Funny, but I feel the exact same way about the NAR & their Pac as you feel about the Teamsters.

They take my money and I have NO CHOICE but to pay – and then they live fat & happy off the proceeds which they use to push their partisan political objectives – nearly all of which I strongly disagree with.

I’m late to this discussion because I only found it doing research on the NAR president. I was researching because the last “call to action” infuriated me – it was nothing but veiled threats of looming danger if we didn’t respond as we were being called to do, but there was nothing in it factual that supported the call. It was all personal opinion dressed up in hyperventilation and hyperbole.

It’s all BS & nonsense.

Lani, while I don’t have any major arguments for how NAR is handling the level of involvement of its membership, I also don’t have any constructive criticism. It seems that simply saying that something isn’t working won’t motivate change, will it Mr. Montville?

I appreciate the idea behind this letter but not the intent of it. It seems so negative when you’re hoping for a positive outcome. “Hope” and “Change” were the 2 main words focused on during the election of the guy that ended up in “that nice, big White House for awhile” which I think is also the idea behind NAR’s Moving Forward in 2010 and Strategic Planning outline for 2010-2012, if you haven’t read it.

And, in regards to Brandie, while the consumer isn’t familiar with NAR, they are familiar with the REALTOR brand which is one in the same. While I do get questions about the difference between a REALTOR and a Real Estate Agent, most consumers know the term REALTOR well enough to ask that question. I don’t think we have a brand issue here.

As a young REALTOR, I have nothing but the best intentions for my involvement, future in the industry and the future of our leadership. I’m active at many levels and intend to become more involved to better serve my local, state and national associations and consumers. Only through our work lobbying are some major changes possible. I’ve seen first-hand how getting more involved and speaking to politicians can influence change. So, if you’re not making your voice heard by contacting your local politicians in some way, shape or form when there is an industry changing law being voted on, then you are not best serving yourself, your peers and most importantly, your clients. They are everything and the driving force behind my further involvement. Influencing change is powerful but realizing that you’re helping change for the better of all consumers, is amazing. Change starts with the smallest contact (even if you were encouraged to do so).

I keep coming back to NAR keeping in touch with what is going on with the membership. My thinking is that they are so focused on the political aspect of the association that they lose track of the fact that they derive their great political power from an engaged membership.

Vicki Cox Golder seems to want to energize the association. Let’s hope she can make it happen.

My thoughts … First, I am stoked that Vicki is reading or paying attention to blogs & blog comments. This is a huge step in the right direction in my opinion. Second, I in 100% agreement with those who are stepping up and getting involved with local, state and NAR committees. Like Gandhi said “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.

The problem is this, far to many people would prefer to sit on the sidelines and whine/complain about it than get involved and do something. After all it is easier to complain! (in the short term anyway)

As the Chair person for my local San Diego YPN Committee and member of several other committees including the 2010 NAR MLS Policy Review I am doing what I can to be part of the transition of our industry … the transition from archaic to web 2.0 / visionary! I am a 3rd generation Realtor and to be very honest I have never been happy with the leadership in our industry.

I agree with Ken M. that our leadership has been fighting battles that meet their own agenda (some may or may not be in the best interest to our industry). However, one major area our industry leadership has overlooked has been technology. Realtors should, at the very least, have competitive tools compared to what our consumers have, BUT we do not. Not even close!

My opinion is that our industry is focused on the wrong sector “the part-timers who make up the majority of our membership vs’ being focused on keeping our industry current or ahead of the consumer”.

WHY, I asked myself? The only reason I can come up with is “more membership dues”! This is a huge mistake if you ask me.

I like the direction Ken Brand is thinking; however, my approach would be slightly different. Before raising the dues to extortion rates I would first begin with making the barrier to enter Real Estate much more difficult … as it is, I would compare it to something like “traffic school” not a “profession”. Increasing the barrier to enter and remain a Realtor will weed out the vast majority of part-timers. Then we could look at raising dues if we find our industry with a shortage of “professional realtors”. Otherwise we will just end up with the same problem, with the exception our members will not be starving as many are now days.

