Let’s hope the world has changed for the better since then We’ve been very careful to get MLS input & buy in early and upfront in any market, and have spent a lot of time working with brokers on this.

I’m both confident and optimistic that the industry will see Roost as beneficial given its openness to all brokers, and transparent model.

MLS’s that we’ve spoken to recognize that their members will benefit from Roost.

I love that you appreciate what we’re up to. Don’t be shy in voicing your support!

I think, however, that many brokerages are going to see it as “sleight of hand” and will complain to their local MLS. If you’re found to be in compliance — which you most likely will be — then they’ll simply change the rules and make you non-compliant.

I’m speaking from personal experience. I tried to do something very similar to what you’re doing here using Google Base about 2 years ago, and even though I was technically within the MLS rules, I got shut down pretty quickly.

a) You have it exactly right that Roost is open to all types of brokers large and small. That’s one of the beauties of our model, and you can tell that by seeing the mix of brokers we have involved. As you know, the spirit of Broker Reciprocity/IDX is to create a level playing field for all brokers allowing them to display all properties available on the market under their sponsorship…. so long as they permit other brokers display their listings under other sponsorships. Roost simply provides brokers with another IDX enabled site and sends qualified traffic to that site should the broker desire that

b) At its core, Roost’s platform is a network of individually-controlled broker IDX sites that are accessed by a search engine. Each site is in the broker’s control. In some markets these sites sit on a sub-domain which is unique to them, and in others they are owned by the broker directly. We have been and are committed to doing whatever the MLS requires. No sleight of hand, it is all above board. The Roost solution is much like the national IDX solutions that exist on some of the large national brands’ sites, except that the Roost platform is open to any & all brokers in the market

c) To be clear we are 100% transparent in making sure this is compliant with each local MLS’s rules. And we don’t launch a market until we’ve worked that through with the MLS. We have the concept approved explicitly at first and then secure IDX approval for each individual broker’s IDX site on Roost’s platform subject to the standard approval process of each local MLS

Thanks for checking us out! Love any and all feedback on how we can make this a great platform for Realtors (and consumers).

I also love what Roost is doing and wish them the very best of success, but let’s just say it’s unlikely their legal and lobbying team is up to par with CAR’s and NAR’s.

Lenore — thanks for dropping by. I’ve been giving that idea of “paying for leads on your own listings” some thought, and I’m beginning to think a little differently on it. We “pay for leads on our own listings” whenever we advertise in a paper, don’t we?