What if the MLS industry does not apply for .MLS? | MLS Domains Association

What if the MLS industry does not apply for .MLS?

2011 August 30

by dotmlsadmin

This post is from guest contributor, Brian N. Larson, Larson/Sobotka Business Advisors LLC

Our client, MLS Domains Association, is planning to obtain .MLS as a new top-level domain (TLD) on the Internet. Common among the current 22 TLDs are .COM, .NET, and .INFO; but ICANN  , the international organization that governs the domain name system on the Internet, is expecting to permit hundreds of new top-level domains. ICANN adopted its final timeline for the new TLDs in June 2011: The application period will open January 12, 2012, and will close in April 2012.

If MLS Domains Association applies and is successful, only legitimate multiple listing services would have domains at .MLS.

Failure to apply during this window means (a) giving up the domain to anyone else who claims it during this window or (b) waiting until the next application window, which industry leaders expect not to come until 2014 or 2015, to apply for .MLS. Both of these alternatives are bad for our industry. If MLSs don’t apply during the 2012 window, it’s likely some entrepreneur   will. If no one applies during the 2012 window, the ‘MLS brand’ will continue to be eroded by brokers and third parties for another couple years until the industry can apply. Given the comparatively small cost of applying and operating the new TLD, the industry would be foolish to pass up the opportunity.

First, the costs

For MLS Domains Association to apply for and obtain the .MLS TLD will cost less than $1,000,000. To operate it will cost less than $500,000 per year. Compare that to the costs of other national industry initiatives. I would hesitate to call the amounts trivial, but a one-time expense of less than $1 per MLS subscriber and less than $0.50 per year per subscriber seems a pretty small price to protect the MLS brand. But how will MLS Domains Association’s efforts ‘protect the MLS brand’?

The business case for someone else to seek .MLS

We don’t know who will apply for TLDs in first quarter 2012. But there is good reason for many applicants to keep their plans secret. Imagine that DomainSpec, Inc. (an invented name) is waiting to see whether MLS Domains Association applies for .MLS. Imagine that MLS Domains Association does not apply and that DomainSpec applies for and receives the .MLS TLD. DomainSpec then takes the names of the 500 largest cities and towns and 200 most populous counties in the U.S. (think ‘Chicago.MLS’, ‘DadeCounty.MLS’, ‘Springfield.MLS’, etc.); it approaches real estate agents in each of those markets and offers one broker or agent exclusive use (i.e., domain registration) of her town or market name, plus .MLS, for an average cost of $1,000 per year. The cost would probably be higher for bigger cities and lower for smaller ones, but we can take $1,000 as the average. The resulting revenue of $700,000 per year would be more than enough to operate the registry (especially since DomainSpec could get economies of scale from operating a couple other TLDs) and make a tidy profit. Don’t you think there’s at least one agent in each of these cities and towns who would be willing to pay that price to ‘own’ ‘Chicago.MLS’, ‘Houston.MLS’, etc.?

Even if an MLS participant uses one of these domains to deliver an IDX site (with the necessary disclaimer that the site is not ‘actually an MLS’), the result is that the value of the term ‘MLS’ will be eroded. A site at ‘LosAngeles.MLS’ would be a broker’s site, leaving the visiting consumer confused about what an MLS is. If you think your local brokers now don’t like sites like ‘YourMLSOnline.COM’ and similar pseudo-MLSs, wait until they get a load of ‘Cleveland.MLS’ or ‘Boston.MLS’ operated by one of their competitors.

Because MLS Domains Association is applying for the new TLD as a “community,” it would win over the hypothetical DomainSpec in the ICANN process. But if MLS Domains Association does not apply or fails to reach the thresholds of support required for a community application, I believe someone like DomainSpec will get .MLS.

The business case in the absence of a speculator

Your brokers already dislike the pseudo-MLS websites at domains like ‘YourTownMLS.COM,’ ‘YourMLSOnline.COM’ and the like. MLSs generally cannot prevent such sites from existing, as misleading as their names may be. But with a .MLS TLD available only to MLSs, in time the value of those pseudo-MLS domains would erode. This is true whether or not your local MLS operates a consumer-facing listings website:

• On one hand, if your MLS operates a consumer-facing listings website, it will certainly not hurt for it to be at ‘YourTown.MLS.’ And sites like ‘MLSYourTown.COM’ and others will become less relevant to consumers.
• On the other, if your MLS does not operate a consumer-facing website, it could still operate an ‘IDX clearinghouse’ site, optimized for search engines, that your MLS could use to link out to broker IDX sites. In time, this could take traffic from national aggregators and ‘faux MLS sites’ and redirect it to local IDX sites.

