Taking the Brokercentric MLS Seriously

It’s been a busy week and a few. First, there was Inman which usually knocks me out of any sort of blog-like activities for a week. Then I moved as soon as I got home. I know some companies offers “concierge” type of services to help someone move with all the changes that entails but … Read more

If I Ruled The World: Insane Strategery for the Real Estate Industry

Yesterday, either Inman News or I broke the news that the California independent contractor case, Bararsani v. Coldwell Banker was settled. (I kinda think I broke it, because the settlement came down on the 13th, and since Inman has actual reporters and such, I’d have thought they’d have sniffed it out between then and the 18th, when my post … Read more

Forecast Calls For Vultures – Bararsani Case Settled

Thanks to reader Aileen Kane (who is one of you — the best informed readers in real estate) I just got word (via a comment on an old post) that the final settlement in Coldwell Banker v. Bararsani case has been ordered by the court. From Law360 (registration required): Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William F. Highberger … Read more

The Myth of the Irreplaceable REALTOR

Over on the Texas Association of REALTORS website, there’s a reprint of an article from the December 2015 issue of REAL Trends entitled “Why technology will never replace REALTORS.” I’ll wait for the cheering to die down a bit. OK. Good? OK, moving on then. Steve Murray, who is one of my heroes in the industry, basically … Read more

Seven Predictions for 2016: The 90s Dance Music Edition

As you can probably see, this is a special edition of my 7 predictions. I normally post those on my blog at Notorious R.O.B., but not this year! Brad Inman asked if I wanted to share these crazy predictions with the readers of Inman, and I thought, why not? I mean, these are predictions sure … Read more

Grading Time! Reviewing My 2015 Predictions

Welcome to another edition of an annual tradition, in which I go back and grade myself on my predictions made at the start of this year. My track record so far: 2010 Predictions: 6 for 10 (.600) 2011 Predictions: 4.5 for 7 (.642) 2012 Predictions: 2 for 7 (.286) 2013 Predictions: 4.5 for 7 (.642) 2014 Predictions: 3 for … Read more

Follow-Up Post on Brass Tacks: What To Do About Marginal Agents?

Happy Friday everyone. I wanted to do this quick follow-up to my Brass Tacks: What To Do About Marginal Agents post from November 20, 2015. Because the comments on that post were… interesting… so I figured we might get some more interesting comments on this one. If you recall, in that original post, I highlighted … Read more

The Seven Most Interesting People in Real Estate, 2015

‘Tis the season for year-end lists, best-of lists, lists for Santa, lists for New Year Resolutions, lists of lists, yay! I recently spent a weekend locked in a conference room working on an actually important list — the Swanepoel Power 200 — that was fun, exhilarating, and hard work. But as we get to the … Read more

Marginal REALTORS: Five Things an Association Can Do Today

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday; I personally got some really great news the day before Thanksgiving, so I had a truly memorable one myself. I even managed to hold on to that feeling of profound gratitude as the sentiment turned from giving thanks to indulging in exercises in gluttony that would have … Read more