On this week’s episode of Industry Relations, Greg is back home from the T3 Conference and tells Rob what he heard. The event was fantastic with many thought-provoking interviews. The duo also discusses the importance of companies having a “prepper” mindset for taking big risks in the world of proptech. Watch us on YouTube or listen below.
REX closes brokerage, hires David Boies in Zillow lawsuit
“An email sent by Steve Dawson, REX’s chief compliance officer, to the company’s salaried agents Thursday afternoon read: “Starting immediately, please transfer your license over to a new brokerage of your choice. This needs to be completed by day’s end tomorrow.” The note bolded “day’s end.”
Nice scoop from Real Trends. Boies‘ latest clients include Theranos, Harvey Weinstein, and accusers against Jeffery Epstein.
REXIT?
Has REX Homes finally ceased operations?
“Numerous staff reached out to us directly to indicate the company’s last day was Tuesdayand that a companywide call on Friday outlined the end of REX Homes. While the entity of the brokerage still exists, we are told there are no longer offices, staff, leadership, or agents.
Staff at the Austin, TX and Woodland Hills, CA offices (both in Texas) have confirmed that as of today, the doors are literally closed. It is unclear what REX’s plans are for wrapping up any current contracts that haven’t closed.”
As litigious as REX has been in the past something tells me this story is far from over.
Looking for a new gig?
MLS Integration Specialist – Lone Wolf
“We are looking for a tech-savvy individual who is self-motivated, can work on their own or within a team and is passionate about their work to join our MLS Integration team working on our Transaction Desk product. You’ll work on a small team with a large impact to our customers. The team is responsible for connecting data and programming forms that are used across hundreds of MLSs to make doing business easier for brokerages and agents.”
The find out about this job or post a job, please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.
State and local associations now provide zipForm as a member benefit to over 665,000 members
Over 665,000 real estate agents in the U.S. get Lone Wolf Transactions as a member benefit
“These incredible associations have stepped up and are supporting their members at a crucial time,” said Lisa Mihelcich, GM of Associations at Lone Wolf. “We’re moving into a post-pandemic world and digital real estate transactions are more important than ever. Transactions is the top transaction management solution in the country, and the only one that can provide a complete and modern real estate experience for agents, brokers, buyers, and sellers. In that way, it’s not only a critical tool for real estate professionals, but for real estate as a whole.”
Great job by Lisa and her team at Lone Wolf and these state and local association leaders. This number is still growing. I think that number will get close to 1 million with the addition of new associations and with the option of a new bundle. As Victor Lund pointed out in a recent WAV Group blog post; Lone Wolf Provides Agent Business Bundle for $199 per year
“This bundle contains the LionDesk CRM – another company acquired by Lone Wolf—as well as the built-in eSignature solution, zipLogix Digital Ink (powered by Authentisign). It is a lot of software for a pretty low price:
-Transaction Management
-Forms Management
-Unlimited Document Storage
-eSignatures
-CRM
Lone Wolf has just recently completed integration work where you can run an ad with Boost, where leads will flow into Lion Desk. Then that lead information is sent to create a Cloud CMA, which can then kick off a listing agreement, and then a purchase agreement in zipForm or TransactionDesk. That property information can be uploaded to create a partial listing on the MLS. After the purchase is complete the agent can order a Home Warranty and then the transaction information is captured by Lone Wolf Back Office so the broker can issue a commission check to the agent. End to end baby.
The dream has always been to reduce or stop double/triple/quadruple entry of data. Lone Wolf customers can live in that world today.
Listing Bits Episode 72: Floor Plan Tech for Desktop Appraisals – with Jeff Allen of CubiCasa
Approximately 8 million appraisals were conducted in the US last year. By contrast, there are only 40,000 active real estate appraisers. So, it’s no surprise that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are exploring appraisal modernization initiatives like the desktop appraisal option.
But to make these alternatives to the traditional appraisal work, we need data in the form of an accurate floor plan. And we need it at scale.
Jeff Allen is EVP of Innovation Labs Clear Capital, a leading property valuation tech company, and President of CubiCasa, an easy-to-use app for automating the creation of real estate floor plans. On this episode of Listing Bits, Jeff explains how the barrier to entry to become an appraiser has sparked a total transformation of the industry.
He discusses his work helping GSEs test alternatives to the traditional appraisal, describing why floor plans are an essential part of ‘bringing the house to the appraiser’ and how he discovered the CubiCasa technology that automates the process. Listen in for Jeff’s insight on the copyright dispute over real estate floor plans and learn how to support the creative partnerships necessary for CubiCasa to scale.
What’s Discussed:
How Clear Capital serves large financial institutions in the realm of property valuation
How the barrier to entry to become an appraiser has sparked a total transformation of the industry
Jeff’s work helping GSEs test alternatives to the full traditional appraisal
Why floor plans are essential in ‘bringing the house to the appraiser’
How Jeff discovered the CubiCasa tech for automating floor plans and how it works
The creative partnerships necessary for CubiCasa to achieve scale (e.g.: real estate photographers)
How the desktop appraisal option supports CubiCasa’s efforts to scale
The other major appraisal modernization initiatives coming from Fannie and Freddie
Jeff’s take on the current copyright dispute over real estate floor plans
Connect with Jeff:
Email jeff [at] cubicasa [dot] com
Resources:
Copyright Dispute Over Real Estate Floor Plans
Designworks Homes v. Columbia House of Brokers Realty
CMLS’s Amicus Brief on the Floor Plan Copyright Dispute
NAR’s Amicus Brief on the Floor Plan Copyright Dispute
Our Sponsor:
Looking for a new gig?
MLS & Membership Director – Central Oregon Association of REALTORS
“This is a newly created position, and reports to the Chief Executive Officer. The Multiple Listing Service Director is responsible for the full operation, supervision, evaluation, delivery, and maintenance of all Multiple Listing Services (MLS) and supporting products in conjunction with the Chief Executive Officer. The MLS of Central Oregon currently services 2500+ MLS members and works with the other MLSs in our data share on a regular basis.”
The find out about this job or post a job, please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.
“Lone Wolf Technologies (“Lone Wolf”) and Howard Hanna Real Estate Services (“Howard Hanna”) are thrilled to announce an expansion of their partnership that extends the broker version of Lone Wolf Transactions (zipForm Edition), the real estate industry’s most-used transaction management solution, as well as top digital marketing tools, Boost, Connect, and Spacio, plus business intelligence from BrokerMetrics®, to the entire brokerage.”
I love it when a plan comes together…
Looking for a new gig?
Director, Finance – Tucson Association of REALTORS
“Includes, but not limited to:
* Providing first-line service to a high volume of member requests, with the highest level of professional interaction.
* Strong computer skills required, including all Microsoft and Outlook product Suite, and proven experience and success with entry and maintenance of a digital record keeping system.”
The find out about this job or post a job, please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.
On this week’s episode of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg take a look at some ongoing lawsuits within the real estate realm. They take aim at some lawsuits that shouldn’t have been dismissed and speak on some that definitely should be thrown out. They get into the intentions of the companies involved and how the Fair Housing Act can be overlooked unintentionally, but still have consequences for minority groups, elderly people, and disabled people. Listen to us on your favorite podcast player, Watch us on You Tube or listen below.
