All Forum Posts by: Bill Schrimpf

That sums up the last 10 minutes of the recent On the Market podcast. It's unfortunate, as @Dave Meyer is usually well researched and knowledgeable.

Ensuring a listing is advertised as much as possible benefits the public. Limited advertising helps the pro's. If Company A has a listing and can double end the deal, why would they "give up" half the commission and advertise to Company B to bring a buyer? Does that help or hurt the public? In 2025, we understand marketing mostly means on-line syndications, which is a core feature of MLS's. Yard signs and other activities have limited impact related to selling a property. Anyone who ever used websites like Zillow or Redfin or to find a home, or conduct market research (@Dave Meyer - looking at you!) benefits from this marketing.

In the recent On the Market podcast (which is the best Podcast BP has right now), guest James brought up the Compass v. NWMLS lawsuit. It's clear that James and others don't know their history, or don't care. During the discussion, James was openly braggadocios about breaking the NWMLS rules and paying fines. According to James, Compass considered similar fines for breaking rules to be a cost of doing business and kept violating rules. Now Compass and NWMLS are heading to court.

This stems from NWMLS requiring all licensees to enter their listing into the MLS in a timely manner. I'm not a member of the NWMLS, but the MLS I am a member of has a similar rule. These rules exist because of historical problems like redlining and other abhorrent behaviors designed to limit housing access to a select few. That's why "pocket listings" and "coming-soon" are generally not allowed in many MLSs. Ensuring a listing is advertised as widely as possible benefits the public, which is a core function of any MLS.

Another concern is double-ending transactions. Pocket listings benefit the agent or broker, as they receive the entire commission if they don't have to advertise publicly and can keep transactions in-house.  Most retail buyers or sellers do not understand what happens in a transaction, and do not benefit from one agent “representing” both sides.  It's like an attorney representing the plaintiff and defendant!

Ultimately, retail buyers and sellers benefit from a system encouraging a (mostly) level playing field and competition. Pocket listings encourage backroom deals, which might work for investors and pros, but not for most Americans simply buying or selling a home.  Put a closing statement in front of an average buyer or seller, usually all they understand is the bottom line and trust/hope that their agent has helped them.

James argues that property owners should be able to sell their homes however they want. I agree. If sellers want the best price, that implies participating in the retail marketplace, with retail rules. If they don't want to participate in a fair, public market, they should call a wholesaler, not a real estate agent, or sell FSBO.

There are always exceptions (Dave mentioned one), and no set of rules is perfect. However, Dave and James would do well to remember that a mostly functional system creating a level playing field is better than one (or a few) companies having outsized influence and limiting housing to a select few.

The weak argument made during the discussion about a free market appears to be a red herring.  It appears, this guest prefers pocket listings and wants to stick it to the NWMLS for fining their own bad behavior. Watch the last 10 minutes of the podcast with that in mind and see what conclusion you reach.

On the Market Podcast

The convicted felon, Billy McFarland is selling naming, IP and other rights to the defunct Fyre Festival as an "auction".  How would someone value this?  I think a squatters pad in Detroit would have fewer headaches!

The festival is not famous, its infamous.  This is listed as an asset; You cannot make this up:

"FYRE Festival has been the most talked about US based music festival in the world since 2017."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyre_Festival

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_McFarland

@Natalia Perlova - Lots of good advice above.  

As a mindset issue for you, it's not a good tenant if they are causing damage (financial, in this case) and not making reasonable modifications to their actions.

@Scott Trench  @Jay Hinrichs @Gregory Schwartz - Sounds like you need to be open to growth and feedback.  Get out of your own echo chambers.  @Scott Trench please listen to people that have been members longer than you have been a BP employee.  

Today, I received another JUNK lead from BP.  The guy did not know what Bigger Pockets is and never filled out a contact agent form on BP.  He assumed BP was listing aggregator like zilow or redfin.  Im not sure who/how/where BP is advertising, but it needs improvement.

@Gregory Schwartz I appreciate the input, but I'm paying for BP to find leads.  What your describing is organic lead gen.  Most of the so called "leads" in the last few months did not have BP profiles, so they did not look me up on BP.  I suspect they were responding to some clickbait BP put up somewhere.  They never respond to multiple calls, e-mails and texts.  Junk, but I still have to pay BP for them!  I do know what it looks like when BP provides good leads, Ive had a few, but it's been a while.

I enjoy talking to the aspirational investor that has very little money or credit; almost as much I like talking to the active investor!  Those are good leads I'm happy to pay for.

What burns my britches is paying for a service that does not deliver.  If we don't tell 'em, the leads are getting bad, again, they won't improve!

On another note, BP seems to have corrected a mis-step regarding removing services.  Good on BP for that.

 Thanks for the info Shane.  I just received the notice from the county the taxes were not paid again, leaving me the option to pay.  I was debating with the new changes, but I think Ill see this one through with this new data.

@Scott Esmail - This is a terrible situation!  If you used a title company or closing attorney, start with them, right away.  These items are often time-sensitive.  You would be wise to hire an attorney in your county that is familiar with such topics, specifically "Quiet Title Action".  Although your not specifically doing a quiet title, what you need is closely related.

Every state and county will have very specific procedures about how the process works in their jurisdiction.  Be confident the mortgage company, and the wholesaler is well aware of the procedures and will out maneuver you, even if you are factually correct.  Do not waste time.  

Good luck, Hopefully someone in your area will be able to provide specific advice!

 @Tiamo Wright - Appreciate your looking into this.  Perhaps BP sent an e-mail that looked like it was trying to upsell more services, again, so it was considered junk/solicitation.

It is insulting to BP members to remove a bundled service, turn around sell it back, and say BP is improving the Featured Agent business relationship!    I have been a BP member since 2014, over 10 years, and a paying pro member since 2017, among BP's oldest and most loyal, because I believe in the BP mission.  I have e-mailed support twice about this matter and still have not heard from "customer success".  Perhaps you can raise the matter with them.  It appears BP may be in violation of the terms of our contract.  I would appreciate a meaningful conversation with an authoritative person on this topic, not in the forums.

Can you address the decline of lead quality I and others are experiencing?  It appears lenders are seeing a similar issue?

The Featured Agent program got off to a terrible start, then good people did good things and it got better.  It appears the program is heading in the wrong direction again.  I guess more revenue is needed to support the merger.

Thanks @Henry Clark - Our short term goal is to have a nice place for vacation, make a few dollars, and serve as a jumping-off point as we explore becoming part of the expat community in a few years.  Appreciate the feedback, building from a distance does appear to be a challenge!  

My experience with Featured Agent has been hit and miss, seem similar to the find a lender program.  The lead quality had taken a turn for the worse in the last few months.  I started with BP in 2005, upgaded to pro 2007, Featured Agent 2 years ago.  BP used to be the "anti Carleton Sheets" platform, but the good ol days are gone!  The forums are still good, but the rest of the content is basically a bunch of advertisement.  I guess as a featured agent, I'm part of the problem!  Ha!