Many of us were pleasantly surprised with the announcement of the merger of Real Living and GMAC so I thought I would put together some good information that I have found that helps explain.

Excerpts from the announcement sent to franchise owners and managers:

"GMAC Real Estate is one of America's leading residential real estate franchises, and combined with the Real Living Network, we will have over 600 office locations, 10,000 plus agents and more than $20 billion in annual home sales. Together we will become a bigger, bolder company, offering a strong appealing, consumer-focused brand, with a suite of industry leading tools and technology that will power us forward in the years ahead.

The new organization was created after Brookfield Residential Property Services, the owner of GMAC Real Estate, acquired Real Living Network Services, and merged the two companies under the Real Living brand name.  As we move forward, the Real Living agent-centric and consumer focused philosophy will continue to drive our decision-making and investment strategies. 

As we make the transition, Real Living will focus on excellence in five key areas:  technology, sales, marketing, training and business planning.  These are areas that we will invest in to make our combined organization into one of the most sought after brands in the business. Our primary goal will continue to be to help our agents, offices and franchisees grow their business."

Here is the official Press Release... http://franchise.realliving.com/images/stories/Real-Living-News-Release.pdf
 
Here is the official information from Real Living...  http://franchise.realliving.com/  There is a great video on here that you can use.
 
Here is the official information from GMAC... http://www.gmacrealestate.com/about/press/2009/1111.cfm
 
Official Announcement from Realtor Magazine with links to other sources... http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2009111101?OpenDocument&WT.cg_n=RMO&WT.cg_s=RSSDaily
  
Inman News (A leading real estate new publication)... http://www.inman.com/news/2009/11/11/gmac-real-estate-unites-with-real-living

Here is a link to the story in Business Wire: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20091111005279&newsLang=en

If you are new to the Real Living Network or interested in being a part of the Real Living Network feel free to contact me via ActiveRain or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SheriMoritz or on Twitter @RealLifeSheri