Gathering enough support

Though the costs to obtain and operate .MLS are relatively small, we need to round up as much financial and community support as possible before making the application if we expect to be successful. Despite success in membership recruitment, MLS Domains Association’s fund-raising efforts are somewhat limited because the Association has sought grassroots support as a non-profit organization rather than for-profit investors. You can help now:

• If you are an MLS, join the MLS Domains Association (the cost is $500 or $1500 per year, depending on your MLS’s number of subscribers). Fifty MLSs are already members, representing more than half the MLS subscribers in the U.S.
• If you are a member of MLS Domains Association, claim a domain (or claim a second, third, or sixth). You put up $800 per domain claim, and half that amount remains in escrow until the Association’s ICANN application is approved. Leading MLSs have already claimed more than 250 domains–is your town one of them?
• If you are a partner to the industry (e.g., a provider of MLS, lockbox, or other product or software solutions), become a sponsor of the Association to aid it though its first few years of operation. We expect to be able to announce in September final agreements with two industry partners to be Platinum Sponsors, with one agreeing to provide $50,000 per year for four years and the other providing a $400,000 line of credit for the first five years of operations. (Other levels of sponsorship are available; contact info@MLSDomains.org for details and sponsorship benefits, etc.)

I’m impressed by the shows of support this effort has received so far, but without more help from the community of MLSs and their business partners, I think we will fall short. I don’t want to wake up some morning next May and hear that someone else applied for .MLS.

I welcome your comments. If you have questions about the Association, contact info@MLSDomains.org or reach me directly.

-Brian

via mlsdomains.org

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3 weeks of summer in Eleuthera - a trip report (sort of) - Eleuthera Forum - TripAdvisor

“ 3 weeks of summer in Eleuthera - a trip report (sort of) ”

Aug 21, 2011, 12:58 PM

July 23 - August 13, 2011

We aren't new to the island; this was our third time on Eleuthera this year, but never had we been there in July and August, a time when the pace is even slower, people even friendlier and certainly more talkative, and the wild summer fruits flourish in the hot sun and warm rains.

This time we never ventured to swim at any other beach than the one in front of Endless Summer at Double Bay. We started each day with a swim and probably made two more dips into the warm, nearly hot water each day. The Atlantic was mostly calm and the "Caribbean" was mostly rough in an interesting switch. No shark or ray sightings this time, but many sea turtles passed by the house.

I really don't know where to begin, perhaps I should write separate entries about the amazing things we saw and felt. Now it seems like a summer haze. Does anyone want to know about these things? Mrs. Nottage at the Highway Department Store in Tarpum Bay? Donovan and Diane at the D&D Bar? Kino the bushman fisherman of Deep Creek? Scraps the Double Bay potcake that we could barely leave behind? The fruit: sugar apples, soursaps, sapodillys, cocoplums picked still wet from the rain (and the kids and people swarming over the bushes with their cheeks puffed out with them in their mouths,) guineps (pronounced locally as "ka-naps,") sweet watermelon, and mangos? How about buying fresh lobster from the deaf mute fisherwoman? Spider crabs anyone? The humour of Mate at Mate and Jenny's (there is a guinep tree right next to it, by the way.) The rare opening of Cigatoo for a wedding, also serving as the stand in kitchen and dining room for the Buccaneer Club during "cleanup week.?" Sky Juice? The Blue Room? (I wrote a review of it here.) Conversations with Hesley at Windchimes and Kevin at Kel-D's? Doctor Seabreeze sitting in for Elliot in the band with Cisco at Tippy's? The magnificent sight of Elliot in a mourning suit? The hospitality of Chantel at Ship to Shore in Wemyss Bight? Land Crabs in the sun after the rain? My wife feeding toast to a rooster who took it from her hand? The little kids who scampered away to search for and return giggling after picking me one more branch of guineps?

Oh those warm memories of sweet summertime in Eleuthera don't even scratch the surface of what we saw and felt this time.

via tripadvisor.com

I didn't know what I was missing....

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AE on the Verge: 24 thoughts for Association Execs - picked up virtually from #ASAE11

24 thoughts for Association Execs - picked up virtually from #ASAE11

Here's an assortment of tips and thoughts that I picked up on Twitter during the ASAE 2011 Conference ... that I did not attend in person. Note: Tried to credit the original person who posted a tweet or picture. Info in brackets is my additional comment.

3 New Words/Terms:

1. "Associationize" (@PBBsRealm)
2. "Procedural Justice" (@MDsnowpro)
3. "Sacred zombie cow" - project simply exists, consumes staff and resources, and far harder to kill than your average sacred cow (@MDsnowpro)

3 Banquet/Event Ideas:

1. Edible centerpiece: cake pops, cupcakes, chocolate covered pretzels (@markbledsoe)
2. Put lunch in a keepsake box [see pic] (@tfec)
3. Make your presenters marketers. Use them to promote event in advance. Give presenters incentives to promote. (@bkpitman)

8 Notable Thoughts:

1. Ethics: You need courage to address lapses in judgment (@GregWilsonCAE)
2. Mission Statement: If you can't fit it on a t-shirt, people are not going to remember it. (@ashleyhodak)
3. Board: Be consistent with your communication to your Board, it helps them to expect, understand and be engaged. (@bkpitman)
4. Board: If you want your board to be strategic and not operational, they need to meet less. (@ashleyhodak)
5. Board: A good board needs to be able to say no. (@healthywrtr)
6. Value: We create value in 3 ways for members - make them smarter, save them money, make life easier (@Lowellmatthew)
7. Change: No one was ever extraordinary by keeping things the same. (@hospicedave)
8. Change: The "leave no member behind" mentality is killing us. (@BillSheridan)

