In case you have been under a rock, there are a lot of folks with a LOT of questions regarding the new Localism and sponsorship opportunity. Here is the edited version of the email I sent to Bob before the phone call...
Bob,
I have a few questions about the sponsorships for Localism... who knows, maybe one of us can make this a post...
For the areas that are under 40k population, if I buy the city directly, how does that affect communities within the city? Do I own them? Are they rolled into the city? Are they still available for sponsorship to others?
Is there going to be a mechanism in place to prevent abuse and erosion of value of specific markets after purchase? As an example, if one owns an area sponsorship, and other member makes a sub area and sponsors that, how would that be addressed? That does erode the value of the first person's sponsorship...
If I buy the sponsorship for an area, and decide that I don't want it, can I "give" that area to someone else to sponsor or do they need to get in line? If there is a line to get in, is there a way to find out one's position in the line? As an example, let's say that I buy Dacula, GA, and determine that it would be better to give it to _______... but I certainly don't want ______ to get it, is there a way I can see who gets it if I give it up?
I also think that a lot of questions I am seeing from people could be answered when there are examples that people can see... so, after the WA roll out, many of the questions about Top Neighbors v. Sponsors and presentation may be answerable. The problem as I see it is that whenever there is a lack of information about something, many members fill in the blank with the worst scenario they can think of. I know that you guys are doing everything you can to fill the voids... we just outnumber you by a little bit. It doesn't help that you have people tossing out very location specific questions, expecting you to know the subdivisions in every locale...
And then while driving to a meeting I dialed Bob up and we talked about the questions. As always, he was upfront and very much wanting the information to get out accurately. In fact, he mentioned that he would like for me to blog about it... before he gave me the answers... without knowing what I would think. Bob knows me enough to know that I'm perfectly willing to say what I like and don't... and he risked it anyway.
On to some answers...
Starting at the top. If you buy a city under 40k in population you do NOT get the neighborhoods associated with that city. Those will still be available for sponsorship.
There will NOT be a system in place to keep people from slicing off a chunk of an area aside from market forces. I guess that even means that someone can make up a community to sponsor. This knife cuts both ways... One could "create" a community within a city, like Eco-built in Atlanta. They could then sponsor the community and write about "green building" in Atlanta. They could also try to segment off a piece of a subdivision and try to subvert that market.
There will be a system in place for someone to give a community to a partner or other agent. It will not be in place until September billing... But it should be ready to go then. So, I can offer up a community to a fellow agent if I decide I don't want to pursue it. If I just toss it into the fray, I don't think I can control who gets it.
Obviously, the last part of the mail was a bit of support. I know that some people are upset, and some of the ones that are upset have VERY valid points. But, some are ticked without reason. If you have a question, read the A|R official blogs and the blogs of Bob, Jon, Brad and Rich. If you don't find the answer, shoot one of them an email.
There are some pretty cool possibilities. This site WILL go well beyond real estate. There are a LOT of strategies to make the most of it. At Diamond Dwellings, we have been looking at our options to determine how to most effectively and efficiently move forward. Our goal to to be the market leader where ever we compete. If YOU are the market leader... or want to be... let's talk.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
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