Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Paul Dixon departs Homes.com, joins Real Estate Digital.

2a7c692 Industry vet Paul Dixon has left Homes.com where he previously served as a regional account manager. Paul has joined Real Estate Digital (red) as a Data Licensing Manager. Paul started in the industry in 2001 at HomeSeekers.com, later spent some time at First American, and then joined eNeighborhoods, which was acquired in 2007 by Dominion Enterprises (parent company of Homes.com). Real Estate Digital was recently acquired by SolutionStar a subsidiary of NationStar. They are operators of the Homesearch.com portal.

Many of the crew at Real Estate Digital are former employees of HomeSeekers.com so I expect Paul to be in good company. Congrats!

Move adds new execs.

Move, Inc. Expands Industry Leadership as Cofano, Damon and Pigman Assume Key Roles

Breadth of knowledge and experience spans agent, broker, MLS/Association and portal audiences

” Move, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE) announces the appointment of veteran industry executives Russ Cofano, Rhett Damon and Max Pigman to key leadership roles within the organization. The appointments further strengthen the company’s position as the premier provider of real estate information and services to the industry, and foster deeper connections with Move’s agent, broker and Association affiliates and their related organizations.”

Seems with Russ they have a association guy now working with brokers. And with Rhett they have a broker guy now working with MLS providers/associations. So crazy it just might work!

Trulia consolidates

Trulia lays off 85 Market Leader employees
Ian Morris, 4 other top Market Leader executives transitioning to consulting roles

From Inman News:

“In an email to employees, Trulia CEO Pete Flint said the reorganization was not taken lightly.

“We’re taking this step because the growth opportunities we saw at the time of the acquisition are clearer than ever,” Flint said. “So today, we are aligning our teams to make that Trulia one, unified organization optimized to create one set of product offerings. Our more nimble team will bring new products and services to market even faster, delighting customers and boosting our growth in 2015 and beyond.””

Anyone who didn’t see this coming doesn’t understand how acquisitions work.

Interested to see Ian’s next chapter and kind of sad to see him go. He’s been in the game for so long its hard to imagine him not there.

Glass and Starchild promoted at MOVE.

Move Promotes Glass To Lead Industry Platforms, Kane To Lead SaaS Business, And Starchild To Lead ListHub

“”Luke, Michael and Celeste have grown and improved Move’s business services with strong leadership, integrity, expertise and passion so we are delighted they will continue to lead and build our relationships with our partners and customers,” said Steve Berkowitz, Move’s chief executive officer and director. “Their promotions are examples of the depth of executive leadership within our company.”

Move Inc Luke GlassI couldn’t be more happier with these promotions. Luke is an excellent fit and will do a great job for MOVE and the industry. It’s also great to see MOVE recognize Celeste. Her promotion is well deserved. Both have a lot of work to do, but nothing worth while is ever easy.Move Inc Celeste Starchild

I’m not as familiar with Michael Kane. What did strike me is the number of products/companies MOVE has under its belt.

Realtor.com
Doorsteps®
HomeInsightSM
SocialBiosSM
Moving.com™
SeniorHousingNetSM
homefairSM
Relocation.com
ListHub™
TigerLead®,
Top Producer®
FiveStreetSM

Looks like Michael will be in charge of many of these, mostly on the agent/broker facing side. The list itself is pretty long. Seems like some branding thought should be put it to this menagerie.

My congrats to Luke and Celeste!

Jason Doyle, GM of Homes.com, is leaving for new gig.

Screen Shot 2014-04-05 at 8.10.25 AMWord on the street is that Jason Doyle, after 14 years at Dominion Enterprises, is resigning. Dominion Enterprises is the parent company of Homes.com. I knew Jason from back when eNeighborhoods was acquired by Dominion and always found him to be a smart guy and straight shooter. With juggernauts like Zillow, Trulia and MOVE and their big budgets Jason did a great job in keeping Homes.com relevant, and profitable. Please join me in wishing him well on his new gig.

Rob Overman joins Lone Wolf

Rob-Overman---Lone-Wolf-CTORob Overman Joins The Wolf Pack as Chief Technology Officer

“We are excited to announce the addition of Rob Overman as Lone Wolf’s new Chief Technology Officer. Rob brings over 15 years of experience in the real estate technology space including software development, team management, product development, public records data services, listing data aggregation and mobile application platforms.”

