Zillow ‘humbled’ by real estate industry

[UCGal]

[quote=sdrealtor]Real Estate is very dynamic and the needs of the MLS are constantly changing. Here is one example, short sales created a whole set of challenges that had never been dealt with before. Rules had to be established, a new status had to be agreed upon, legal issues regarding compensation being up to the lenders had to disclosed etc. There is the constant policing of these listings that needs to be addressed. What is disclosed in the MLS creates legal liability and the $’s at stake are obviously very significant. The language you put in a listing is subject to Federal Fair Housing laws. You can get fined significant amounts for violating and there is also the potential for jail time if you use certain discriminatory language.

What is contained in the MLS listings is not a simple matter of telling people about houses. The legal burdens are enormous and must be complied with.

There are plenty of other issues and I am far from an expert on these matters. I just follow the rules they lay out for me.[/quote]

Are these rules set out by the MLS – or by the various regulations imposed by the state, fed, NAR, CAR, Sandicor?

In other words – could a software developer examine the laws and regulations and design a software database and interface that complied with the laws/regs that was in competition to the MLS?

also – you mention the legalese that must be complied with for listing descriptions. Is that up to the listing agent to comply – or are there active filters in the MLS software to make sure the laws are complied with?

[UCGal]

[quote=sdrealtor]Real Estate is very dynamic and the needs of the MLS are constantly changing. Here is one example, short sales created a whole set of challenges that had never been dealt with before. Rules had to be established, a new status had to be agreed upon, legal issues regarding compensation being up to the lenders had to disclosed etc. There is the constant policing of these listings that needs to be addressed. What is disclosed in the MLS creates legal liability and the $’s at stake are obviously very significant. The language you put in a listing is subject to Federal Fair Housing laws. You can get fined significant amounts for violating and there is also the potential for jail time if you use certain discriminatory language.

What is contained in the MLS listings is not a simple matter of telling people about houses. The legal burdens are enormous and must be complied with.

There are plenty of other issues and I am far from an expert on these matters. I just follow the rules they lay out for me.[/quote]

Are these rules set out by the MLS – or by the various regulations imposed by the state, fed, NAR, CAR, Sandicor?

In other words – could a software developer examine the laws and regulations and design a software database and interface that complied with the laws/regs that was in competition to the MLS?

also – you mention the legalese that must be complied with for listing descriptions. Is that up to the listing agent to comply – or are there active filters in the MLS software to make sure the laws are complied with?

[sdrealtor]

Bear in mind that i just gave one of what are many things that are involved in running an MLS.

The rules/laws that are set out come from all of those sources including federal government, state government, local government, NAR, CAR and Sandidor among others.

Is it mostly a bunch of bull but it is an artifact of the American legal system. People constantly sue in this country.

Some of the legalese can be dealt with via filters but alot cant. There are governing bodies and there are enforcement bodies involved.

If all it took was running a database that would have occured a longtime ago. Seriously, Zillow was backed by major amounts of venture capital. Google could create a database in a day capable of running the data portion. But none of them have which tells you it cant be that simple. If it was someone would have done it already.

[sdrealtor]

Bear in mind that i just gave one of what are many things that are involved in running an MLS.

The rules/laws that are set out come from all of those sources including federal government, state government, local government, NAR, CAR and Sandidor among others.

Is it mostly a bunch of bull but it is an artifact of the American legal system. People constantly sue in this country.

Some of the legalese can be dealt with via filters but alot cant. There are governing bodies and there are enforcement bodies involved.

If all it took was running a database that would have occured a longtime ago. Seriously, Zillow was backed by major amounts of venture capital. Google could create a database in a day capable of running the data portion. But none of them have which tells you it cant be that simple. If it was someone would have done it already.

[sdrealtor]

Bear in mind that i just gave one of what are many things that are involved in running an MLS.

The rules/laws that are set out come from all of those sources including federal government, state government, local government, NAR, CAR and Sandidor among others.

Is it mostly a bunch of bull but it is an artifact of the American legal system. People constantly sue in this country.

Some of the legalese can be dealt with via filters but alot cant. There are governing bodies and there are enforcement bodies involved.

If all it took was running a database that would have occured a longtime ago. Seriously, Zillow was backed by major amounts of venture capital. Google could create a database in a day capable of running the data portion. But none of them have which tells you it cant be that simple. If it was someone would have done it already.

[sdrealtor]

Bear in mind that i just gave one of what are many things that are involved in running an MLS.

The rules/laws that are set out come from all of those sources including federal government, state government, local government, NAR, CAR and Sandidor among others.

