We found that realtors with Arvida Realty Services web sites don't own their domain names. In other words, agentname.com is owned by the corporation, not the individual. That's chilling, considering that Arvida associates are independent contractors.

Historically, a major problem has been a scam in which a client's domain name was registered in the name of the web site developer or ISP. The client usually knew nothing of this unless the client wanted to transfer web site hosting or maintenance services ... then the client discovered that he didn't "own" his domain name. Arvida's registration strategy does the same thing to their own associates.

The legal entity registered for Arvida associate web sites with Network Solutions is Arvida or St. Joe Company (Arvida's corporate parent). These agents are saddled with the dubious honor of having the company own their personal name within a domain name registration. What do you think the chances are for problems if they part company with Arvida?

Examples, no particular reason for selecting from the Yahoo listings, with registration (or transfer) taking place in September, 1999:

* http://www.heatherknight.com - St. Petersburg - registered to St. Joe Real Estate Services, Inc. - No Site Found.
* http://www.isabellelane.com - Palm Harbor - registered to St. Joe Real Estate Services, Inc.
* http://www.danaweldon.com - Miami - registered to St. Joe Real Estate Services, Inc.
* http://www.kaycarson.com - Longwood - registered to St. Joe Real Estate Services, Inc.

Several present and former Arvida associates have written to us that the company treats associates even worse than it treats consumers (some of that correspondence is posted on our web site). Hard to believe, once you know how Arvida treats consumers!

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