Big congrats to Rob and Lone Wolf!

Katie Johnson will be named NAR’s new General Council

Katie JohnsonWord on the street is Katie Johnson will be named NAR’s new General Council, replacing Laurie Janek. Katie comes in a interesting time in the industry and has some big shoes to fill.

John Whitney joins Trulia

John Whitney
John Whitney

Smart move by Trulia. Trulia, and the other portals, are dead in the water without good data. Guys like John know that world and have solid relationships with MLS providers. It’s clear that Trulia is trying to set itself apart as being the more industry friendly portal.

Congrats John!

Here’s the announcement.

Trulia Welcomes Industry Veteran, Expands Effort to Ensure High Quality Data

Trulia has hired John Whitney as the company’s new Director of Business Development for the Industry Services group. With over 20 years of deep real estate industry experience, John will advance Trulia’s already broad effort to ensure consumers find the best available information on Trulia’s website and mobile apps.
John is widely respected and has deep connections in the real estate community. His integrity and passion for helping his customers makes him a perfect fit for Trulia as the company expands its partnership with the industry.

John Whitney, Director of Business Development, Trulia Inc.
Trulia continues to invest in providing the best listing data because accurate listings are not only fundamental to a good consumer experience, but generate the highest quality of leads for agents and brokers. As part of Trulia’s value exchange for listing information, real estate professionals can generate leads on their listings at no cost to them.
Trulia’s other efforts around data accuracy include an enhanced data processing framework that processes data and updates listings every ten minutes. The company has also added filters to ensure inactive listings are removed.
Behind this effort is a large team of dedicated engineers, customer support, and product managers already in place dedicated to accurate data.
John’s day-to-day focus will be working closely with Multiple Listing Services and expanding the relationships with organizations like ListHub and Point 2 to improve coverage and accuracy on Trulia and provide brokers with the most effective choices for marketing their listings.
“We’re excited to welcome John to the Trulia team,” said Alon Chaver, Trulia’s Vice President of Industry Services. “Improving the accuracy and timeliness of listings data helps agents and brokers generate both a higher volume and a higher quality of leads. John will play an instrumental role in furthering our data initiatives and deepening our relationships with key syndication partners like List Hub to make it easier for brokers and agents to market their listings for the benefit of their sellers.”
The Trulia team is confident that strengthening its relationships with these organizations will help the company and its partners deliver better service to homebuyers and home sellers alike.”

Charlottesville AOR looking for Director of MLS Operations

Looking for a new gig? If you know if anyone that may be interested please have them contact Anne Gardner the CEO:
434-817-2393 Direct
434-249-9596 Cell
anne [at] caar dot com

POSITION DESCRIPTION


TITLE: MLS & Information Technology Administrator

REPORTS TO: Director of MLS Operations

Position Concept: The MLS & Information Technology Administrator is an important and visible position as the chief administrator of MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and IT operations for the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS® of Virginia (CAAR).Primary responsibilities include operational issues within the MLS system, ensuring accuracy and usefulness for members and knowledge and mastery of superior technology services and business tools for the association. Duties are technical in nature and include trouble shooting and resolving customer service problems with MLS in coordination with the vendor. In addition, administration of inter-office technology, software and equipment needs to ensure the smooth IT operation of CAAR. Key success markers include the ability to communicate technical issues to those who may not be as proficient in technology. Also responsible for identifying and championing services and tools for REALTOR® members to become and remain successful in today’s real estate market, consistent with the CAAR mission & vision.
AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

MLS Operations – Delivery of MLS activities to ensure a superior MLS system for subscribers. Ensure CAAR system is compliant to current industry technology standards and employs best practices and efficiencies. Conduct analysis and present recommendations for approval by appropriate member groups. Maintain vendor relationships and support contracts. Off-hours support coverage as needed to assist MLS subscribers. Support

