Is it a step back in time or an idea whose time has come?

The Real Estate Information Network, the MLS for the Hampton Roads, Virginia area plans to keep its 7000 members at the center of the real estate transaction by restricting lookie-loos from having access to detailed information on digital listings without either a contractual relationship with a member or a paid MLS E-Pass.

The E-Pass bypasses all the hoopla that has gotten association-run MLSs under the Department of Justice's microscope because it's purely commercial. That's because for-profit REIN is broker-owned by about 450 shareholder brokers and serves about 7000 agents. If an agent's broker is a shareholder, the agent is automatically a member of the for-profit MLS.

To protect the MLS' agents from third-party interlopers or technology thieves, and to protect its own profits, REIN does not send listing data to any outside entity. The for-profit MLS does not make the MLS E-Pass available to members who don't buy the REIN website package that is enabled with MLS E-Pass. Right now the MLS has about 1200 subscribers to its website and lead generation tools.

Here's how it works. Consumers find an agent's website and they are welcome to view thumbnail sketches of listings. If they want more, they can either hire the agent and get an E-Pass for free from the agent, or they can purchase an E-Pass subscription by the day or by the month. Consumers must provide their names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses, as well as their charge card information, which serves as a verifier that the rest of the information is legitimate. The subscription becomes a lead for the sponsoring agent.

While the $3.95 daily access fee and $4.95 monthly access fee are hardly financially prohibitive, the fees separate those who want to look at homes anonymously from those who are ready to work with a REIN member, providing a genuine lead capture opportunity. In the E-Pass agreement, the consumer agrees that they can be contacted by the sponsoring agent. To motivate agents to work the E-Pass leads they get and turn them into clients, consumers have some recourse if they are unhappy or failing to click with their sponsoring agent. If they are not under contract, they can take their paid E-Pass and log on to the MLS through any other agent's website.

Carlos Rodriguez, the real estate network's director of business development, says that REIN has been considering charging consumers for detailed MLS access since about 2001.

"The Internet of 2005 is different from the Internet of 1997," says Rodriguez. "The consumer of today intuitively understands that someone is paying to post this information online."

The MLS E-pass entitles subscribers to full MLS search by map and subdivision, with 30 additional property features shown. The service is updated three times daily "straight from the MLS" and detailed listings are also emailed directly to subscribers. It's the only way to get full access to over 5,000 MLS listings online. The next-best alternative is a "custom" listing search that agents can provide to the "agents only MLS." New listings can also be automatically e-mailed to clients as they are entered into the system.

There are legitimate justifications for putting the costs back on the consumers. For one thing, Realtors have borne significant marketing costs to showcase homes online, not the least of which is upgrading technologies such as MLS systems to showcase homes in more detail to other practitioners as well as to consumers online. Meanwhile, consumers have screamed for lower commissions even while demanding more exposure for their homes.

The system also neatly sidesteps VOW and IDX issues that are plaguing association-run MLSs, now under Department of Justice scrutiny for data-sharing policies. All brokers are shareholders, and all agents are customers. Neat. Clean. Under control. And if the REIN-sponsored Websites are the only places where consumers can get access to listings, that eliminates third-party competition and keeps leads perculating among brokers and agents.

The MLS E-Pass allows REIN to track which consumers are accessing detailed information about homes, allowing listing agents to capture their own leads. It also lets sellers know who has information about their home -- not fictitious persons using aliases such as MickeyMouse@somesite.com.

Throughout REIN's business-like website, it's clear that the MLS is there to serve Realtors, and leaves serving consumers to its members.

Explains the site, "REIN's official database is copyrighted and is only displayed on member real estate and company websites. REIN does not send MLS listings to any other third party website or national portal. ONLY websites with the MLS E-pass sign up screen and MLS E-Pass seal of authenticity receive complete and accurate listings information from REIN on over 5000 listings, updated three times a day."

Published: July 26, 2005

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. 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. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.