8 Technology/Social Media Tips:

1. Ask members to link back to your site to improve your linkability (help them if aren't sure how) (@ljunker)
2. Polls on your site can improve SEO because they are content that naturally evolves and changes (@ljunker)
3. Save your PowerPoint presentation as a PDF. (@adamsharkwebb)
4. Mobile friendly emails should be 1 column, no photos, stories short & sweet (@LaurenMangnall)
5. 64% of e-mails are opened on a smart phone so we must design e-marketing for them. (@marianazario) [Design e-newsletters anticipating smart phones too]
6. People will accept bad video but not bad audio. (@prbrian)
7. Poll Everywhere provides real time audience response system. (@gfinecae)
8. Member outreach - send onesie with association logo to members with new baby - have them send pic back for association Facebook page (@Lowellmatthew)

2 Fundraising Ideas:

1. Add “donate” button or “donor wall” to website (@DrakeCo)
2. Share and win campaign. Have them share on social networks and offer a prize drawing. (@bkpitman)

Thanks to all who tweeted meaningful content this year!

via cindyae.blogspot.com

Some real gems here!

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RE Technology Portal - RE Technology Portal - RE Technology Portal

What .MLS TLD will mean to the real estate industry and the Internet

An Article from the MLS Domains Association

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Guest Contributor
Published: 08/16/2011
Posted by: RET Staff

We pulled the following article from the MLS Domains Association website.

Now that the ICANN process and timeline for new TLD applications is finalized (see ICANN's press release after its June 2011 meeting (PDF) or check out ICANN's press page for more details), MLS Domains Association can kick its activities back into high gear. Two current issues the Association is exploring are (a) how the .MLS TLD will fit into the real estate industry and (b) how .MLS will fit into the broader Internet.

MLS Domains Association board member Judith Lindenau has provided a great overview for MLSs trying to understand the first question: ABCs of TLDs: Domain Name Basics for Real Estate Pros offers the basic vocabulary every MLS leader and leading real estate broker should have.

via retechnology.com

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The ABCs of TLDs: Domain Name Basics for Realtors : Off Stage

Aug. 15, 2011 - The ABCs of TLDs: Domain Name Basics for Realtors

 

 

 

 

It was just a few short years ago that we were all struggling to understand the complexities of internet addresses: Realtor.com? Realtor.org? What’s the diff? And what’s with this ‘http colon backslash backslash’ stuff? It’ll never catch on….

Well, it appears you now have a few new alphabet clusters to learn, and they will become as important to your professional success as those internet addresses you struggled to learn not so many months ago. They’re called Top Level Domains—TLDs.

The TLDs are what you know as ‘.com’, ‘.org’, and ‘.gov’, as well as others.  TLDs are the two or three letters that follow the last dot in an internet address: Dale@realtor.org is an example, with ‘.org’ being the TLD in the address. These TLDs are a part of the world wide Domain Name System (DNS) which helps users to find their way around the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address - just like a telephone number - which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is called its "IP address" (IP stands for "Internet Protocol"). IP Addresses are hard to remember. The DNS makes using the Internet easier by allowing a familiar string of letters (the "domain name") to be used instead of the arcane IP address. 

There are two basic types of TLDs: the gTLD (which stands for generic top level domain—like .com) and the ccTLD (awarded to a country, a country code TLD like .us). What you need to know is that every domain name around the world ends with a top-level domain, and that each total address is unique. 

And it goes without saying that every address of every domain is registered, just as is every house address or vehicle license plate. That’s a complicated process, of course, and you really don’t need to know how it works—just that it does!

That’s the terminology. Here’s how things are changing, and will change—dramatically—in the next year or two. 

The organization that handles the registration and assignment of the top level domains is called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. There were 8 TLDs when ICANN was started in 1998, and only 13 more have been added since then. This year, after months of discussion, ICANN announced that it had approved a new program, an initiative that will enable the introduction of new gTLDs into the domain name space.

Why? ICANN says, “One of ICANN's key commitments is to promote competition in the domain name market while ensuring Internet security and stability. New generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) help achieve that commitment. Soon entrepreneurs, businesses, governments and communities around the world will be able to apply to operate a Top-Level Domain of their own choosing.”

And what will that mean for the real estate business community? Again, let’s look to ICANN for the answer: “The increase in number of gTLDs into the root is not expected to affect the way the Internet operates, but it will, for example, potentially change the way people find information on the Internet or how businesses plan and structure their online presence. “

Our group*, the MLS Domains Association, recognized a great opportunity here in the US, an opportunity to create name recognition and consumer confidence for real estate professionals. “If we can organize,” reasoned some major MLSs, “we can apply for a domain of our own, one that can be used only by recognized multiple listing services. The public, and other MLSs, will recognize the .MLS top level domain and the consistently high quality of information it represents.”

