a New Realtor Credit Union is a Very Bad Idea...
Funny how the Local Realtors do not seem to really understand Internet Marketing and NAR, as well as their Franchise encourages their members to have their Sellers listed on Realtor.com and the Local MLS or Franchise Site. The Local Realtors claim that their “Corporate Head” tells them that these methods are tried and true and are the way to go.
Even though I have seen situation where sellers lose hundreds of thousands of dollars of their purchase price because the Realtor’s solution is to Keep Dropping the Price. As long as some where down the Road, the Realtor has a Paycheck who really cares if the Seller is losing money hand over fist.
The “Realtor Sponsored” Internet Marketing classes I have been to have been quite elementary. I knew full well at the time that NAR, with all their money and their hands on the pulse of the Real Estate Industry, that they knew how to truly teach their Realtor Members to market the Real Estate of their Sellers in a way that was easy - informative and non-stressful to the buyer and would reach the most amount potential buyers.
I knew that NAR certainly had to know about targeted internet marketing, PPC, Google Adwords, Blogs, and various other methods that the Realtors could use to Sell the Seller real estate for a fair price to buyer looking on the internet, and sometimes those buyers were not even really looking in that particular area.
The Realtors had to know that if you have New York Water Property for sale, for example, that it would be best for the buyer and the seller if their New York Water Property for sale, for example, listed on NewYorkWaterProperty.com .
A few years back there was quite a stir in one major city, because an Internet Savvy Realtor had bought the dot com name of the Biggest Real Estate Seller in town and bought her son’s dot com. Though they were certainly mad, there was nothing they could do, this Realtor now owned their online identity. And though many years have past since this news article came out still most Realtors do not own their own name.
Most Realtors are followers, they listen to what NAR and their local and state board of Realtors tells them and they accept that as “tried and true”. Not Me, I bought domain names such as NewYorkWaterProperty.com , MontanaWaterProperty.com , CaliforniaWaterProperty.com and many other targeted real estate marketing names. It just made sense to me, though, at the time the Realtors Association(s) I belonged to certainly disagreed and even discouraged me from such behavior.
All along the Boys and Girls on top of the Realtor Food Chain “got internet marketing” but they wanted to make sure that their members did not get it, or at least to stall as long as they could in order to build up their own “web properties”.
And Realtor.com charges Realtors to be on the site.. So Scam after Scam and the Rich get Richer. So Yes NAR has gotten Internet Marketing to some degree for quite awhile but did not let the agents get into a position to compete with them.
The Classes I went To On Internet Marketing was very juvenile. I had been well into Internet Marketing, Search Engine Placement - Optimization and Marketing and I was excited to here what the Realtors had to say. And all they did was promote their sites for us to input our clients listings on, and to pay to do it.
REALTOR, is now starting an Online Credit Union, so THEY certainly are getting “Net Savvy”. While in my home town Realtor still are convincing Sellers that Realtor.com is the Place to Be.. It is NOT True.
This New Online Realtor Credit Union should be watched closely, soon they will probably loaning money to Realtors to buy houses. And in my experience Credit Unions are the Absolute best place to get a loan on Real Estate, at least in my neck of the woods. So gather all the Realtors money, keep it in the bank for them and loan it out at HUGE profits and call it REALTORS FCU. And don't forget the Overnight Lending that those in Banking get to do, MORE money hand over Fist for the Realtors on Top of NAR..
Here is the News Clip on the Realtor Credit Union.
"WASHINGTON (12/2/08)--Thomas Glatt Sr. has been named the first CEO of the new REALTORS FCU (RFCU), effective Dec. 15, the credit union's board of directors announced Monday.
A 20-year veteran of the credit union movement, Glatt is currently CEO of Continental FCU, Tempe, Ariz., which serves airline industry employees.
He also served in executive positions with OnPoint Community CU (formerly Portland Teachers CU), Portland, Ore.; First Financial FCU, West Covina, Calif; and 66 FCU of Philips Petroleum, Bartlesville, Okla. For 16 years, he headed a credit union consultancy that advised some of the nation's largest credit unions.
He also has been a member of the boards at USA FCU, San Diego, and Kaiperm FCU, Oakland, Calif.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is providing the credit union as a member benefit, said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokers in Dallas-Ft. Worth. He noted the new credit union is tailored to the work habits and lifestyles of realtors, most of whom are independent contractors compensated by commissions.
According to NAR CEO Dale Stinton, the new credit union will be open 24/7 and is Internet-based.
RFCU is scheduled to open for business in mid-2009. Those eligible to become members of the credit union include: realtors and their families; NAR's institutes, societies and councils; NAR staff; and the staffs of state and local boards and associations. NAR clients, such as home buyers and home sellers, are not eligible. "
Now to Me, the Self Proclaimed Real Estate Industry Whistleblower, this is Seriously Something to Watch VERY closely. As if affiliations are Not already Bad enough in the Real Estate Industry. And as if the “Realtors” are not ALREADY walking a VERY thin line with Anti-Trust Law Violations, Now This.. Watch Out.. The Realtors Aim to Take Over a Whole Lot more sectors of Business… YOU LOSE..
