough to post.
“I have found an interesting question has arisen. Can a real estate agent who has an MLS feed, be sued for a listing with illegal language in the listing, even if that listing is not that agents? Up until recently I would have said no.
However, last year I had a Federal Lawsuit filed against me for violations of the Fair Housing Act. Apparently, an Independent Fair Housing Tester went to my website, scanned the listings and found one with illegal language in it, then filed a Federal Fair Housing Lawsuit against me.
The lawsuit claims I am the listing agent. I am not, but obviously the Independent Fair Housing Tester believed because all 13,000 plus listings are on my website it must mean they are my listings.
The lawsuit then gives the property address, and I quickly realize that I have never listed a home, or sold a home in that city. So I contact my Broker, and then the company attorney. I send all documentation showing that I have nothing to do with this listing, and forward the actual listing, which shows who the listing agent is.”
Big mistake right? Now lets enter the Twilight Zone….
“I am told to ignore the lawsuit and they will handle everything, and will work to get the lawsuit against me dismissed.
It seemed that the lawsuit would be invalid, since the lawsuit says I am the listing agent, but I am not. It says that the wording in my listing, which said “Adults Only, No Children Under 16 Allowed,” has caused the Independent Fair Housing Tester pain, suffering and she will have to live through a lifetime of embarrassment. Since it is not my listing, and I never used these words, obviously I am not liable.
Suddenly this week I get a call from the Company Attorney who tells me the lawsuit is being settled, and she will send me the documents for me to sign. So I ask some questions.
So my name has been removed from the lawsuit? No.
There must be something in there clearing me of responsibility? No.
There will be no fee to me, right? Well the attorney fee will be paid by the E&O Insurance Company, and the settlement will be $5,000.
I will not have to pay any of the $5,000 correct? She said you need to call your office to find out if you have to pay a deductible.
So I call my office and they tell me I will be responsible for a $5,000 deductible. How convenient. The settlement is for $5,000 and the amount I will be required to pay is $5,000 all for language in a listing that is not even mine. So I get a $5,000 penalty, but the listing agent gets off without any penalty, or even a violation.”
His whole post is wort a read and he also has a few updates.
[Thx Russ.]
UPDATE 3.12.13 Lawsuit Dismissed.
“A bit later there was a new post by Laurie Janik, stating that the lawsuit against me had been dismissed. As I had received over 1,500 emails, and the phone never stopped ringing all weekend, but especially yesterday, I checked my voice mails and found the message from her, sharing this great news.”
RPR Help Desk Rep who posted false comment gets fired?
This has been a bizarre week. In my post yesterday I pointed out that comment left on a post entitled “WTF RPR?” by industry vet Brian Boero was found out to be fake. It turned out “Katie” actually works for RPR’s help desk, and her real name is Pam.
Today Inman News confirmed the story.
“In a statement to Inman News, Mike DelGaudio, RPR’s head of support, said: “I want to go on record and say that this action was in no way condoned or authorized by anyone at RPR. The poor judgment of this help desk representative has been addressed.”
Well if addressed means, they fired her. Then they sure addressed her, alright. Because according to a comment left by Pam she states.
“At the time of my reply on the blog, I thought what I was doing was right, standing up for a company I believe in. But I went about it the wrong way and made an embarrassing mistake that while I acted alone, made the company look bad. I apologize for my error in judgment. It was the right thing for the company to let me go and I support their decision. I just hope that my personal mistake doesn’t prevent the company from being heard and get it’s chance to really make a difference for Realtors everywhere.”
They fired her? Her? A loyal employee (too loyal?). Not a write up? A reprimand? I think we’ve come full circle: What. The. Fuck. RPR?
Talk about injustice. I hope its not true. In any case if anyone has a lead to find Pam a job please post something in the comments.
MongoFax where are you?
I heard a rumor floating around that MongoFax might be shutting its doors. Can anyone confirm?
UPDATE: It’s confirmed.
RPR shoots itself in the foot…again.
I keep trying NOT to write about RPR. It has gotten to the point where I feel like a bully in the school yard picking on the “special needs” kid at recess. But I need to express my personal opinion on the latest shit they are trying to pull.
Recently RPR announced a deal where they partnered with LPS to use the MLS data (MLS data which they are not paying for BTW, but that’s another story) to match against loan servicer loan portfolios.
Sounds like a good idea right? Loan servicers get to find out when their clients have listed their home for sale and can be first in line to offer them a new loan (presumably on the next house they purchase). Essentially they are selling mortgage leads.