Is it mostly a bunch of bull but it is an artifact of the American legal system. People constantly sue in this country.

Some of the legalese can be dealt with via filters but alot cant. There are governing bodies and there are enforcement bodies involved.

If all it took was running a database that would have occured a longtime ago. Seriously, Zillow was backed by major amounts of venture capital. Google could create a database in a day capable of running the data portion. But none of them have which tells you it cant be that simple. If it was someone would have done it already.

[sdrealtor]

Bear in mind that i just gave one of what are many things that are involved in running an MLS.

The rules/laws that are set out come from all of those sources including federal government, state government, local government, NAR, CAR and Sandidor among others.

Is it mostly a bunch of bull but it is an artifact of the American legal system. People constantly sue in this country.

Some of the legalese can be dealt with via filters but alot cant. There are governing bodies and there are enforcement bodies involved.

If all it took was running a database that would have occured a longtime ago. Seriously, Zillow was backed by major amounts of venture capital. Google could create a database in a day capable of running the data portion. But none of them have which tells you it cant be that simple. If it was someone would have done it already.

[permabear]

[quote=sdrealtor]If all it took was running a database that would have occured a longtime ago. Seriously, Zillow was backed by major amounts of venture capital. Google could create a database in a day capable of running the data portion. But none of them have which tells you it cant be that simple. If it was someone would have done it already.[/quote]

First off, I agree with you that litigation, especially in CA, is no joke.

That said, this could easily be dealt with in a centralized manner. That is, have a set of people reviewing entries into the “iMLS” before they’re made public. If there’s an issue with the wording, shoot it back to the submitter and say, “You can’t say ‘a bunch of old people’ live in this neighborhood – try ‘established’ instead.”

Also, it’s not sufficient to say, “Well, Zillow burned thru all this ca$h so obviously it can’t work.” MP3.com (remember them?) burned thru tons of cash, as did Napster. Yet, iTunes, with the exact same business model, now rules the universe. So, it’s money + brains. Sometimes startups figure money will solve everything, even if spent stupidly.

This doesn’t mean it’s easy, but somebody will succeed. Maybe Redfin. And it’ll be disruptive, and school all the traditional realtors. Just like how the USPS and Cable companies are getting schooled now. It took 10 years, but it happened.

[permabear]

[quote=sdrealtor]If all it took was running a database that would have occured a longtime ago. Seriously, Zillow was backed by major amounts of venture capital. Google could create a database in a day capable of running the data portion. But none of them have which tells you it cant be that simple. If it was someone would have done it already.[/quote]

First off, I agree with you that litigation, especially in CA, is no joke.

That said, this could easily be dealt with in a centralized manner. That is, have a set of people reviewing entries into the “iMLS” before they’re made public. If there’s an issue with the wording, shoot it back to the submitter and say, “You can’t say ‘a bunch of old people’ live in this neighborhood – try ‘established’ instead.”

Also, it’s not sufficient to say, “Well, Zillow burned thru all this ca$h so obviously it can’t work.” MP3.com (remember them?) burned thru tons of cash, as did Napster. Yet, iTunes, with the exact same business model, now rules the universe. So, it’s money + brains. Sometimes startups figure money will solve everything, even if spent stupidly.

This doesn’t mean it’s easy, but somebody will succeed. Maybe Redfin. And it’ll be disruptive, and school all the traditional realtors. Just like how the USPS and Cable companies are getting schooled now. It took 10 years, but it happened.

[permabear]

[quote=sdrealtor]If all it took was running a database that would have occured a longtime ago. Seriously, Zillow was backed by major amounts of venture capital. Google could create a database in a day capable of running the data portion. But none of them have which tells you it cant be that simple. If it was someone would have done it already.[/quote]

First off, I agree with you that litigation, especially in CA, is no joke.

That said, this could easily be dealt with in a centralized manner. That is, have a set of people reviewing entries into the “iMLS” before they’re made public. If there’s an issue with the wording, shoot it back to the submitter and say, “You can’t say ‘a bunch of old people’ live in this neighborhood – try ‘established’ instead.”

Also, it’s not sufficient to say, “Well, Zillow burned thru all this ca$h so obviously it can’t work.” MP3.com (remember them?) burned thru tons of cash, as did Napster. Yet, iTunes, with the exact same business model, now rules the universe. So, it’s money + brains. Sometimes startups figure money will solve everything, even if spent stupidly.

This doesn’t mean it’s easy, but somebody will succeed. Maybe Redfin. And it’ll be disruptive, and school all the traditional realtors. Just like how the USPS and Cable companies are getting schooled now. It took 10 years, but it happened.

