A world without NAR

It is fun to think out loud and outside the box on this blog of mass destruction cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand.  I decided to “ReThink” the need for some of the Realtor® associations.  Yes my imagination is that good and I am that unconventional.

A free spirit really with an imagination that just won’t quit and the courage to speak out even if I don’t get 100 comments and a lot of discussion because I don’t need constant reinforcement and approval for my ideas.

I was trying to imagine real estate without the NAR.  Without NAR there would be no _____ and that would hurt my business because________.   Sure without NAR there would be no national convention, committees or NAR leadership and that would hurt the people on the committees and the leaders.  I would miss seeing all of those people in suites acting all important.

Realtor associations are the only membership organizations I have ever belonged to where the associations ask what members can do for them instead of providing services for all members.   It really has to be more of a two way street and I think it would be easier to engage members if there was a little transparency and communication  and if associations actually learned to like their members.

Real estate is regulated on the state level and local level and  I can not imagine how we could get by without a state association.  I think the state associations could form a planning committee for a national convention and collectively they could take over all of those designations.

What we really need is a kick ass MLS which we already have here in the Twin Cities but we need a version just for consumers.  Personally I offer services that are not offered over the internet so I don’t see third party sites as competition but I think Realtors would have more credibility as local experts if we had one amazing web site for consumers.

The site could carry the MLS brand and be free for consumers with no advertising on it.  We would pay for it with the money we would save by not having a local or national association.   We could have an “ask a local agent” section and even agent rating so that consumers could check us out.  Getting consumers the information that they want is the very best thing we could do for them.

Local boards are more important to some than the national association but I happen to belong to SPAAR.  They don’t really have events or provide any services other than collecting dues for the national and state associations. Sure it is nice to have a local office but when I go in there it is nearly impossible to get anyones attention.  Probably because I don’t do anything for them other than pay to be a member.

The Minneapolis association seems to provide more for members but I pity the members who are not a part of the “clique”.  They tell me about the politics and how hard it is for members who want to get involved to make a difference.

There is YPN (Young Professionals Network) and it seems to be about going to bars.  Seriously I only have to walk a block to get to the closest bar and I don’t need to belong to an association to go to the bar with other agents.

Yes I can imagine real estate without NAR and without SPAAR.

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