Is this a simple goal to achieve? Of course not. ICANN’s fees alone will discourage all but the most stable applicants: The application evaluation fee is estimated at US$185,000.   Then, under the agreement, there are at least two additional fees: (a) a fixed fee of US$6,250 per calendar quarter; (b) and a possible added transaction fee.

The MLS Domains Association firmly believes, however, that the benefits of acquiring the .MLS top level domain, and limiting its use only to multiple listing services, will be of great service to the real estate industry. ICANN has declared that “The applicant is responsible for setting the business model and policy for how they will use their gTLD, so long as the registry is in compliance with the terms of the registry agreement.”

 If our application is successful, the association members will be able to benefit from brand name recognition, as well as manage the continued use of the term “MLS” on the internet.

That will be very good thing.

*the author serves on the association board of directors

Answer to the Puzzle:

via realtown.com

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StumbleUpon Launches Program to Help Nonprofits | GoodWorks - Advertising Age

StumbleUpon Launches Program to Help Nonprofits

Stumbling for Good Works With Organizations to Expand Awareness

By: Karen Egolf Bio
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Published: August 10, 2011

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StumbleUpon is officially launching Stumbling for Good, a new advertising program to help nonprofits increase awareness and site traffic. The San Francisco-based company started the program earlier this summer, initially running a campaign for the World Food Programme, and is now opening up the effort to include more organizations.

StumbleUpon, a discovery engine that recommends web and mobile content for its more than 15 million users, will help nonprofits reach users most likely to respond to their messages and engage with them via its new Paid Discovery social media brand ad platform. World Food Programme credits the StumbleUpon campaign for helping it feed more than 5,000 people, making a video to thank the company for its work.

"Fundamentally, advertising is all about getting discovered," says Marc Leibowitz, VP-business development and marketing, for StumbleUpon. "We thought about how we could help nonprofits get discovered. That's one of the biggest challenges nonprofits have -- how do they generate awareness which results in people lending their time or money or other resources to help them reach their goals.

"The idea behind this program is the same as the idea behind the paid version of Paid Discovery: introducing people to organizations that they might not even have known to look for," Leibowitz says. "That's the premise behind StumbleUpon."

StumbleUpon plans to run campaigns for three nonprofits a month, working with each to promote specific assets of the organization and to drive people to a specific URL, anything from videos to blog posts. It plans to select organizations from those that its employees are passionate about as well as nonprofits that approach it.

"There are obviously some great causes out there," Leibowitz says. "Over time we're trying to canvass the universe of issues and be even-handed in how we select … and give them enough oomph to give them a significant boost.

"We wanted to introduce [our users] to causes that they might not otherwise have known about or known to look for," he says. "We're glad that we can put some nonprofit organizations into that stream of users if we can make the world just a little bit better by sending traffic to people who might take action based on something they saw."

via adage.com

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It's Complicated: MLS Questions : Off Stage

ug. 10, 2011 - It's Complicated: MLS Questions

 

 

The celebrated (read “Notorious”) blogger Rob Hahn proposed a solution to the problems facing the Multiple Listing Service. In his most recent column, Rob said, “The MLS should cease collecting payment from the agent/member; it should, instead, collect payment directly from the broker, and only from the broker.”   No more nickel-and-diming the sales associates and whoever else may have access to the MLS, no more collecting a thousand checks from subscribers when a single check from each broker/owner/Participant will do. 

What this means, says Rob, is a more clearly delineated target market for the MLS: “the real issue will become whether the MLS’s own innovations deliver value to the broker, who pays the bills.” After all, the listings belong to the broker, as does the real estate company. Let the brokers decide what products to adopt  and fund because the brokers know what makes sense to develop cooperatively and which should be left to individual brokerages to invest in: this way there will be no generalized ‘leveling the playing field’.

Hahn concludes, “I think this relatively simple change would go a long way towards restoring order while lowering conflicts in the real estate industry. Frankly, I don’t see a huge amount of downside. And it would be relatively easy to implement: some changes to billing practices are what’s required.”

A modest proposal indeed! Certainly not as complicated as boiling up a tasty Jonathan Swift stew instead of a constant diet of bland and mealy potatoes, eh Rob?

The question in my mind is, would that simple change in the billing structure really portend massive reforms? I once worked for an MLS that was not only quite small, but also slow to jump on the bandwagon of fads: hence it always billed the brokers for their use of MLS services based on the number of users in each individual brokerage. The Bake Sale Board of Realtors never quite caught on to the trick of billing each subscriber individually. “Too expensive and time consuming,” the business manager sniffed. 

The BS Board even put it the issue to the brokers. One large broker thought it a grand idea, but when asked if he would pay a little extra to support salesperson billing, he wasn’t too receptive. Another large broker resented the MLS ‘coming between’ him and his sales staff. “And I don’t want competition for their money,” he said. “Salespeople pay me, and I pay the MLS.”