[permabear]

[quote=sdrealtor]If all it took was running a database that would have occured a longtime ago. Seriously, Zillow was backed by major amounts of venture capital. Google could create a database in a day capable of running the data portion. But none of them have which tells you it cant be that simple. If it was someone would have done it already.[/quote]

First off, I agree with you that litigation, especially in CA, is no joke.

That said, this could easily be dealt with in a centralized manner. That is, have a set of people reviewing entries into the “iMLS” before they’re made public. If there’s an issue with the wording, shoot it back to the submitter and say, “You can’t say ‘a bunch of old people’ live in this neighborhood – try ‘established’ instead.”

Also, it’s not sufficient to say, “Well, Zillow burned thru all this ca$h so obviously it can’t work.” MP3.com (remember them?) burned thru tons of cash, as did Napster. Yet, iTunes, with the exact same business model, now rules the universe. So, it’s money + brains. Sometimes startups figure money will solve everything, even if spent stupidly.

This doesn’t mean it’s easy, but somebody will succeed. Maybe Redfin. And it’ll be disruptive, and school all the traditional realtors. Just like how the USPS and Cable companies are getting schooled now. It took 10 years, but it happened.

[permabear]

[quote=sdrealtor]If all it took was running a database that would have occured a longtime ago. Seriously, Zillow was backed by major amounts of venture capital. Google could create a database in a day capable of running the data portion. But none of them have which tells you it cant be that simple. If it was someone would have done it already.[/quote]

First off, I agree with you that litigation, especially in CA, is no joke.

That said, this could easily be dealt with in a centralized manner. That is, have a set of people reviewing entries into the “iMLS” before they’re made public. If there’s an issue with the wording, shoot it back to the submitter and say, “You can’t say ‘a bunch of old people’ live in this neighborhood – try ‘established’ instead.”

Also, it’s not sufficient to say, “Well, Zillow burned thru all this ca$h so obviously it can’t work.” MP3.com (remember them?) burned thru tons of cash, as did Napster. Yet, iTunes, with the exact same business model, now rules the universe. So, it’s money + brains. Sometimes startups figure money will solve everything, even if spent stupidly.

This doesn’t mean it’s easy, but somebody will succeed. Maybe Redfin. And it’ll be disruptive, and school all the traditional realtors. Just like how the USPS and Cable companies are getting schooled now. It took 10 years, but it happened.

[sdrealtor]

That is one small example among many that are far beyond this simpleton’s range of vision. I always wanted to think it was simple too. Then I bump into a friend who sits on the BOD of this whole mess and my ears are bleeding within 5 minutes after hearing about all the crap they are dealing with.

I dont get it either…. but there it is…a crazy big political/legal/technical maelstrom with no simple answer. Of course things can and will change over time. None us us know which direction this will all go. But if you are waiting for real change, take your 10 years and triple it.

BTW, last time I checked the cable companies still owned the direct route to the highest bandwith in my house.

PSS-In 1999 I took a non-stop flight from Newark NJ to SD. I sat next to Michael Robertson for about 5 hours at the height of MP3’s existence. I think he had just done Good Morning America or one of those shows.

[sdrealtor]

That is one small example among many that are far beyond this simpleton’s range of vision. I always wanted to think it was simple too. Then I bump into a friend who sits on the BOD of this whole mess and my ears are bleeding within 5 minutes after hearing about all the crap they are dealing with.

I dont get it either…. but there it is…a crazy big political/legal/technical maelstrom with no simple answer. Of course things can and will change over time. None us us know which direction this will all go. But if you are waiting for real change, take your 10 years and triple it.

BTW, last time I checked the cable companies still owned the direct route to the highest bandwith in my house.

PSS-In 1999 I took a non-stop flight from Newark NJ to SD. I sat next to Michael Robertson for about 5 hours at the height of MP3’s existence. I think he had just done Good Morning America or one of those shows.

[sdrealtor]

That is one small example among many that are far beyond this simpleton’s range of vision. I always wanted to think it was simple too. Then I bump into a friend who sits on the BOD of this whole mess and my ears are bleeding within 5 minutes after hearing about all the crap they are dealing with.

I dont get it either…. but there it is…a crazy big political/legal/technical maelstrom with no simple answer. Of course things can and will change over time. None us us know which direction this will all go. But if you are waiting for real change, take your 10 years and triple it.

BTW, last time I checked the cable companies still owned the direct route to the highest bandwith in my house.

PSS-In 1999 I took a non-stop flight from Newark NJ to SD. I sat next to Michael Robertson for about 5 hours at the height of MP3’s existence. I think he had just done Good Morning America or one of those shows.

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