Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

RPR shoots itself in the foot…again.

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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.

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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?

  1. But Greg, you’re just a blogger so what do you know? 😉 I heard some buzz about 1000watt article but hadn’t the time to learn what it was all about so thanks for the Cliff’s Notes version. Yowza!

  2. LIE??????? Surprize, Surprize, Surprize as Gomer would say!!!!!! Losing milllions????? Maybe the idiot in the white house is working there.

  3. 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.

  4. I know this wont be popular, but the reality is, after what we went through with everyone loaning money to anyone and crashing the economy, we shouldnt allow brokers and builders to be in the mortgage business Tell me they didnt loan money just to make the sale, and tell me that it won’t happen again. This is a dangerous situation to revisit. Didn’t we learn anything from the mess that we’re still working our way out of. Nothing good can come from this, other than broker commissions for sales that maybe shouldn’t have been made.

    As for RPR and NAR, they’re idiots. Why does anyone want to be associated with them

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