Oooookay. Changing to billing the individuals was not a good plan, the BS MLS decided. But as I re-read Rob’s article, I thought, “That was then, this is now. Wonder if MLSs today think Notorious Rob has a solution?” So I asked them.

The response was a fairly resounding yawn. One industry analyst wrote, “I did read this (article) earlier, but I didn’t have a lot of interest in commenting on something that the industry talked about quite thoroughly 15 years ago or more.” An MLS manager said, “I wrote an essay on this topic back in 2004…nothing has changed.”  A former colleague reminded me: “I’m sure you can remember when many more MLSs were billing brokers rather than agents – we’ve been there, and we’ve done that and I don’t remember it making MLS more complicated when it changed. And brokers putting increasingly more responsibility on the agent for costs has been a trend that has only increased – a trend entirely initiated by brokers.”

Another voice, again an industry observer rather than practitioner or staff person, says the Hahn’s answer is too simple--that asking, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could simplify the problem of who the customer is? But that question isn’t very useful. Note also that this wouldn’t change anything for many participants – one or two person shops. It would only screw up the cash flow for the largest brokers.”

One of the main reasons for the weakness of the broker-as-customer solution was stated this way:”The ‘Don't Level the Playing Field’ problem requires a process for its solution, not a project. In other words, you need to keep solving the problem over and over again, because it arises from a natural tension between individual brokers and the collective organization working on their behalf. (It's a little like "How much should government do?" The answer depends on the time and place and other factors.)“  

Restated, this quotation means that it’s difficult to craft a static solution against the decision-making dynamic of competitors trying to cooperate in the best interests of all. The answer has to be re-invented each time a problem arises.

Bob, an MLS CEO agrees that the problem isn’t easy: “Fiduciary responsibility of an MLS is not as easy an issue to grapple with as it is in a traditional business.  An MLS has many masters, all of whom must be served, sometimes to varying degrees at different times. 

(1)                          Most are owned by associations, some of which expect a dividend payment (in a wholly owned subsidiary situation) or at least financial support (in a committee situation) from the MLS so they don’t have to raise dues; 

(2)                          Brokers are the business owners that rely on the MLS to maintain a modicum of arm’s length control in an environment of cooperation between competitors; 

(3)                          Agents on the street are the consumer of the lion’s share of the services the MLS provides; and

(4)                          Consumers are the beneficiaries of those services since ultimately they are the ones writing the checks (either to buy the house or to pay the commission). “

Bob’s final observation is one that all MLS administrators fully understand:” It’s the brokers who have the capacity to take their ball and bat and go home if they don’t like how the game is going.  Because if they don’t like the practices of the MLS and no longer see a benefit but instead a liability, they will find another way to stay in business.”

“Ok,” my friend Matt challenges. “What do you think, Lindenau?” (No fair, Matt. Writers are allowed to hide behind the quotes of others….. )

Well, I’ll summarize my thoughts. Here they are:

1.       It doesn’t make any difference who pays the bills, Rob. MLSs will never act as an efficient technology-based business service as long as the decision-makers (i.e., the board of directors) are neither business oriented (as opposed to being guided primarily by the profit and loss statements of their individual companies) nor technology proficient. User groups and technology-based business decision-makers are not the same thing.

2.       There are only so many resources in any one organization’s bucket. We’ve spent most of our resources chasing after diversionary issues like this one. Real Estate is an industry in peril. Get used to it and address what we can of the real problems we’re all facing. Examine the dead elephant in the room—the corpse is getting smellier and smellier.

3.       The current MLS dependency on single vendor relationships is one of our biggest weaknesses. Our vendors need to stay in business, sometimes at the expense of innovations which members require and technology makes possible. Data collection and information extraction, interpretation, and presentation are different things. It’s best if MLSs are not tied to a one solution provider for all of these functions.

4.       As MLSs, some of our most pervasive problems come from the NAR organization itself. The issues of who should be members of the real estate business community is tied to licensing structures and job descriptions which are outdated at best, and NAR’s insistence on antiquated geographical boundaries for servicing members’ professional needs has consumed an inordinate amount of our collective resources.

I wish there were easy answers. I wish we could just change the billing system and solve all the issues. The pure fact of the matter is, most of these problems are very solvable—but maybe it will take an organization which can invent the answers without cumbersome politics and governance.

 Hey! Maybe we could just appoint a bipartisan committee, and lay the responsibility in its collective lap….

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via realtown.com

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

It's Complicated: MLS Questions : Off Stage

ug. 10, 2011 - It's Complicated: MLS Questions

 

 

The celebrated (read “Notorious”) blogger Rob Hahn proposed a solution to the problems facing the Multiple Listing Service. In his most recent column, Rob said, “The MLS should cease collecting payment from the agent/member; it should, instead, collect payment directly from the broker, and only from the broker.”   No more nickel-and-diming the sales associates and whoever else may have access to the MLS, no more collecting a thousand checks from subscribers when a single check from each broker/owner/Participant will do. 

