According to Seattle bankruptcy court documents, the National Association of Realtors is going to have to give up Websuite claims worth $500,000 to continue with its troubled e-PRO Internet certification technology program.

The terms of the petition which was approved by the bankruptcy court judge on March 23rd, state that Websuite's Trustee agrees to "operate, maintain, and support the e-PRO program for the purpose of providing all currently registered students who have fully paid for the program the opportunity to complete the program and receive certification therefore through the NAR."

In exchange, the NAR will tender an additional $40,000 to Websuite's Trustee and to waive its pre-petition claims of $500,000, and its post-petition claims for royalties rising from the original Websuite/NAR agreement.

NAR officials who were party to the new agreement could not be reached for comment to confirm or deny that the NAR is indeed kissing off a half million dollars in order to rid itself of Websuite. In a prepared statement, NAR Senior Vice President Bob Goldberg, head of the committee that selected Websuite as a provider and who okayed eSphere to continue operations of the e-PRO contract for further losses, said, "NAR is committed to the continued enhancement of e-PRO through use of an experienced educational design team that consists of staff and outside consultants with member input."

The judge ruled that the Websuite founders and new investor Mark Anderson were not to have anything further to do with Websuite.

But some of those once involved with Websuite worry that Progressive Endeavors, the company apppointed by the Trustee to continue operating Websuite, may be a shell company.

According to former investor Daryl Barlett, some former Websuite employees allege they recognized Progressive Endeavors' new CEO Bob Hayes as one of the men who ousted employees from the building the day Websuite was shut down by eSphere in October 2000. Websuite investor Dave Cleveland says he has tried to find out who Bob Hayes and Progressive Endeavors are.

The URL, www.progressiveendeavors.com was registered to the former technology director of Websuite, Glen Geller last July, about the time Websuite ran out of money. The company's headquarters is located in a building owned by Mark Anderson, says Cleveland.

Not true, says Bob Hayes. "Geller was our employee until he went to work for Anderson in December."

When asked what his relationship is with Mr. Anderson, Hayes replied, "We don't have one. There are stories floating around that we are owned by Anderson but we are a subsidiary of Merchant Credit Card Services. eSphere had no staff and we were put under contract to operate eSphere. Now our contract to operate Websuite has been ratified by the judge."

Did he oust Websuite employees that day? "I was there that day," says Hayes. "The very first day we were contracted by Anderson to come to Seattle from Las Vegas and assist them with moving servers to Las Vegas. Our understanding was that eSphere owned the servers.

"Fourteen days later we issued our invoice to Mark Anderson, and we didn't get payment," explains Hayes. "We got into a legal situation and about the same time we began to meet the stockholders and we got a whole different picture of what was really happening.

"The only way we could recover our expenses was to do battle with Mark Anderson," says Hayes.

So what will the NAR get for its money besides an escape from an unsavory partnership? The NAR gets to retain the rights to use the e-PRO name and the new ruling prevents Websuite from being able to use it. However, Websuite retains the intellectual property.

According to a spokesperson for the NAR, "This is meant to be good news for the e-PRO students. We will pay to keep the students going. Our choice was how to move forward."

A new technology provider for the re-launch has yet to be selected, said the spokesperson. "But you can bet we'll look much more carefully at this one," he said.

Meanwhile, the e-PRO students will get to finish their coursework. "The good news is Websuite will be general manager with responsibility to manage this company," says a triumphant Hayes. "Monday morning we will come out of the gate flying."

Published: March 26, 2001

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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.