ReBLS has announced that the company has retained the legal services of Grant Mitchell, or Mr. RESPA, as he is fondly known in the real estate community. On the surface, it may appear to be a ho-hum corporate executive announcement, but the news is really much bigger than that.

First, take a look at who Mitchell is. Mitchell, who in 1999, left the Department of Housing and Urban Development after 34 years, spent the last 15 years of his tenure responsible for the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. He is the attorney who rendered the opinion that mortgage brokers should disclose all fees, both direct and indirect, making the practice standard since 1992. Today, he is with the law firm of Reed Smith Shaw & McClay which specializes in RESPA compliance and litigation issues.

Attorneys are fiduciaries. Mitchell can't represent any other clients with regard to RESPA compliance if there is a conflict of interest for ReBLS.

Now take a look at who ReBLS is. ReBLS, operator of OnePipeline.com, is an online mortgage service provider - with a twist. It is the first-and-only mortgage company to launch a patent-pending automated loan platform for real estate and mortgage professionals in which real estate professionals are enabled to originate and collect fees for loan originations, all while meeting RESPA guidelines. That makes it a business-to-business technology solution for real estate and mortgage industries who want to work online.

Throw in the current trend toward online automated transaction management. HomeAdvisor Technologies, Inc. is launching the first automated loan platform via real estate professionals' desktops. Homestore has announced that they are working on developing a similar open standards platform with the National Association of REALTORS. Both companies are working to "put the Realtor at the center of the transaction."

Hungry to feel important to the consumer, Realtors are responding with enthusiasm. They've learned the hard way that online listings weren't enough to keep them central to the transaction. Consumers are demanding reduced fees, unappreciative and unwilling to pay for the technology that enables Realtors to supply them with free property, community and school information, and more.

Meanwhile E-LOAN, mortgage.com and other online lenders are struggling to expand their market share, even going beyond mortgage lending to car loans, etc, and crossing American borders to stay ahead of rising interest rates; their stocks are being pounded for being in such an interest rate-dependent category. Yet, in a countertrend, online originations are at an all-time high. Direct lender Countrywide just announced that its online initiatives are so successful that the company now originates one fourth of its loans online.

ReBLS could see that a piece might be missing. Although most online lenders claim to be Realtor-friendly, the bottom line is that they don't have a way to pay the Realtor for the endless management tasks they perform in the name of customer service, and both consumers and Realtors say they feel more comfortable dealing with an accountable human being.

What if that person were the Realtor? The Realtor maintains control of the transaction, and collects a fee to boot. What could be better?

Put the story together from the boiler plate to who's stirring the pot, and you find what's in the stew is one of the tastiest business models to impact the real estate/mortgage industry since Realtor.com rescued RIN. ReBLS has found a way to pay the Realtor for a job they are already performing pro bono, their delivery system is patent pending, and they have Mr. RESPA to assure compliance.

David Broadbent CEO of ReBLS spreads it on the table. "We are defining this territory. If someone wants to use an automated compliance engine, to drive any kind of mortgage work flow process, onepipeline is the place to be."

Mitchell's job will be to make sure everyone from Realtors to consumers understands that ReBLS is in compliance with RESPA in three key areas:

• full disclosure is made to the borrower that people are being paid to originate their loan
• the borrower is given many choices of lenders (ReBLS has 40 lenders so far as well as multiple loan products.)
• loan originators are only paid for services they actually perform.

"The real estate professional is involved in the transaction as a service to the client," says John Moran, vice president of marketing for onepipeline.com. "They are performing a lot of these services without compensation. This platform takes it one step further where they are compensated for originating the loan."

Now that's the center of the transaction.

Published: March 22, 2000

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.