Problem is that many brokers have loan companies themselves (and other transaction based products) and rely on that revenue to operate their businesses profitably. But now they may not have a chance to win that repeat business again. RPR has cut them out, and put LPS in.
Brian Boero of 1000watt Consulting pointed out this scenario in a blog post titled “WTF RPR?“. And here is starts getting weird. First someone commented on Brian’s post named “Katie”, but her name wasn’t Katie at all, as Jeff Bernheisel internet super sleuth found out. “Katie”, it turns out, is tech support rep from RPR, possibly named Pam. Really RPR, fake comments? Stay classy.
Then if that wasn’t bad enough Dale Ross, RPR CEO, took to the keyboard himself and wrote a blog post “Response to 1000watt.net Blog Post“. The post is absurd and a crude attempt at spin control and misdirection. Plus, you have to question the judgement on why to even respond. One thing that really stood out to me was how he referred to Brian Boero as a “blogger”. A “blogger”? Did you know that Brian has been in the real estate industry for over 16 years? Did you know Brian’s company, 1000watt consulting, works with some of the largest, most well respected brokers and franchises in the country? Did you know that Brian was once the president of Inman News? Did you know that Brian speaks to thousands of REALTORS every year? In short, he’s not a “blogger”.
Today Brian responded to Dale Ross’s post and picked it apart like an expert butcher. Go read it and decide for yourself what leg RPR has to stand on.
Here’s the thing. I’m not even sure RPR even thought of the consequences that this type of deal could bring to brokers. But to spin, lie (posting fake comments), and condescend is just bullshit. Shame on you RPR.
This is just another in a long line of missteps for RPR. When is this going to stop? When will NAR just shut this thing down? $58 million down the tubes, $18 million a year to keep it going, low usage, and now they are undercutting the very members they have been hired to serve. I’ll ask the question again; Why hasn’t someone been fired over this?
Email CRM Contactually Raises $1 Million Seed Round, announces API program.
“The startup is something of a re-imagining of CRM for the social media age. Not only does it work on top of email, it also imports information pulled from social services like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, Skype, Flickr, Quora, Klout and dozens more. This extra information helps to fill out richer contact cards, showing not only the basics (name, email, phone, address, etc.) but also where to find people, so you can see what they’re up to on the wider, social web.”
I signed up after I met Tony and Jeff at the Spark Pavilion at last year’s NAR Annual Convention in Orlando. I can see why they are making a lot of progress in the real estate community. The app reminds you to contact (cultivate) your sphere of influence. The UI/UX is super clean and simple. Another clever thing they implemented was a “bucket game” to help you classify your contacts.
They recently announced that popular CRM program Wise Agent has implemented their API. Which ” will now have all your social media contacts within your Client List, and the messages will be available from their record as well”.
Congrats to team at Contactually on their recent funding, great to see more choices out there.
What’s going on at Trulia?
Yesterday is was Matt Dolinger, today it was Todd Carpenter. Both have announced that they have left Trulia. Both these guys were hired with much fanfare and now, the boot? I haven’t spoken to anyone on the details of their departure but wish them good luck on their next adventure!
Realtor.com gets its groove on.
Whoa! Was my first reaction. Lower case typeface, new color scheme, simply clean look and feel. Is this MOVE? How did NAR approve this? Everyone knows its “REALTOR” not “realtor”. I guess it is true, Frank Sibley is retiring.
The new logo looks great, I’ve always been a fan of negative space use in product and brand logos. They’ve done a good job of giving a map look and feel while highlighting the home silhouette. Tough thing about logo design these days is that they have to look good on multiple devices. I think this logo will look good on the home screen of my iPad. Well done!
New slogan: “where home happens” – Again, well done. Short, simple and sweet.
In regard to the home page design I think the layout is a welcome departure from past bureaucratic designs. Looks like the omnibox has now taken over (which is a good thing) and the use of big images also has a calming effect.
One small quibble, in regard to copy. The buttons on top:
For Sale. For Rent. Recently Sold. Not for Sale.
“Not for Sale” is a negative statement, and conflicts with the overall vibe of the site. Plus who’s to say that some of those properties might be for sale? Might I suggest something like “All The Rest”.
So overall I have to say I love it. Looks like a promise of some great things to come. Kudos to everyone at MOVE!
Vendor Artifact 3.4.12
Total MLS Access!
I kind of miss designing the boxes software used to ship in. Oh well….
