Can Double-O Dalton Save Realtor.com?
by Stefan Swanepoel
This story, like all good spy novels, is woven deep undercover.
Although still busy with intelligence gathering, the SEC (Securities
and Exchange Commission) is slowly but surely revealing the
mystique of the ultimate real estate blue-sky fantasy. It
appears that the company under surveillance, Homestore, was
involved in various irregularities composed of complex transactions
designed to artificially boost revenues. According to a lawsuit,
Homestore entered into illegal triangular transactions concocted
by AOL and Homestore officials that artificially inflated
Homestore’s revenue. At their core, each of these illegal
transactions is structured to buy revenue, the lawsuit claims.
It was agreed by the participants in this transaction that
AOL would not document the agreement by the third party vendors
to buy advertising from AOL.
Entangled somewhere in that web is Realtor.com, the son of
RIN (Realtor® Information Network) and the grandson of
world renowned NAR (National Association of Realtors®).
Although not deemed a conspirator, Realtor.com now finds itself
awkwardly perched between the externalism of a dual edge sword
… Who am I? What is the meaning of in life? With previous
Realtor.com leader Steve Ozonian now at REMAX, and former
AOL and Homestore executives Bob Pittman and Stuart Wolff
on the to be examined list, it has become necessary to prepare
the man in the dark tuxedo for another mission against Dr.
No.
Like James Bond, Dalton, Allan not Timothy has been brought
in to save the world … sorry I mean Realtor.com. This
mission, which he has accepted, is to salvage the tarnished
image of the company, restore the public trust and build upon
on the monumental role the company has historically played
in the industry.
I feel thrilled…and challenged, Dalton says. Brave
words for an East Coast man now entering the unknown secret
world that may not be For His Eyes Only. There are those in
the know that wonder if the internal forces are stacked against
him? Will the Board give him full usage of his special 00
privileges or will they tie his hands behind his back and
make him a President without authority?
Realtor.com is really one of us, born from our blood like
family and we can’t just let it Die Another Day. If
the truth were known, deep down many of us, including myself,
are hoping that Dalton will pull it off. But, after the dotcom
crash of April 2000 so many of our technology dreams and promises
have been shattered. The industry has indeed become weary
of the high-tech, science fiction gadgets and talk. So one
has to wonder whether he can restore our confidence, show
us that this stuff really does work and that this was all
for the betterment of the Industry?
Dalton my friend, we need you to show us that this was more
than just blue sky…we need to believe again that Realtors®
Are Forever.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This article was written by Stefan Swanepoel and first published
in The Real Estate Professional magazine (Jan/Feb 2003). Stefan
is a sought after keynote speaker and is widely recognized
as the leading industry visionary on trends and change. He
has penned eight books and whitepapers including the best
selling “Real
Estate confronts” series. He is also Chairman &
CEO of RealtyU, the largest network of real estate schools
in the nation (www.RealtyU.com),
and serves as strategic advisor to numerous companies, both
locally and abroad. More information visit www.RealSure.com
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