Board of Directors in MLS policy violation interpretations as requested.
• Provides keen oversight of the MLS and Technical needs of the Association.
• Secondary staff Liaison for MLS Group.
• Is fully knowledgeable of the MLS Rules and Regulations, Lock Box Rules and Regulations and Policies of CAAR.
• Trouble shoots MLS problems and communicates with MLS vendor to ensure member’s needs are met.
• Assists and Develops a plan to provide training to users on MLS system.
• Identifies and successfully resolves MLS listing problems.
• Liaison between Service and MLS vendors in relation to technical support for the office or individuals.
• Technical Support for system, including inputs, RETS data feeds, member IDX compliance
• Reviews daily “hot sheet” for accurate data and as necessary corrections to agents/brokers.
• Ensures Office equipment, technology and services are operational and provide support to staff training and problem solving.
• Evaluates new programs and products for implementation (to remain on the cutting edge of technology).
• Purchases office equipment for staff computers, training room and meeting room needs as approved by supervisor.
• Stay informed with NAR/RAMCO and VAR technology initiatives and recommend appropriate integrations with association activities.
• Look for ways to offer training via web and other progressive learning opportunities.
• Ensures supervisor and management team is informed of any problem with the system or membership.
• All other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Duties Include, but are not limited to:
A. Daily/Weekly Tasks/Responsibilities:
• Change listing status of listings on demand.
• Investigate MLS listing complaints for rules compliance.
• Investigate issues with MLS system and submit trouble tickets as necessary
• Assist Members with questions relating to MLS listing input
• Modify MLS membership status on notification of Membership Director
• Investigate issues with membership records, and submit trouble tickets as necessary
• Update database for newsgroup
• Verify Statistics report ran for REW, and rerun if necessary
• Update Exchange Global Address list
B. Monthly/Biweekly Tasks/Responsibilities
• Verify full backups completed
• Copy backups to external media, and transport to safety deposit box
• Correct listings flagged by RBI Stats
C. Quarterly/Annual Tasks/Responsibilities
• Create RETS feed
• Add user to phone system
• Update Voting website
• Assign credentials to alarm system.
• Add user to active directory / email.
• Investigate firewall issues
D. Program Tasks/Responsibilities
• Assist supervisor with administrative duties as requested.
• Assist with all staff projects and functions as requested.
• Learning appropriate software/training as needed.
• Development of team/personal goals.

Program tasks are not related to a specific daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly time frame. 
These tasks are ongoing and overlap according to the program schedule. It is possible to be involved in any aspect of all tasks according to program needs.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: A Bachelors Degree is preferred. Relevant certifications required.



EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: Minimum of three (3) years recent experience in management of heterogeneous network, project management or equivalent discipline, with priority given to REALTOR® association MLS experience. Previous experience with Active Directory and oversight of rules and compliance systems, and managing deadline driven processes in membership-focused organizations is ideal. 

POSITION REQUIREMENTS: The MLS & Information Technology Administrator spends time attending meetings, researching and writing reports, interfacing with members and maintaining vendor relationships. A working condition can be demanding and fast-paced. Demands include limited local travel for meetings, some on evenings and weekends and off-hours system maintenance availability as needed. Must have reliable transportation to meetings and assignments.

SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/ABILITIES:

1. Ability to communicate in both the written and spoken word. Superior customer service skills.
2. Well organized and able to interpret relevant insights from various resources and produce error-free reports and correspondence.
3. Strong interpersonal skills and time management skills are critical.
4. Maintains a positive attitude, and possesses the ability to interact well with members, staff, ability to well represent the Association and real estate industry.
5. Management abilities helpful, need to coordinate member activities, work well with fellow staff members, etc.,
6. Must be self-directed, able to identify projects, develop strategies to conduct projects, and see projects to completion.
7. Strong communication and presentation skills, articulate and professional.
8. Ability to interact effectively with executives at all levels and represent the organization with a high-degree of integrity.
9. Highly motivated, with ability and initiative to work independently, set priorities and handle multiple tasks with good judgment.
10. Capable of budgeting, planning, and producing within a budget.

Looking for a new gig?

Real Estate Digital (RED) is hiring!

Job Description: Outside Sales Account Executive
The Outside Sales Account Executive will promote, market and sell Real Estate Digitals (RED) real estate agent technology and productivity solutions including: agent websites, CRM and CMAs. The ideal candidate will have previous experience with: public speaking and in-person training, real estate technology and productivity solutions, a general understanding of the day-to-day activities of a real estate agent and relationships with real estate Brokers and Agents.”

For more information see the Vendor Alley Job Board!

And if you are looking to hire post a job for only $50 bucks for 60 days. I can’t tell you how many people have reached out to me and told me that they got there current gig by first seeing it listed on the Vendor Alley Job Board!

Sponsored By MLS Reset