Dear Editor:

The purpose of this letter is to correct several assumptions contained in your story regarding Northern Michigan Real Estate Network.

The Northern Michigan MLS of the Traverse Area Association of Realtors) is not in an adversarial relationship with Kevin Fowler, nor are we at all nervous about his business. As a matter of fact, his wife serves on our Board of Directors. But Mr. Fowler offers an internet based public advertising service; we, as Northern Michigan MLS, offer a professional data and listing service for our Realtor members and affiliates.

We have two different audiences and different goals in our individual operations. The TAAR has cooperated fully and positively in any way Mr. Fowler has requested: he has the potential of offering a valuable service to the public, to TAAR members, and to our local real estate economy.

I do have a quarrel with the implication of your article that TAAR is struggling to retain control of the information. Our position is quite the opposite: we are actively providing information to several data aggregators like Mr. Fowler--we have been working to discover exactly which specific sets of information our members consider appropriate for public release and which should remain confidential to transaction participants, particularly the listing broker and the seller.

The TAAR is working diligently to build programs which will ensure that information released to the public is current and accurate. Data aggregators like Mr. Fowler are our partners in this effort, not our adversaries.

I must also protest the statements your reporter makes about me: I have never spoken to a representative of your organization, and the attributions made to me are both ungrammatical and untrue.

I would appreciate your printing this letter in response to your article. Should you have further questions, please don't hesitate to call me.

Thank you.

Judith Lindenau
Executive Vice President
Traverse Area Association of Realtors
http://www.taar.com
616-947-2050

March 24, 1999

Yes! Go for it!

I live in the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado. We have 2 MLS sytems...the Aspen Board of Realtors and the Glenwood Board of Realtors. Listings are duplicated in both boards. Time and energy and money is wasted keeping both boards going and the technology in use is pathetic.

I took a CRS class in January about technology available for Realtors. I came back excited about digital cameras. We hired a friend to use his digital camera to take photos of two new listings. Tried to input the pictures to both boards. Guess what? They don't have the technology to handle digital photos. I feel like we are supporting MLS dinosaurs instead of industry leaders.

I will be watching closely to see what unfolds. I am certainly ready for a change.

Cindy Sadlowski, CRS, GRI

Re: Northern Michigan Brokers Take Control of Listing Data - your feature story of March 24th, 1999.

This entire story reads like nothing more than an infomercial by the RE Webcom people.

I find it interesting that the only people quoted in your article are what appears to be. and from my best knowledge, some of the principals in RE Webcom. The sensationalist bent of this story is, in my belief, far from what is actually happening in Northern Michigan. While Mr. Fowler and his group may have managed to capture the interest of a handful of franchise brokers in a few areas of Northern Michigan, RE Webcom has not actually been able to rally the majority of brokers into this enterprise.

Was any additional investigation done by talking to other real estate professionals and association management in the area? If so, why weren't they quoted? If not, then maybe you ought to do a follow up to some of the other NMRE subscribers and independent contractors who have done site work for Mr. Fowler.

The remarks regarding Judith Lindenau, EVP of the Traverse Association of REALTORS, while not attributed to any particular spokesperson, appear to beg for acknowledgment by Ms. Lindenau rather than based on any actual facts. I'm sure she's just too clever to fall for the tainted bait. Check out Ms. Lindenau's credentials within the industry! She is highly respected by the members of her association, her peers in other Michigan Associations, the state and level associations and industry related professionals.

Sally Baker, Executive Officer
Paul Bunyan Board of REALTORS
T: 616.775.2660 F: 616.775.8653
E: sally@pbbr.com

Published: March 24, 1999

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