What this means, says Rob, is a more clearly delineated target market for the MLS: “the real issue will become whether the MLS’s own innovations deliver value to the broker, who pays the bills.” After all, the listings belong to the broker, as does the real estate company. Let the brokers decide what products to adopt  and fund because the brokers know what makes sense to develop cooperatively and which should be left to individual brokerages to invest in: this way there will be no generalized ‘leveling the playing field’.

Hahn concludes, “I think this relatively simple change would go a long way towards restoring order while lowering conflicts in the real estate industry. Frankly, I don’t see a huge amount of downside. And it would be relatively easy to implement: some changes to billing practices are what’s required.”

A modest proposal indeed! Certainly not as complicated as boiling up a tasty Jonathan Swift stew instead of a constant diet of bland and mealy potatoes, eh Rob?

The question in my mind is, would that simple change in the billing structure really portend massive reforms? I once worked for an MLS that was not only quite small, but also slow to jump on the bandwagon of fads: hence it always billed the brokers for their use of MLS services based on the number of users in each individual brokerage. The Bake Sale Board of Realtors never quite caught on to the trick of billing each subscriber individually. “Too expensive and time consuming,” the business manager sniffed. 

The BS Board even put it the issue to the brokers. One large broker thought it a grand idea, but when asked if he would pay a little extra to support salesperson billing, he wasn’t too receptive. Another large broker resented the MLS ‘coming between’ him and his sales staff. “And I don’t want competition for their money,” he said. “Salespeople pay me, and I pay the MLS.”

Oooookay. Changing to billing the individuals was not a good plan, the BS MLS decided. But as I re-read Rob’s article, I thought, “That was then, this is now. Wonder if MLSs today think Notorious Rob has a solution?” So I asked them.

The response was a fairly resounding yawn. One industry analyst wrote, “I did read this (article) earlier, but I didn’t have a lot of interest in commenting on something that the industry talked about quite thoroughly 15 years ago or more.” An MLS manager said, “I wrote an essay on this topic back in 2004…nothing has changed.”  A former colleague reminded me: “I’m sure you can remember when many more MLSs were billing brokers rather than agents – we’ve been there, and we’ve done that and I don’t remember it making MLS more complicated when it changed. And brokers putting increasingly more responsibility on the agent for costs has been a trend that has only increased – a trend entirely initiated by brokers.”

Another voice, again an industry observer rather than practitioner or staff person, says the Hahn’s answer is too simple--that asking, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could simplify the problem of who the customer is? But that question isn’t very useful. Note also that this wouldn’t change anything for many participants – one or two person shops. It would only screw up the cash flow for the largest brokers.”

One of the main reasons for the weakness of the broker-as-customer solution was stated this way:”The ‘Don't Level the Playing Field’ problem requires a process for its solution, not a project. In other words, you need to keep solving the problem over and over again, because it arises from a natural tension between individual brokers and the collective organization working on their behalf. (It's a little like "How much should government do?" The answer depends on the time and place and other factors.)“  

Restated, this quotation means that it’s difficult to craft a static solution against the decision-making dynamic of competitors trying to cooperate in the best interests of all. The answer has to be re-invented each time a problem arises.

Bob, an MLS CEO agrees that the problem isn’t easy: “Fiduciary responsibility of an MLS is not as easy an issue to grapple with as it is in a traditional business.  An MLS has many masters, all of whom must be served, sometimes to varying degrees at different times. 

(1)                          Most are owned by associations, some of which expect a dividend payment (in a wholly owned subsidiary situation) or at least financial support (in a committee situation) from the MLS so they don’t have to raise dues; 

(2)                          Brokers are the business owners that rely on the MLS to maintain a modicum of arm’s length control in an environment of cooperation between competitors; 

(3)                          Agents on the street are the consumer of the lion’s share of the services the MLS provides; and

(4)                          Consumers are the beneficiaries of those services since ultimately they are the ones writing the checks (either to buy the house or to pay the commission). “

Bob’s final observation is one that all MLS administrators fully understand:” It’s the brokers who have the capacity to take their ball and bat and go home if they don’t like how the game is going.  Because if they don’t like the practices of the MLS and no longer see a benefit but instead a liability, they will find another way to stay in business.”

“Ok,” my friend Matt challenges. “What do you think, Lindenau?” (No fair, Matt. Writers are allowed to hide behind the quotes of others….. )

Well, I’ll summarize my thoughts. Here they are:

1.       It doesn’t make any difference who pays the bills, Rob. MLSs will never act as an efficient technology-based business service as long as the decision-makers (i.e., the board of directors) are neither business oriented (as opposed to being guided primarily by the profit and loss statements of their individual companies) nor technology proficient. User groups and technology-based business decision-makers are not the same thing.

2.       There are only so many resources in any one organization’s bucket. We’ve spent most of our resources chasing after diversionary issues like this one. Real Estate is an industry in peril. Get used to it and address what we can of the real problems we’re all facing. Examine the dead elephant in the room—the corpse is getting smellier and smellier.

3.       The current MLS dependency on single vendor relationships is one of our biggest weaknesses. Our vendors need to stay in business, sometimes at the expense of innovations which members require and technology makes possible. Data collection and information extraction, interpretation, and presentation are different things. It’s best if MLSs are not tied to a one solution provider for all of these functions.