Joe Loomer also makes a great point … why doesn’t our current/past leadership just come out and be authentic “which is a critical component to Social Media” and say they have sucked in past and want to make it better! This seems to be a proven strategy!

Sometimes it makes sense to just scrap what isn’t working and start over.

THANK YOU to all of you for participating to make our industry better for years to come.

Drew Burks

It’s up to us to tell NAR that their spin campaigns aren’t working and we’re losing credibility at the street level; that their blatant lack of transparency is insulting; and that we feel our dues to value ratio is nil. More importantly we need to provide solutions, at every level of participation we have at NAR and hammer them every time the opportunity arises. After all, if we’re on a task force/network/group with them, aren’t we all co-opted? It’s about time we use those co-opted voices as a catalyst for some change.

It’s easy for NAR to marginalize individual voices of dissent in our ranks, but as one unified voice? It’s potentially the pink elephant in the room that will not, and cannot be ignored. The question isn’t what “they” will do about it to shape NAR’s future, it’s what “we” will do about it.

As a dues paying member, I often take my chance and call out NAR for things I don’t like. I have spoken openly about my feelings on some of the issues and will continue to do so. The idea of NAR co-opting some voices has been put out there before and although I have felt the same myself at times, I don’t think that’s totally what NAR’s intent was with some of their moves (it may have been part of the plan, but I don’t think they figured they would be able to co-opt 100% some of the people they’ve asked to join them). Heck, I even got on to a committee as part of the new NAR plan and I applaud the efforts (so maybe I’m biased) of NAR to bring in some new blood that might not otherwise be a part of committees (I had it as part of my long term plan, but was able to skip ahead thanks to the new effort).

I think Brandie Young’s comment is telling:

As a consumer, NAR doesn’t resonate value to me. That’s not a judgment, it’s an observation and only my personal opinion. It would be interesting to understand consumer sentiment, but I digress

I don’t think she was digressing. I think NAR needs to do two things – become more relevant to consumers and become more relevant to agents. Blowing smoke up everyone’s ass with marketing campaigns is not going to cut it. You can hire all the pretty actors and actresses in the world to tell me how “now is the time to buy,” but unless I’m ready, willing, and able – I’m not going to buy a house. You can put out all the President Podcasts you want, but if they’re poorly scripted and acted out monologues of “what I want to hear” vs. what’s happening today (sorry Charles), I’m not going to click on the links and take time out of my day to watch and listen. I’ve got a business to run and I save my watching actors time for The Office and Community.

Give the people (consumers and agents) what they want and what they need – and deliver it in a personable, no-hype way. Yes, NAR will always want to spin positives out of everything – and I don’t fault them for that, negativity only makes us much more negative – but when the spinning turns into nothing more than a media blitz of non-believables, you’re going to lose the ears of those you seek pretty darn fast.

@Nobu – Although I think they might have started a bit late, I do think NAR is listening and watching. I’ve have had several contacts from different parts of NAR over the past year on posts I wrote – some very critical of NAR. While they may not jump into the fray every time, I can tell they’re paying attention. The question is what they will do about it…I think that will shape NAR’s future more than anything.

As such, I have no dog in this fight, but do have an outside/in perspective.

As a consumer, NAR doesn’t resonate value to me. That’s not a judgment, it’s an observation and only my personal opinion. It would be interesting to understand consumer sentiment, but I digress …

it’s easy to criticize everything a big entity does wrong. I’ve held positions at BIG companies, and the truth is, you just don’t know how the sausage is made until you’ve been to the factory.

A big entity can not simply stop or turn on a dime. It is what it is. I think a great step in a progressive direction is NAR’s interest in social media. I applaud them that.

I wonder if you spent a day or two shadowing Vicki to truly understand the weight of her responsibilities, and how the Board has prioritized her mandates, you’d alter your perspective? Just a thought.

Because it looks to me that you called me a co-opted NAR mouthpiece.

Or do you mean that the people I’m “co-opting” like Jay Thompson or Daniel Rothemel, or the 80 some odd “social media types” that I have managed to place on national committees this year (with Vicki’s endorsement) are now NAR mouthpieces? I’m not sure who you’ve decided to insult here.