Comments on: Realestate.com.au upgrades private selling policy.

By: real estate com

real estate com — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:38:32 +0000

Hello again Glenn. You asked me in your last post on this thread – to keep you informed of my battle for fairness from the REA …so here’s a little update.

We instructed our Solicitor at Slater and Gordon 3 weeks ago to infrom REA once again that we believe REA to be acting anti competitively. We further pointed out with evidence in writing, the continuing of REA to turn a blind eye to several FSBO companies and to treat our own company PropertyNow differently.

The REA Solicitor has written back to us,but in doing so completely ignored a clear and demonstrable breach of their TOS that has been going on since I started talking about the REA’s very flexible policy 7 months ago.

One can only wonder whether REA has a vested interest in certain FSBO companies or possibly even in the ownership of some. I cannot see any other explanation for what’s going on so openly.

To be succint REA has allowed several companies to remain placing interstate clients on REA website despite those companies not holding Real Estate Licenses in each state. Despite those companies not having an office in each state (as is required by a company to hold such Licenses in the first place). Despite also not having individual REA accounts in each state as required under REA TOS.

Can you help me out Glenn? Because I cannot see how this can be either legal or proper conduct but perhaps I am missing something very obvious here?

Anyway Glenn, Slater and Gordon wrote to REA again on behalf of PropertyNow yesterday. I won’t be able to tell you much about their reply when it eventuates because it is certain to run something like this – ” it is REA policy not to discuss its clients businesses” That’ sounds a most honorable trait in a company except when it’s so patently a way of dodging an issue of which REA has no comfortable answer that it can give.

I will keep you informed but you may read about it in the media soon in any case.

By the way thanks for the SEO tips above Glenn and Kudos to you on your SEO series in Business2

Andrew Blachut
PropertyNow

By: Sal Espro

Sal Espro — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:50:08 +0000

Sal:“When is an agency not an agency?”
REA:“We don’t know! But we’re big and strong and will blow your house down. We shove it to agents everyday so won’t have any ”
Sal:“Wrong! When a marketing campaign is run totally by a non-agency individual”.
Sal:“So, how does the ACCC view individuals not being able to advertise in a market dominant media entity?”
REA:“The ACCC? We make our own rules!”
Sal:Yeah right. Anyway….
I have financially benefited from the earnings of agency and non-agency work. I also appreciate the value of agents who do add real value. However, I reckon that given this current economic climate and ever-reaching effect of the US of A in so many ways we behave, there is room for a significant move to ‘non-traditional’ real estate operations. This doesn’t necessarily mean FSBO that I tend to believe are in the main a prospecting market for good agents.
I am talking about variants on the agency model (that REA might consider non-agencies) and there are several that could benefit both existing agents, vendors and buyers.
If this is the case, then groups like REA will find their anti-competitive, traditional agency protective operations, way out of date, (apart from being way outside ACCC regulations).

By: Glenn Batten

Glenn Batten — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:42:12 +0000

Andrew,

We are going to continue to agree on certain aspects of this matter and agree to disagree on others. Thats life. Most of our disagreements will probably centre on our different perspectives. I am a real estate agent and you run a FSBO site, so those differences are to be expected. Whats unreasonable is to assume that we would agree.

You said “My personal opinion is that it would not be that major if they did allow private sellers really

By: real estate

real estate — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:42:36 +0000

Hello again Glenn. I may be the affected party you refer to in your May28th post. In fact we have been affected for 3 years and likely will be seeking compensation for that in the fullness of time.

I wish to correct you on your other post of May 28th in which you said and I quote – As far as I can read it the practice is now stopped

Glenn it is now June 11th, some 2 weeks after your post and several companies are still openly flouting REA rules. If you want proof of this email me at PropertyNow ( sales@propertynow.com.au ) Of more concern is that it is the same companies I objected too close to 2 months ago.

As you know ( and we agree on this ) I want PropertyNow and its clients treated the same way as every other agent by the REA. That is not occurring as you have noted. That’s not the sum total of the assurances we seek but its a pretty fair starting point.

Glenn you seem a learned chap but on this particular issue you are way off base on so many of your comments. Some of them astound me such as –

My personal opinion is that it would not be that major if they did allow private sellers really – then why are they so adamant Glenn? Put that statement to a group of real estate agents and see what they say.

and

The issue was not whether they should be allowed or not, but whether they should be allowed through a loophole by just a few people – No Glenn, half right and thereby fully wrong. It’s absolutely about both issues. Whether to allow private sales or assisted sales AND to do so fairly to all agents and members of the public. You may find in time that the real loophole is being used by the other side of this debate.

and

and everything is at there discretion.. I can’t believe you said that?

and

Call it what you will

By: Greg Vincent

Greg Vincent — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:23:02 +0000

Oops Sal. Sorry typo in previous link. Here it is http://tinyurl.com/re-twitter-fb

By: Greg Vincent

Greg Vincent — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:22:37 +0000

Sal, I mentioned in a previous post that I’ve set up some start up videos in the Real Estate Twitterers Group on Facebook. http://tinyurl.com/re-twiiter-fb.

I’ve made it easy for you Sal. You just have to take the first step.

Most people set up a Twitter account & then think what do I do now. These steps should help you.

Understand it’s not Twitter itself that makes it so good, it’s the applications that make the difference.

By: A Feed Provider

A Feed Provider — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:21:14 +0000

Hi Sal

I will tell you what it means. Feed providers like my company and Portplus, MyDesktop etc. take over all customer support from Realestate.com.au saving them time and money and they bill the client for it Why? Because they can.

It is pretty ordinary but this is what you get I am pretty sure all feed providers would cheer the day this changes.

By: Sal Espro

Sal Espro — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:20:17 +0000

Here

By: Sal Espro

Sal Espro — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:20:00 +0000

REA is a major media outlet and as such I think if it were brought to the attention of the ACCC, it may well find this behaviour anti-competitive with no appreciable market benefit and related to

By: Glenn Batten

Glenn Batten — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:58:01 +0000

Ian,

My personal opinion is that it would not be that major if they did allow private sellers really…. but I know many would not take to it to kindly, especially given the timing.

The issue was not whether they should be allowed or not, but whether they should be allowed through a loophole by just a few people. They applied the rule that way for quite awhile and for some reason a few people got away with it. It was just a case of applying the rule uniformly accross all accounts. Isnt that actually fair fro everyone? Equally if they change the rules it should be applied to everyone… not just a few agents.

Call it what you will… REA set the rules.. why should you be upset that agents call for them to enforce their own rules ??