4.       As MLSs, some of our most pervasive problems come from the NAR organization itself. The issues of who should be members of the real estate business community is tied to licensing structures and job descriptions which are outdated at best, and NAR’s insistence on antiquated geographical boundaries for servicing members’ professional needs has consumed an inordinate amount of our collective resources.

I wish there were easy answers. I wish we could just change the billing system and solve all the issues. The pure fact of the matter is, most of these problems are very solvable—but maybe it will take an organization which can invent the answers without cumbersome politics and governance.

 Hey! Maybe we could just appoint a bipartisan committee, and lay the responsibility in its collective lap….

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Nonprofit Tax Quiz | Blue Avocado

Nonprofit Tax Quiz

Feature Articles • By Kim Klein and Jan Masaoka • August 8, 2011 • Email Print

Everyone talks about the weather, but how many of us actually know what a lenticular cloud is or what the dew point means? In the nonprofit sector we throw around tax opinions, but here's a chance to learn something (uh oh). We loved working with Kim Klein of "Talking About Taxes" on this fun quiz.

We advise you to take this 17-question quiz with your friends or co-workers before looking at the answer sheet. (Hint: it's easiest if you print out the Quiz.) At the end of this article is a link to a print-friendly pdf of the quiz, the answer sheet, and the scoring guide.

1. If you give a nonprofit 501(c)(3) $10,000, how much less will you pay in federal taxes (assuming you itemize and are in the highest tax bracket)?

a. $10,000
b. $3,500
c. $1,500
d. $10,000, but only if you get a receipt within 60 days of the donation

2. In a group of ten people, seven of them filed the short tax form, and three filed the long form. All ten of them gave to a nonprofit. How many of them will reduce their taxes as a result of their donations?

a. Five. The other five gave their money to churches or religious institutions, and giving to religion is not deductible because of separation of church and state.

b. All ten -- that’s only fair.

c. Only the group of three. The other 7 are part of the 70% of Americans who file a short form, so they receive no tax benefit for their giving.

d. Eleven of them. One is filing two tax returns under different names.

3. Which of the following paid the least in U.S. taxes for 2010?

a. You
b. Sierra Club
c. General Electric (net profit $14.2 billion)
d. Willie Nelson

4. If you die and leave your son an estate of $3 million, how much in estate taxes (also called inheritance taxes) will be owed on the $3 million in income he is given?

a. $0
b. 15% which calculates to $450,000
c. 35% which calculates to $1.05 million
d. 15% on real estate inherited and 35% on non-real estate inheritance assets

5. Who said the following: "The estate tax -- our nation's only levy on accumulated wealth -- is the fairest and most important tax we have"?

a. Karl Marx
b. Theodore Roosevelt
c. Bill Gates, Sr.
d. Pope Paul VI
e. Thomas Jefferson

6. A "progressive tax structure" means:

a. It is supported by "progressive" people.

b. It is part of Obamacare.

c. People with higher incomes pay a higher percentage in taxes than people with lower incomes.

d. Taxes increase with inflation.

7. In the United States, if you live in a household with a total gross household income of $250,000 or more, what percentage of U.S. households have less income than yours?

a) 98%
b) 70%
c) 40%
d) 32%

8. If Michael, an attorney whose billing rate is $300 per hour, donates 3 hours of legal counseling to a nonprofit, how much can he deduct from his taxable income?

a. $0

b. 15% = $126 ($300 * 3 = 900, then 14% of 900 is $126)

c. $900 if he itemizes

d. Three hours at the average attorney billing rate in his state

9. Which of the following is legally a restriction on 501(c)(3) nonprofits:

a. Nonprofit staff cannot donate blood.
b. Nonprofits cannot borrow money, except from board members and staff.
c. Nonprofit board meetings must be open to the public.
d. Nonprofits cannot divvy up the surplus at year-end and distribute it to staff.
e. b and c

10. If you buy $20 worth of raffle tickets (for a new car) from a nonprofit as a fundraiser, you can:

a. Deduct $20 from your taxable income.

b. Deduct between 15% and 35% of the $20 from your taxable income depending on your tax bracket.

c. You can deduct only if the ticket says, “Donation requested” and indicates how you can get the tickets for free.

d. $20, but only if you win the car.

11. True/False: Thank-you notes to donors are required by law.

a. True

b. False, but you must send a receipt (acknowledgment letter) to a donor for any donation of $75 or more.

c. False, but you must send a receipt (acknowledgment letter) to a donor for any donation of $250 or more

d. Thank-you notes are only required for donors who are intending to list the donation on their tax returns.

12. To be officially poor according to the federal government, a family of four can have a total annual income of no higher than:

a. $22,350
b. $31,700
c. $42,000
d. the salary of the governor of Wyoming.

13. Median household (not individual) income: you live in a household that makes more money per year than 50% of American households. Your total household income is:

a. $31,000
b. $48,000
c. $94,000
d. More than Scrooge McDuck makes in a year.

