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FSBOs on Realtor.com? "Say it ain't so Joe."

The big, bold headlines read: "ForSaleByOwner.com Becomes First to Provide New Access to Realtor.com

E-mail NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2008 – ForSaleByOwner.com today announced that it has become the nation’s first “by owner” real estate website to enable home sellers to advertise their home on Realtor.com without appearing on a local Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

This new direct access to Realtor.com follows the May 2008 settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Association of Realtors..........................................................."

However the truth and facts don't quite support the headlines.

In a story today in Inman New s, Move spokesperson Julie Reynolds says ForSaleByOwner.com's press release is inaccurate and Move.com has asked them to retract it.

"Move Inc. spokeswoman Julie Reynolds said that means the listings aren't technically "for-sale-by-owner," but are broker-represented.

In order for a listing to appear on Realtor.com, it must be entered in an MLS, Reynolds said. There are no unrepresented properties displayed on Realtor.com, and every property must be listed by a licensed real estate broker.

Reynolds said there is no formal relationship between ForSaleByOwner.com and Realtor.com, and that the company's formal announcement of the new service was "misleading to both consumers and the Realtor community."

The only way to get a property listed in Realtor.com is for it to be listed by a Realtor member who must enter the property in an MLS somewhere.

Move, Inc. then pulls all listings from that MLS into Realtor.com in compliance with their operating agreement with NAR.

ForSaleByOwner.com has a network of Realtor brokers all over the US who enter listings into an MLS for a flat fee and provide minimum services to the sellers on ForSaleByOwner.com's behalf.

Nice try ForSaleByOwner.com ;->

NOTE: Here's an update on this situation I just got from NAR

"NAR, REALTOR.com Set Record Straight on Erroneous FSBO Claims

A press release issued on Wed., Nov. 12, by ForSaleByOwner.com contained inaccuracies and misleading statements about its ability to place unlisted for-sale-by-owner information on REALTOR.com, the official Web site of the National Association of REALTORSÂ® operated by Move Inc. NAR and REALTOR.com are setting the record straight with the following clarifications:

1) The settlement agreement between NAR and the U.S. Department of Justice made no provision to allow unlisted properties, such as "for-sale-by-owner," to be posted on REALTOR.com.

2) ForSaleByOwner.com does not in any way enable home sellers to advertise their home on REALTOR.com without broker representation; every property on REALTOR.com must be listed by a licensed real estate broker.

3) REALTOR.com has not authorized ForSaleByOwner.com to resell REALTOR.com's Showcase Listings Enhancement package.

4) There is no relationship between ForSaleByOwner.com and REALTOR.com.

5) There are no unrepresented homes on REALTOR.com. Every property on REALTOR.com must be listed by a licensed real estate broker, and unrepresented properties would not qualify to be submitted to a REALTORÂ®-owned and operated MLS."

It appears that the folks at ForSaleByOwner.com were..........er, for want of a better word, lying. Shamey, shamey.

Jim Lee, CRS, ABR, GRI, ACRE, NAR Certified e-PRO Trainer
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Posted by Jim Lee, Knoxville Tennessee Realtor® on 11/14/2008 08:19 AM

Comments (13)

Realtor.com in the Online Marketing Channel

forsalebyownercom, fsbo, nar, inman news

Originally posted at: Your Knoxville Tennessee real estate information source.: FSBOs on Realtor.com? "Say it ain't so Joe."

13 Comments on FSBOs on Realtor.com? "Say it ain't so Joe."

NOV

2008

I am so glad to hear the headline was not true! That would be awful for our industry and for buyers!

The NAR must not understand the meaning of "EXCLUSIVE AGENCY" listings. For Sale By Owner listings have been in our MLS and on Realtor.com for years.

Thank you for clearing that up -

If they pay for it they are welcome to post it there. We are going to see a lot of this in the future. Hate to generalize, but most of the FSBO listings I am seeing are often way over priced, are you seeing that too?

Mary, I am seeing that as well, and the worst thing about FSBOS is dealing directly with the owner who has an emotional interest in the home.

When I read that yesterday I went to their website to see their services. They act like a limited service brokerage or a discount brokerage = flat fee + coop

Misleading to say the least!

Jim:

I see a lot of FSBO's using every website that is available to them. Here in the San Diego area we have a company that is out of Atlanta that will insert the info into the MLS for a fee of $250.00 and many of the homeowners are going in that direction. So, we have competition with this kind of competitor. We call them menu real estate agents.

I think they understand it pretty well Lenn. An "EXCLUSIVE AGENCY' listing is just a listing with a real estate licensee where the owner also has the right to sell it without paying a commission.

I only do "EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO SELL" listings personally as do most other Realtors, but exclusive agency is just another choice in the ever expanding real estate arena. A listing is a listing is a listing.

Remember when the only potato chip choices were plain or BBQ??

If a Realtor has a listing of any sort with a seller, exclusive agency or otherwise, it qualifies to be on Realtor.com

Jim, I believe "ForSaleBuyOwner" is doing their best to mislead the consumer. I wonder why the DOJ doesn't do something about that?

By the way it was great finally meeting you last week. Did you get your check yet :)

I'm one of the newer AR paid bloggers; you've been at it much longer than I, what part of the month do the checks usually arrive?

NOV

Please note that FSBO.com and Forsalebyowner.com are NOT the same company unlike the following sentence from this post suggests:

"ForSaleByOwner.com has a network of Realtor brokers all over the US who enter listings into an MLS for a flat fee and provide minimum services to the sellers on FSBO.com's behalf."

That, much like the press release, is misleading...

The press release in question was NOT created by www.fsbo.com.