14. If you paid $10,000 last year in federal income taxes, how many of your tax dollars went to conservation and the environment?

a. $100
b. $120
c. $370
d) $610

15. If you paid $10,000 last year in federal income taxes, how many of your tax dollars went to military and defense?

a) $1,000
b) $2,000
c) $5,000
d) $6,100

16. Sally Stockowner received $50,000 in income last year as profit from selling stock (that she owned for more than a year). Tanya Teacher is a school teacher with a salary of $50,000. Assuming they have no other income and they both take the standard deduction, which of them paid more in federal taxes?

a. Sally and Tanya both paid the same.
b. Sally Stockowner paid more.
c. Tanya Teacher paid more.
d. I don't like word problems.

17. If you pay at the highest individual rate for federal income tax in your country, in which country would you pay the highest amount in taxes?

a. Angola
b. Sweden
c. United States
d. Cuba

Answer sheet and scoring guide

Congratulations! You're done! Now: to download the free answer sheet and scoring guide (and the quiz without the answers to make it easy for you to photocopy for a group), please click here.

Our thanks to tax accountant Hank Levy, CPA, and to Paul Rosenstiel for assistance with this article.

Kim Klein is a legendary fundraising trainer, writer, and advocate for grassroots organizations. Among her five books is the classic Fundraising for Social Change, a must for nonprofit bookshelves. She is part of the "Talking About Taxes" work of the Building Movement Project, and she writes a blog on their site; click here to go there.

Jan Masaoka is editor of Blue Avocado.

See also in Blue Avocado:

• Attack of the Tax Exemption Killers
• Tax the Rich? More? Or Less?

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Board of Directors Checklist Tool for Realtor Associations : Off Stage

Aug. 1, 2011 - Board of Directors Checklist Tool for Realtor Associations

 

 

I hate to remind you, but it's August 1 and time for the annual Realtor association identity crisis we celebrate: the election and installation of new directors and officers. And if that weren't enough, most Realtor associations are also billing dues, setting budgets, and orienting and training new leaders.  Members themselves may be getting a little testy as they take stock of the successes (and lack thereof) of the summer selling season.  In my area of the country, at least, it won't be all that long before the real estate inventory will be covered with snow....

In the midst of the mayhem, it's time for reflection and planning. In an earlier blog I mentioned the need for an annual calendar.  Here's another tool which may help AEs focus on strengthening their associations and ready them for the challenges of the coming year.

 

 

Checklist to Evaluate a Realtor® Association Board of Directors*

Rating *	Indicator	Met	Needs Work	N/A
E	1. The roles of the Board and the AE are defined and respected, with the AE delegated as the manager of the organization's operations and the board focused on policy and planning
R	2. The AE is recruited, selected, and employed by the Board of Directors. The board provides clearly written expectations and qualifications for the position, as well as reasonable compensation.
R	3. The Board of Directors acts a governing trustee of the organization on behalf of the membership while carrying out the association’s mission and goals. To fully meet this goal, the Board of Directors must actively participate in the planning.
R	4. The board's nominating process ensures that the board remains appropriately diverse in the areas of gender, ethnicity, membership status, and skills and/or expertise.
E	5. The board members receive regular training and information about their responsibilities.
E	6. New board members are oriented to the organization, including the organization's mission, bylaws, policies, and programs, as well as their roles and responsibilities as board members.
A	7. Board organization is documented with descriptions of the board and board committee responsibilities.
A	8. Each board member has ready access to a board operations manual.
E	9. If the organization has any related party transactions between board members or their family, they are disclosed to the board of directors, the Internal Revenue Service and the auditor. Conflicts of interest are articulated and documented.
E	10. The organization has at least the minimum number of members on the Board of Directors as required by its bylaws or state statute.
R	11. If the organization has adopted bylaws, they conform to state statute and NAR policy and have been reviewed by legal counsel.
R	12. The bylaws should include: a) how and when notices for board meetings are made; b) how members are elected/appointed by the board; c) what the terms of office are for officers/members; d) how board members are rotated; e) how ineffective board members are removed from the board; f) a stated number of board members to make up a quorum which is required for all policy decisions.
R	13. The board of directors reviews the bylaws and operating policies.
A	14. The board has a process for handling urgent matters between meetings.
E	15. Payment to board members should be documented and conform to an approved policy identifying reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses.
R	16. The association maintains a conflict-of-interest policy and all board members and executive staff review and/or sign to acknowledge and comply with the policy.
R	17. The board has an annual calendar of meetings. The board also has an attendance policy such that a quorum of the organization's board meets at least quarterly.
A	18. Meetings have written agendas and materials relating to significant decisions are given to the board well in advance of the meeting.
A	19. The board has a written policy prohibiting employees and members of employees' immediate families from serving as board chair or treasurer.
Indicators ratings: E=essential; R=recommended; A=additional to strengthen organizational activities

This checklist has been adapted from the Greater Twin Cities United Way.

 As always, feel free to contact me for additional help, or post your comments and questions to this website!

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